Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 13.4% cheaper than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 3.8% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 13.6% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 4.0% less in Kigali
Housing: pay 15.5% more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 18.1% less in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.2% less in Kigali
Clothing: pay 32.5% less in Kigali

Expenses including entertainment and sports, clothing, childcare, groceries, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Kigali.

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Kigali vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kigali instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.8% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES751.39	$3.45 RWF5,095	-40.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.67	$6.89 RWF10,190	-1.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.85	$0.86 RWF1,268	+22.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.08	$0.57 RWF846	+4.2%
Average			-3.8%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.6% less for groceries

	Nairobi	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.73	$1.05 RWF1,546	+91.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.57	$2.26 RWF3,335	-59.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.39	$2.64 RWF3,906	-21.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.87	$1.65 RWF2,446	+0.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.77	$2.10 RWF3,097	-28.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES182.08	$1.15 RWF1,704	-18.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.44	$0.37 RWF545	-22.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.15	$0.70 RWF1,037	-21.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.05	$0.48 RWF709	+5.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.54	$0.23 RWF336	-53.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.56	$0.39 RWF578	-22.8%
Average			-13.6%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.85	$4.42 RWF6,536	-18.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,007.43	$29.30 RWF43,309	-5.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES3M	$26,543.61 RWF39M	+22.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,204.09	$14.48 RWF21,400	-15.0%
Average			-4.0%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.5% more for housing

	Nairobi	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,160.00	$19.48 RWF28,788	-51.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,737.14	$575.44 RWF851K	+20.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,704.69	$322.51 RWF477K	+56.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,795.79	$39.98 RWF59,094	+36.3%
Average			+15.5%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 18.1% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES29,012.13	$166.62 RWF246K	-25.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1M	$7,842.43 RWF12M	-10.6%
Average			-18.1%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.56	$1.03 RWF1,529	-55.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.76	$2.31 RWF3,419	-2.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.74	$1.72 RWF2,548	-44.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,863.37	$31.41 RWF46,423	-30.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.76	$3.45 RWF5,095	-53.1%
Average			-37.2%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.5% less for clothing

	Nairobi	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,540.00	$19.19 RWF28,363	-2.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,220.26	$19.30 RWF28,533	-22.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,791.30	$22.98 RWF33,968	-66.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,060.95	$37.92 RWF56,047	-39.1%
Average			-32.5%

Nairobi vs. Kigali - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: September 2026

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