Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

Italy

Rome vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Rome is 2.1 times more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Rome
Groceries: pay 75.0% more in Rome
Transportation: pay 28.5% more in Rome
Housing: pay 3.2 times more in Rome
Childcare: pay 63.8% more in Rome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.2% more in Rome
Clothing: pay 68.1% more in Rome

The cost of housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Rome are more expensive than in Nairobi. Notably, housing and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Rome.

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Rome vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Rome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 KES799.26	$16.80 €14.95	+172.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 KES849.21	$11.20 €9.97	+71.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.64 KES83.49	$2.96 €2.63	+360.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 KES76.60	$1.48 €1.32	+150.8%
Average			+142.0%

Nairobi vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 75.0% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Rome
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES71.20	$2.22 €1.98	+305.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 KES690.75	$7.42 €6.61	+39.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.32 KES430.19	$6.49 €5.77	+95.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KES224.03	$4.66 €4.15	+169.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.90 KES375.95	$5.66 €5.03	+95.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 KES197.47	$1.17 €1.04	-23.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.08	$1.05 €0.94	+116.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 KES118.11	$1.09 €0.97	+19.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.97	$1.07 €0.96	+111.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.93	$0.64 €0.57	+30.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.19	$0.72 €0.64	+47.2%
Average			+75.0%

Nairobi vs. Rome - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.5% more for transportation

	Nairobi	Rome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.96 KES773.87	$8.04 €7.16	+34.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.20 KES5,994.46	$39.19 €34.88	-15.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,558.36 KES3M	$35,551.60 €31,642.21	+64.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.86 KES1,798.34	$20.16 €17.94	+45.4%
Average			+28.5%

Nairobi vs. Rome - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.2 times more for housing

	Nairobi	Rome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.94 KES4,534.27	$31.87 €28.36	-8.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$445.43 KES57,799.49	$1,208.81 €1,075.88	+171.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$216.55 KES28,099.01	$873.39 €777.35	+303.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.75 KES5,547.48	$157.13 €139.85	+267.5%
Average			+215.1%

Nairobi vs. Rome - Cost of housing

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pay 63.8% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Rome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$248.58 KES32,255.88	$487.21 €433.63	+96.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,318.78 KES2M	$16,862.20 €15,007.96	+36.9%
Average			+63.8%

Nairobi vs. Rome - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Rome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES299.72	$5.60 €4.98	+142.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.64 KES343.02	$2.07 €1.84	-21.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.54 KES459.57	$7.28 €6.48	+105.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.37 KES6,535.62	$65.43 €58.24	+29.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.70 KES999.08	$11.20 €9.97	+45.4%
Average			+43.2%

Nairobi vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 68.1% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Rome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.10 KES3,646.63	$71.31 €63.47	+153.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 KES3,768.70	$36.31 €32.32	+25.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.92 KES9,073.43	$83.63 €74.43	+19.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.58 KES7,601.62	$123.17 €109.63	+110.3%
Average			+68.1%

Nairobi vs. Rome - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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