Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe vs. Rwanda Cost of Living Summary

Zimbabwe is 1.2% more expensive than Rwanda overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.7% more in Zimbabwe
Groceries: pay 55.5% more in Zimbabwe
Transportation: pay 9.7% more in Zimbabwe
Housing: pay 42.9% less in Zimbabwe
Childcare: pay 36.5% more in Zimbabwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.1% more in Zimbabwe
Clothing: pay 39.1% more in Zimbabwe

The cost of groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, restaurants, childcare, and transportation in Zimbabwe are more expensive than in Rwanda.

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Zimbabwe vs. Rwanda Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.7% more for restaurants

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$7.25 ZWL2,334.50	+167.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$5.38 ZWL1,730.75	-20.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.73 ZWL234.79	-6.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.42 ZWL135.90	-24.5%
Average			+38.7%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 55.5% more for groceries

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.00 ZWL322.00	-4.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$5.28 ZWL1,701.44	+150.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$5.96 ZWL1,919.26	+88.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$1.90 ZWL611.53	+16.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.12 ZWL682.33	+1.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.10 ZWL353.72	+0.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.73 ZWL236.30	+107.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$1.02 ZWL328.63	+48.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.59 ZWL188.63	+22.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.67 ZWL217.09	+199.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.72 ZWL231.09	+112.5%
Average			+55.5%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.7% more for transportation

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$6.57 ZWL2,116.06	-6.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$45.00 ZWL14,490.00	+77.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$23,500.00 ZWL8M	-9.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$19.50 ZWL6,279.00	+2.8%
Average			+9.7%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.9% less for housing

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$88.24 ZWL28,414.33	+320.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$282.50 ZWL90,965.00	-57.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$212.05 ZWL68,280.10	-48.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$55.83 ZWL17,977.33	-13.2%
Average			-42.9%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of housing

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pay 36.5% more for childcare

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$331.89 ZWL107K	+194.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$6,027.78 ZWL2M	-36.6%
Average			+36.5%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.38 ZWL442.75	+35.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.56 ZWL825.12	+5.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$1.75 ZWL563.50	-13.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$39.58 ZWL12,745.83	+48.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+195.2%
Average			+53.1%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.1% more for clothing

	Rwanda	Zimbabwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$22.24 ZWL7,160.03	+27.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$16.41 ZWL5,282.85	+5.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$42.46 ZWL13,673.21	+90.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$49.35 ZWL15,890.90	+45.7%
Average			+39.1%

Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Rwanda vs. Zimbabwe

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Zimbabwe?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 2.7 times more money in Zimbabwe

Size Comparison · See true size

Rwanda is about 15 times smaller than Zimbabwe.

Moving from Rwanda to Zimbabwe · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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