Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 85.3% more expensive than Nairobi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 53.1% more in Seoul
- Groceries
-
pay 3.0 times more in Seoul
- Transportation
-
pay 2.0% more in Seoul
- Housing
-
pay 2.3 times more in Seoul
- Childcare
-
pay 2.0 times more in Seoul
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 36.0% more in Seoul
- Clothing
-
pay 70.4% more in Seoul
The cost of groceries, housing, childcare, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Seoul are more expensive than in Nairobi. Notably, groceries, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Seoul.
Seoul vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Nairobi, you would:
pay 53.1% more for restaurants
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.80
KES746.65
|
$8.49
₩12,429
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.97
KES895.98
|
$6.30
₩9,218
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.70
KES90.28
|
$1.64
₩2,399
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.55
KES70.64
|
$0.78
₩1,143
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 3.0 times more for groceries
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.55
KES70.29
|
$3.24
₩4,740
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.57
KES716.02
|
$6.79
₩9,943
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.36
KES431.65
|
$7.85
₩11,487
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.64
KES211.53
|
$2.93
₩4,291
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.92
KES375.38
|
$4.67
₩6,833
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.41
KES180.93
|
$3.45
₩5,043
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.47
KES61.06
|
$1.52
₩2,231
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.89
KES114.43
|
$2.35
₩3,442
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.46
KES58.68
|
$2.77
₩4,058
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.49
KES63.14
|
$1.62
₩2,370
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.51
KES65.15
|
$1.30
₩1,899
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 2.0% more for transportation
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
KES694.44
|
$4.43
₩6,485
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.96
KES3,982.13
|
$45.99
₩67,322
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,671.83
KES3M
|
$25,072.36
₩37M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.03
KES2,190.17
|
$10.50
₩15,370
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 2.3 times more for housing
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.86
KES5,127.42
|
$20.56
₩30,090
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$476.96
KES61,347.35
|
$925.55
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$206.31
KES26,536.08
|
$559.33
₩819K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$29.32
KES3,771.83
|
$118.88
₩174K
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 2.0 times more for childcare
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$224.14
KES28,828.96
|
$360.15
₩527K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,775.09
KES1M
|
$21,667.04
₩32M
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 36.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.32
KES298.66
|
$3.54
₩5,179
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.37
KES304.82
|
$3.70
₩5,413
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.10
KES398.21
|
$3.18
₩4,661
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.30
KES5,826.35
|
$56.34
₩82,464
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.35
KES945.76
|
$10.61
₩15,536
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 70.4% more for clothing
|
Nairobi
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$19.62
KES2,523.97
|
$49.77
₩72,846
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$24.88
KES3,199.93
|
$39.49
₩57,806
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$67.92
KES8,735.80
|
$74.94
₩110K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$62.28
KES8,010.05
|
$99.06
₩145K
|
|
Nairobi vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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: February 2026
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