Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Kigali

For one person, living is cheaper in Kigali: $881 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $38,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Kigali
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Kigali Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Kigali

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$881

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Kigali

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in London and in Kigali actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $881 in Kigali.

London $4,086
Kigali $881

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $1,376 in Kigali.

London $5,816
Kigali $1,376

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $1,871 in Kigali.

London $7,546
Kigali $1,871

Living in London is roughly 364% more expensive than in Kigali, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: London is 205% above, Kigali is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$2.75 RWF 4,037

868.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$30.32 RWF 44.6K

254.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$6.73 RWF 9,895

54.38%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.45 RWF 3,599

136.33%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.76 RWF 1,112

296.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.55 RWF 803

290.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.00 RWF 1,471

835.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.34 RWF 3,435

235.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.82 RWF 1,204

118.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.07 RWF 1,577

92.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.32 RWF 1,935

75.00%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.60 RWF 2,354

215.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$4.19 RWF 6,162

200.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$4.68 RWF 6,878

127.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$4.51 RWF 6,631

279.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.45 RWF 3,601

23.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.74 RWF 1,093

90.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.54 RWF 2,263

98.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.06 RWF 1,564

218.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.49 RWF 719

240.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.71 RWF 1,050

143.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.70 RWF 1,024

101.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.82 RWF 1,204

118.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$1.97 RWF 2,897

1078.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$10.28 RWF 15.1K

26.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.00 RWF 1,468

218.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$1.59 RWF 2,342

177.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.35 RWF 516

1005.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$25.24 RWF 37.1K

890.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$2.67 RWF 3,920

113.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.01 RWF 2,957

65.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$3.31 RWF 4,869

1649.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.84 RWF 2,702

10.87%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$26.5K RWF 38.9M

41.82%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$29.1K RWF 42.7M

40.73%

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

$376 £284

$82.6 RWF 121.5K

355.15%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$7.06 RWF 10.4K

153.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$20.85 RWF 30.6K

91.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$26.26 RWF 38.6K

132.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$4.16 RWF 6,115

406.49%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$3.49 RWF 5,126

414.33%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$112 RWF 164.1K

2466.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$9,532 RWF 14.0M

270.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$17.17 RWF 25.2K

575.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$15.74 RWF 23.1K

243.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$22.31 RWF 32.8K

467.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$34.12 RWF 50.2K

366.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$670 RWF 984.8K

325.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$411 RWF 604.6K

459.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,361 RWF 2.0M

282.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$837 RWF 1.2M

344.85%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$3,404 RWF 5.0M

458.42%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$3,062 RWF 4.5M

157.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$275 RWF 404.6K

1650.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

16.2

-71.30%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kigali: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Kigali

$411 47.1% 82.1% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Kigali

$111 12.7% 74.5% $323

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Kigali

$86 9.9% 78.2% $310

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Kigali

$153 17.5% 56.3% $197

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Kigali

$39 4.5% 86.3% $249

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Kigali

$40 4.6% 80.4% $165

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Kigali

$33 3.8% 65.8% $64

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $670 in Kigali. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 1650% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $108 in London vs $30.00 in Kigali for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $153 per month, with Kigali cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇷🇼 Kigali

🕒 Local time

08:31 8:31 AM

09:31 9:31 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,132,686 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RWF, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,470 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,649 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.07 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Kigali 6,590 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Kigali

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

London vs Kigali: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kigali wins on cost – living expenses run 364% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kigali the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 1650% higher in London, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $2,853 in London versus $670 in Kigali. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 129% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Kigali – a meal for two runs $30.00 versus $108 in London. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $881 in Kigali versus $4,086 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kigali but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Kigali the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kigali delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $881 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kigali hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, London and Kigali are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Kigali gentler on the wallet – expenses run 364% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.