Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Male is 56.0% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 16.3% more in Male
Groceries: pay 72.8% more in Male
Transportation: pay 10.6% less in Male
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Male
Childcare: pay 57.4% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.2% more in Male
Clothing: pay 28.0% more in Male

The cost of housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and restaurants in Male are more expensive than in Nairobi. Expenses including childcare and transportation are lower in Male. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Male.

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Male vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.3% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 KES799.94	$6.00 MVR92.74	-2.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 KES849.93	$9.73 MVR150.39	+48.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.64 KES83.56	$1.63 MVR25.12	+152.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 KES76.66	$0.30 MVR4.59	-49.7%
Average			+16.3%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 72.8% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES71.26	$1.65 MVR25.57	+201.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 KES691.33	$5.34 MVR82.43	+0.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.32 KES430.56	$7.69 MVR118.80	+131.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KES224.22	$1.92 MVR29.70	+11.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.90 KES376.27	$2.77 MVR42.73	-4.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 KES197.64	$1.80 MVR27.83	+18.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.14	$1.39 MVR21.40	+185.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 KES118.21	$1.85 MVR28.65	+103.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 KES66.02	$1.22 MVR18.84	+139.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.98	$0.93 MVR14.40	+89.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.24	$0.86 MVR13.30	+76.8%
Average			+72.8%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.6% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.96 KES774.52	$3.81 MVR58.81	-36.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.20 KES5,999.54	$30.82 MVR476.23	-33.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,558.36 KES3M	$32,446.46 MVR501K	+50.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.86 KES1,799.86	$17.52 MVR270.70	+26.4%
Average			-10.6%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Nairobi	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.94 KES4,538.11	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	+108.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$445.43 KES57,848.49	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	+113.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$216.55 KES28,122.83	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	+223.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.75 KES5,552.19	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	+112.8%
Average			+151.6%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 57.4% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$248.58 KES32,283.23	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	-25.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,318.78 KES2M	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	-75.6%
Average			-57.4%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES299.98	$4.87 MVR75.19	+110.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.64 KES343.31	$3.55 MVR54.84	+34.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.54 KES459.96	$14.93 MVR230.60	+321.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.37 KES6,541.16	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	+40.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.70 KES999.92	$9.73 MVR150.39	+26.4%
Average			+64.2%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 28.0% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.10 KES3,649.72	$39.51 MVR610.48	+40.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 KES3,771.89	$49.64 MVR766.88	+70.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.92 KES9,081.12	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	+24.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.58 KES7,608.07	$52.52 MVR811.39	-10.4%
Average			+28.0%

Nairobi vs. Male - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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