Cost of living comparison

compared to

Xi'an vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Xi'an is 3.2% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 40.0% less in Xi'an
Groceries: pay 2.7% less in Xi'an
Transportation: pay 22.8% less in Xi'an
Housing: pay 25.5% less in Xi'an
Childcare: pay 78.3% more in Xi'an
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.9% less in Xi'an
Clothing: pay 54.0% more in Xi'an

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

Xi'an vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Xi'an instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 40.0% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES750.88	$2.80 CN¥19.82	-51.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.06	$5.61 CN¥39.65	-19.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.79	$0.42 CN¥2.97	-40.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.04	$0.28 CN¥1.98	-48.9%
Average			-40.0%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7% less for groceries

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.69	$1.60 CN¥11.30	+192.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.08	$3.50 CN¥24.78	-37.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.10	$5.77 CN¥40.80	+72.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.73	$1.66 CN¥11.74	+0.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.51	$0.92 CN¥6.47	-68.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.96	$0.75 CN¥5.32	-46.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.40	$0.47 CN¥3.33	-0.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.07	$0.60 CN¥4.23	-32.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.01	$0.36 CN¥2.52	-21.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.50	$0.28 CN¥1.96	-43.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.52	$0.29 CN¥2.02	-43.5%
Average			-2.7%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.8% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.38	$4.42 CN¥31.27	-18.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,004.71	$33.65 CN¥237.89	+8.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	$21,029.61 CN¥148,681.44	-3.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,202.59	$3.62 CN¥25.57	-78.8%
Average			-22.8%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.5% less for housing

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,156.50	$12.00 CN¥84.83	-69.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,695.24	$247.68 CN¥1,751.14	-48.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,686.56	$185.06 CN¥1,308.40	-10.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,793.22	$37.05 CN¥261.97	+26.4%
Average			-25.5%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.3% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,992.44	$336.47 CN¥2,378.90	+50.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	$18,132.20 CN¥128,196.44	+106.6%
Average			+78.3%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.35	$1.19 CN¥8.43	-48.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.55	$2.64 CN¥18.63	+11.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.47	$2.80 CN¥19.82	-9.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,859.39	$38.73 CN¥273.79	-14.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.12	$4.91 CN¥34.69	-33.3%
Average			-18.9%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.0% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Xi'an
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,538.28	$54.89 CN¥388.06	+179.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,218.07	$31.68 CN¥224.01	+27.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,785.33	$64.21 CN¥453.97	-5.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,055.48	$71.22 CN¥503.53	+14.4%
Average			+54.0%

Nairobi vs. Xi'an - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Nairobi vs.

Wellington

Nairobi vs.

Bangkok

Nairobi vs.

Cairo

Nairobi vs.

Dodoma

Nairobi vs.

Lima

Nairobi vs.

Manila

Nairobi vs.

Vienna

Nairobi vs.

Dublin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Kenya vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Kenya and China.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Nairobi

Add prices for Xi'an

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Xi'an or Nairobi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.