Cost of living comparison

compared to

Zalau vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Zalau is 2.0 times more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 67.1% more in Zalau
Groceries: pay 14.5% more in Zalau
Transportation: pay 11.6% less in Zalau
Housing: pay 58.5% more in Zalau
Childcare: pay 6.3 times more in Zalau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.4% more in Zalau
Clothing: pay 56.6% more in Zalau

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

Zalau vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 67.1% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Zalau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES747.37	$8.05 RON34.91	+38.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES896.85	$5.75 RON24.94	-17.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.36	$1.61 RON6.98	+129.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES70.70	$1.20 RON5.19	+117.8%
Average			+67.1%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.5% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Zalau
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.35	$1.26 RON5.45	+130.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES716.71	$4.31 RON18.70	-22.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES432.07	$5.66 RON24.54	+68.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES211.74	$2.21 RON9.58	+34.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES375.75	$2.77 RON11.99	-5.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.11	$0.42 RON1.81	-70.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.12	$0.61 RON2.64	+28.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES114.54	$0.68 RON2.94	-23.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES58.73	$0.89 RON3.85	+94.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.20	$0.31 RON1.36	-36.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.21	$0.31 RON1.36	-38.2%
Average			+14.5%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Zalau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES695.11	$6.00 RON26.00	+11.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES3,985.98	$19.55 RON84.78	-36.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,790,186.52	$28,327.85 RON122,826.72	+30.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,192.29	$8.28 RON35.91	-51.4%
Average			-11.6%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.5% more for housing

	Nairobi	Zalau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,132.38	$6.90 RON29.92	-82.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,406.69	$291.85 RON1,265.42	-38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,561.75	$233.48 RON1,012.33	+13.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,775.48	$129.74 RON562.53	+342.4%
Average			+58.5%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - Cost of housing

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pay 6.3 times more for childcare

	Nairobi	Zalau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,856.84	$1,401.10 RON6,075.02	+525.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,129,767.62	??
Average			+525.1%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Zalau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES298.95	$2.07 RON8.98	-10.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES305.12	$2.07 RON8.98	-12.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES398.60	$5.52 RON23.94	+78.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,831.99	$35.66 RON154.60	-21.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES946.67	$5.75 RON24.94	-21.8%
Average			+2.4%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.6% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Zalau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,526.41	$57.51 RON249.36	+193.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,203.02	$32.21 RON139.64	+29.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,744.25	$63.26 RON274.30	-6.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,017.80	$69.01 RON299.23	+10.8%
Average			+56.6%

Nairobi vs. Zalau - 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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