Cost of Living Comparison Between Nairobi and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Nairobi and Cape Town
🙂 Solo nomad: Nairobi is 17.8% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 65.9% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Nairobi is 17.3% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 54.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$5.5 KES 711
$11 R 196
-50.00%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$39.1 KES 5,053
$45.35 R 807
-13.78%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.94 KES 897
$5.16 R 91.7
34.50%
Cappuccino
$2.44 KES 315
$2.02 R 35.92
20.79%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.71 KES 91.4
$1.11 R 19.76
-36.04%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.5 KES 65
$0.81 R 14.48
-38.27%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.3 KES 297
$2.84 R 50.4
-19.01%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.83 KES 366
$2.59 R 45.99
9.27%
đź›’ Groceries & Markets
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.86 KES 111
$1.15 R 20.44
-25.22%
White Bread (500g)
$0.57 KES 73.1
$1.09 R 19.45
-47.71%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.65 KES 213
$1.94 R 34.43
-14.95%
Eggs
$1.69 KES 218
$2.49 R 44.35
-32.13%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$11.79 KES 1,524
$8.33 R 148
41.54%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.86 KES 887
$5.06 R 90.1
35.57%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.5 KES 711
$7.33 R 130
-24.97%
Apples (1kg)
$3.04 KES 393
$1.51 R 26.84
101.32%
Banana (1kg)
$1.08 KES 139
$1.41 R 25.1
-23.40%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.06 KES 266
$1.51 R 26.91
36.42%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.01 KES 130
$1.61 R 28.56
-37.27%
Potato (1kg)
$1.02 KES 132
$1.12 R 19.91
-8.93%
Onion (1kg)
$1.11 KES 143
$1.23 R 21.93
-9.76%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.65 KES 84.2
$1.05 R 18.69
-38.10%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.75 KES 97.3
$0.95 R 16.94
-21.05%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.05 KES 394
$3 R 53.3
1.67%
Wine (Bottle)
$11.56 KES 1,494
$5.64 R 100
104.96%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.27 KES 294
$1.36 R 24.13
66.91%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.78 KES 359
$1.75 R 31.04
58.86%
🚌 Getting Around
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.78 KES 101
$0.97 R 17.29
-19.59%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$30.56 KES 3,950
$48.28 R 859
-36.70%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.54 KES 199
$1.41 R 25.1
9.22%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.55 KES 201
$1.01 R 18.01
53.47%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.87 KES 371
$4.55 R 80.9
-36.92%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.52 KES 196
$1.25 R 22.23
21.60%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.3K KES 2.8M
$20.9K R 371.8K
1.82%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$20.2K KES 2.6M
$24.2K R 431.1K
-16.73%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$34.75 KES 4,491
$100 R 1,784
-65.35%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$16.96 KES 2,192
$32.32 R 575
-47.52%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.67 KES 5,127
$41.05 R 730
-3.36%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$43.41 KES 5,610
$41.87 R 745
3.68%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$20.38 KES 2,633
$8.26 R 147
146.73%
Cinema Ticket
$6.14 KES 793
$6.68 R 119
-8.08%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$200 KES 25.8K
$209 R 3,715
-4.31%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,128 KES 1.1M
$5,218 R 92.8K
55.78%
đź‘•đź‘ź Clothing & Footwear
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$18.28 KES 2,362
$56.1 R 997
-67.41%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$24.39 KES 3,152
$32.76 R 583
-25.55%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$64.9 KES 8,386
$113 R 2,007
-42.50%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$57.6 KES 7,438
$84.1 R 1,495
-31.54%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$452 KES 58.4K
$762 R 13.5K
-40.67%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$188 KES 24.3K
$518 R 9,214
-63.75%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,114 KES 144K
$1,437 R 25.6K
-22.43%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$426 KES 55.1K
$1,013 R 18K
-57.92%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,958 KES 253K
$1,844 R 32.8K
6.16%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,121 KES 144.8K
$1,269 R 22.6K
-11.68%
đź’µ Salaries & Financials
Nairobi
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$389 KES 50.3K
$1,550 R 27.6K
-74.87%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
14.84
11.77
26.08%
Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Similar cities

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