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

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

🙂 Solo nomad: Kenya is 19.5% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 38.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Kenya is 18.6% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 30.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.77 KES 487

$8.84 R 145

-57.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.05 KES 4,519

$38.50 R 631

-8.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.86 KES 885

$5.07 R 83.2

35.31%

Cappuccino

$2.25 KES 290

$2.04 R 33.40

10.29%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 KES 85.3

$1.04 R 17.02

-36.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.3

$0.74 R 12.08

-27.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.30 KES 296

$2.31 R 37.83

-0.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.65 KES 342

$2.47 R 40.57

7.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.81 KES 104

$1.07 R 17.55

-24.30%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 KES 68.7

$1.01 R 16.51

-47.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 KES 174

$1.57 R 25.79

-14.01%

Eggs

$1.60 KES 207

$2.33 R 38.26

-31.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.49 KES 1,353

$7.68 R 126

36.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.54 KES 843

$4.47 R 73.4

46.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.95 KES 638

$6.60 R 108

-25.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.84 KES 366

$1.56 R 25.55

82.05%

Banana (1kg)

$0.98 KES 127

$1.45 R 23.80

-32.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 KES 240

$1.51 R 24.79

23.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.83 KES 106

$1.49 R 24.39

-44.30%

Potato (1kg)

$0.81 KES 104

$1.21 R 19.91

-33.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.03 KES 133

$1.33 R 21.80

-22.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 KES 88.3

$1.08 R 17.70

-36.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 KES 89.5

$0.94 R 15.34

-26.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 KES 392

$2.85 R 46.74

6.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.49 KES 1,224

$4.89 R 80.3

94.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.14 KES 276

$1.38 R 22.64

55.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 KES 331

$1.69 R 27.65

51.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.73 R 28.33

-53.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.07 KES 3,749

$45.33 R 743

-35.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 KES 205

$1.10 R 18.01

44.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.51 KES 195

$1.10 R 18.03

37.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 KES 394

$4.69 R 76.9

-34.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 KES 199

$1.30 R 21.32

18.46%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.1K KES 2.5M

$20.6K R 337.3K

-7.33%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$17.7K KES 2.3M

$24.2K R 396.4K

-26.88%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$33.45 KES 4,313

$110 R 1,811

-69.71%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.97 KES 1,930

$32.07 R 526

-53.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.63 KES 4,981

$40.81 R 669

-5.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.38 KES 4,820

$31.33 R 514

19.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.79 KES 2,552

$9.44 R 155

109.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.11 KES 788

$6.90 R 113

-11.45%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$164 KES 21.1K

$187 R 3,074

-12.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,633 KES 984.3K

$4,385 R 71.9K

74.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.23 KES 1,835

$49.70 R 815

-71.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.90 KES 2,695

$31.23 R 512

-33.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$49.49 KES 6,382

$93.0 R 1,526

-46.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$45.96 KES 5,926

$79.7 R 1,307

-42.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$307 KES 39.6K

$443 R 7,265

-30.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$149 KES 19.1K

$369 R 6,048

-59.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$860 KES 111.0K

$890 R 14.6K

-3.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$353 KES 45.5K

$724 R 11.9K

-51.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,453 KES 187.4K

$1,125 R 18.5K

29.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$949 KES 122.4K

$823 R 13.5K

15.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$345 KES 44.5K

$1,486 R 24.4K

-76.79%

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: January 11, 2026

Last update for South Africa: January 12, 2026

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

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