Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 39.1% more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 39.4% less in Nairobi
Groceries
pay 42.3% less in Nairobi
Housing
pay 3.5 times more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports
pay 35.0% less in Nairobi

Expenses including groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Nairobi. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Nairobi.

Nairobi vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 39.4% less for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$6.16
KES800.43
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$6.54
KES850.46
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$0.64
KES83.62

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pay 42.3% less for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
$0.55
KES71.30
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $5.32
KES691.76
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$3.32
KES430.82

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.96
KES775.00
Monthly public transit pass ?? $46.20
KES6,003.23
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $21,558.36
KES3M

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $34.94
KES4,540.91
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$445.43
KES57,884.12
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$216.55
KES28,140.16

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $248.58
KES32,303.11
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $12,318.78
KES2M

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pay 35.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$2.31
KES300.16
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$2.64
KES343.52
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.54
KES460.25

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Nairobi
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $28.10
KES3,651.97
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $29.04
KES3,774.21
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $69.92
KES9,086.71

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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