Cost of Living Comparison Between Nairobi and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Nairobi and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Nairobi is 16.6% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 40% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Nairobi is 15.2% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 33.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.48 KES 707

$10.75 R 172

-49.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.12 KES 5,047

$45.62 R 728

-14.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.61 KES 853

$5.07 R 81.0

30.37%

Cappuccino

$2.46 KES 318

$2.02 R 32.26

21.78%

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

$0.70 KES 90.4

$1.12 R 17.81

-37.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 70.1

$0.83 R 13.23

-34.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.37 KES 306

$2.88 R 46.00

-17.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 KES 370

$2.53 R 40.45

13.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.91 KES 118

$1.11 R 17.77

-18.02%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 KES 69.1

$1.04 R 16.68

-48.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 KES 215

$1.90 R 30.37

-12.63%

Eggs

$1.62 KES 209

$2.38 R 37.92

-31.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.45 KES 1,477

$8.59 R 137

33.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.82 KES 880

$5.03 R 80.4

35.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.50 KES 709

$7.36 R 117

-25.27%

Apples (1kg)

$3.05 KES 393

$1.51 R 24.08

101.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.08 KES 139

$1.43 R 22.76

-24.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.15 KES 278

$1.46 R 23.31

47.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.02 KES 131

$1.54 R 24.53

-33.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 KES 137

$1.07 R 17.06

-0.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 KES 150

$1.19 R 18.98

-1.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 KES 90.7

$1.09 R 17.35

-35.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 KES 96.1

$1.01 R 16.12

-26.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 KES 393

$3.05 R 48.62

Wine (Bottle)

$11.42 KES 1,473

$6.43 R 103

77.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 KES 284

$1.34 R 21.41

64.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 KES 361

$1.75 R 27.96

60.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 KES 96.3

$0.92 R 14.61

-18.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.55 KES 4,071

$48.22 R 770

-34.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.53 KES 197

$1.41 R 22.51

8.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 KES 194

$0.95 R 15.11

57.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 KES 380

$4.45 R 71.0

-33.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 KES 201

$1.24 R 19.76

25.81%

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

$22.0K KES 2.8M

$21.0K R 335.8K

4.36%

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

$20.3K KES 2.6M

$24.7K R 394.0K

-17.93%

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

$34.05 KES 4,392

$98.7 R 1,576

-65.51%

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

$16.68 KES 2,151

$32.38 R 517

-48.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.99 KES 5,159

$40.64 R 649

-1.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.79 KES 5,521

$41.70 R 666

2.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.25 KES 2,612

$8.33 R 133

143.10%

Cinema Ticket

$6.02 KES 776

$6.62 R 106

-9.06%

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

$201 KES 26.0K

$213 R 3,406

-5.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,140 KES 1.1M

$5,218 R 83.3K

56.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.53 KES 2,390

$54.5 R 870

-66.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.93 KES 3,087

$32.68 R 522

-26.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$65.1 KES 8,403

$114 R 1,820

-42.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.2 KES 7,384

$85.6 R 1,367

-33.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$439 KES 56.7K

$768 R 12.3K

-42.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$184 KES 23.8K

$525 R 8,379

-64.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,114 KES 143.7K

$1,457 R 23.2K

-23.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$422 KES 54.4K

$1,023 R 16.3K

-58.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,562 KES 201.5K

$2,172 R 34.7K

-28.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$904 KES 116.6K

$1,484 R 23.7K

-39.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$407 KES 52.5K

$1,750 R 27.9K

-76.74%

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.

Last update for Nairobi: February 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: February 11, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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