Cost of living comparison

compared to

Port Elizabeth vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Port Elizabeth is 29.6% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 47.2% more in Port Elizabeth
Groceries: pay 21.3% more in Port Elizabeth
Transportation: pay 20.8% less in Port Elizabeth
Housing: pay 93.2% more in Port Elizabeth
Childcare: pay 34.0% less in Port Elizabeth
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% more in Port Elizabeth
Clothing: pay 99.0% more in Port Elizabeth

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

Port Elizabeth vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Port Elizabeth instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.2% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES750.88	$10.80 ZAR182.86	+86.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.06	$5.13 ZAR86.80	-26.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.79	$1.13 ZAR19.18	+61.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.04	$0.92 ZAR15.60	+67.9%
Average			+47.2%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.3% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.69	$1.02 ZAR17.33	+87.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.08	$3.95 ZAR66.86	-29.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.10	$4.34 ZAR73.52	+29.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.73	$2.86 ZAR48.47	+74.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.51	$2.23 ZAR37.82	-23.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.96	$0.79 ZAR13.44	-43.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.40	$0.69 ZAR11.70	+45.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.07	$0.72 ZAR12.16	-19.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.01	$0.74 ZAR12.61	+63.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.50	$0.72 ZAR12.25	+47.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.52	$0.52 ZAR8.76	+2.2%
Average			+21.3%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.8% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.38	$5.01 ZAR84.76	-7.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,004.71	$34.86 ZAR590.03	+12.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	$16,075.49 ZAR272,098.61	-25.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,202.59	$6.38 ZAR108.01	-62.5%
Average			-20.8%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of transportation

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pay 93.2% more for housing

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,156.50	$45.80 ZAR775.17	+14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,695.24	$606.14 ZAR10,259.78	+27.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,686.56	$455.18 ZAR7,704.58	+120.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,793.22	$91.03 ZAR1,540.73	+210.4%
Average			+93.2%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of housing

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pay 34.0% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,992.44	$169.97 ZAR2,877.03	-24.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	$4,925.10 ZAR83,363.77	-43.9%
Average			-34.0%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.35	$2.62 ZAR44.37	+12.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.55	$2.17 ZAR36.67	-8.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.47	$3.08 ZAR52.18	-0.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,859.39	$30.31 ZAR512.99	-33.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.12	$10.08 ZAR170.67	+37.1%
Average			+1.6%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 99.0% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Port Elizabeth
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,538.28	$67.99 ZAR1,150.81	+246.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,218.07	$38.39 ZAR649.85	+54.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,785.33	$99.87 ZAR1,690.46	+47.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,055.48	$92.19 ZAR1,560.42	+48.0%
Average			+99.0%

Nairobi vs. Port Elizabeth - 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: December 2025

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