Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Somalia

Somalia vs. Rwanda Cost of Living Summary

Somalia is 43.6% cheaper than Rwanda overall.

Restaurants: pay 4.8% more in Somalia
Groceries: pay 56.3% more in Somalia
Transportation: pay 55.5% less in Somalia
Housing: pay 70.6% less in Somalia
Childcare: pay 84.3% less in Somalia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.7% less in Somalia
Clothing: pay 16.8% less in Somalia

The cost of groceries and restaurants in Somalia are more expensive than in Rwanda. Expenses including childcare, housing, transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Somalia.

Planning a move to Somalia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Somalia vs. Rwanda Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Somalia instead of Rwanda, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.8% more for restaurants

	Rwanda	Somalia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$3.33 SOS1,908	+23.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$5.00 SOS2,862	-26.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$1.04 SOS595	+32.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.76 SOS437	+36.7%
Average			+4.8%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.3% more for groceries

	Rwanda	Somalia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.35 SOS775	+29.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$2.50 SOS1,431	+18.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$7.02 SOS4,020	+122.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$2.18 SOS1,250	+33.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.02 SOS1,157	-2.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.17 SOS671	+7.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.83 SOS476	+135.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$1.13 SOS649	+64.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.59 SOS335	+22.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.62 SOS357	+176.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.74 SOS422	+118.3%
Average			+56.3%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.5% less for transportation

	Rwanda	Somalia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$3.57 SOS2,041	-49.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$12.17 SOS6,968	-52.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$10,000.00 SOS6M	-61.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$6.78 SOS3,882	-64.2%
Average			-55.5%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 70.6% less for housing

	Rwanda	Somalia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$39.56 SOS22,639	+88.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$143.33 SOS82,036	-78.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$77.50 SOS44,357	-81.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$78.38 SOS44,862	+21.9%
Average			-70.6%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.3% less for childcare

	Rwanda	Somalia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$51.67 SOS29,571	-54.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$515.00 SOS295K	-94.6%
Average			-84.3%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Rwanda	Somalia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	??
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$1.67 SOS954	-31.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$1.00 SOS572	-50.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$34.58 SOS19,794	+29.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	??
Average			-13.7%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.8% less for clothing

	Rwanda	Somalia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$12.50 SOS7,154	-28.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$16.33 SOS9,348	+4.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$18.50 SOS10,588	-16.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$25.83 SOS14,786	-23.7%
Average			-16.8%

Rwanda vs. Somalia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Rwanda vs. Somalia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Somalia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Be 2.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Somalia

Size Comparison · See true size

Rwanda is about 24 times smaller than Somalia.

Moving from Rwanda to Somalia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Rwanda vs.

Nigeria

Rwanda vs.

Kenya

Rwanda vs.

United States

Rwanda vs.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rwanda vs.

Burundi

Rwanda vs.

Uganda

Rwanda vs.

Republic of the Congo

Rwanda vs.

Belgium

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kigali vs. Mogadishu

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 Rwanda

Add prices for Somalia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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