Cost of Living Comparison Between Kenya and South Africa Cost of Living Comparison Between Kenya and South Africa

🙂 Solo nomad: Kenya is 17.9% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 36.6% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Kenya is 15.7% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 31.3% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$3.86 KES 499
$9.05 R 161
-57.35%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$34.45 KES 4,452
$38.84 R 691
-11.30%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.92 KES 894
$4.9 R 87.1
41.22%
Cappuccino
$2.21 KES 285
$1.98 R 35.28
11.62%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.67 KES 86.3
$0.96 R 17.06
-30.21%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.5 KES 64.7
$0.75 R 13.31
-33.33%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.39 KES 308
$2.18 R 38.72
9.63%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.77 KES 358
$2.54 R 45.1
9.06%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.82 KES 106
$1.1 R 19.58
-25.45%
White Bread (500g)
$0.5 KES 64.7
$1.03 R 18.32
-51.46%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.36 KES 176
$1.56 R 27.71
-12.82%
Eggs
$1.6 KES 207
$2.25 R 39.93
-28.89%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$10.18 KES 1,316
$7.67 R 136
32.72%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.27 KES 811
$4.62 R 82.2
35.71%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.2 KES 672
$6.86 R 122
-24.20%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 KES 359
$1.58 R 28.02
75.95%
Banana (1kg)
$0.97 KES 125
$1.42 R 25.3
-31.69%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.8 KES 233
$1.44 R 25.58
25.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.88 KES 114
$1.49 R 26.5
-40.94%
Potato (1kg)
$0.86 KES 111
$1.25 R 22.16
-31.20%
Onion (1kg)
$0.95 KES 122
$1.34 R 23.81
-29.10%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.68 KES 88.5
$1.09 R 19.31
-37.61%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.69 KES 89.8
$0.96 R 17.15
-28.13%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.13 KES 405
$2.9 R 51.6
7.93%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.34 KES 1,466
$5.07 R 90.3
123.67%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.15 KES 278
$1.38 R 24.49
55.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.58 KES 333
$1.68 R 29.79
53.57%
🚌 Getting Around
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.75 KES 96.7
$1.71 R 30.47
-56.14%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$29.74 KES 3,844
$45.01 R 801
-33.93%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.52 KES 197
$1.1 R 19.61
38.18%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.56 KES 201
$1.09 R 19.41
43.12%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$3.18 KES 411
$4.8 R 85.3
-33.75%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.48 KES 191
$1.31 R 23.23
12.98%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$18.7K KES 2.4M
$21K R 374.2K
-11.22%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$17.9K KES 2.3M
$23.7K R 421.3K
-24.46%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$32.69 KES 4,225
$113 R 2,009
-71.06%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$15.07 KES 1,948
$33.11 R 589
-54.49%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$38.25 KES 4,944
$41.49 R 738
-7.81%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$37.13 KES 4,799
$31.69 R 564
17.17%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$19.55 KES 2,526
$9.45 R 168
106.88%
Cinema Ticket
$6.26 KES 809
$6.7 R 119
-6.57%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$164 KES 21.1K
$186 R 3,303
-11.95%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,586 KES 980.4K
$4,336 R 77.1K
74.95%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$14.19 KES 1,834
$48.56 R 864
-70.78%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$20.99 KES 2,713
$30.74 R 547
-31.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$49.48 KES 6,395
$92 R 1,636
-46.22%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$45.68 KES 5,904
$79.6 R 1,415
-42.59%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$310 KES 40.1K
$442 R 7,860
-29.84%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$147 KES 19K
$370 R 6,579
-60.32%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$875 KES 113.1K
$880 R 15.7K
-0.64%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$358 KES 46.3K
$724 R 12.9K
-50.48%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,434 KES 185.3K
$1,021 R 18.2K
40.42%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,290 KES 166.7K
$803 R 14.3K
60.61%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Kenya
South Africa
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$353 KES 45.7K
$1,406 R 25K
-74.87%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
13.57
11.55
17.49%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Kenya: October 27, 2025

Last update for South Africa: October 29, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.