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

🙂 Solo nomad: Nairobi is 18.7% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 40.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Nairobi is 16.9% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 35.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.31 KES 685

$11.06 R 180

-51.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.93 KES 4,898

$45.39 R 740

-16.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.65 KES 859

$5.09 R 82.9

30.65%

Cappuccino

$2.44 KES 315

$2.08 R 33.88

17.31%

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

$0.70 KES 90.8

$1.16 R 18.97

-39.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 KES 70.4

$0.89 R 14.55

-38.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.31 KES 298

$2.84 R 46.27

-18.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 KES 380

$2.45 R 39.90

20.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.88 KES 114

$1.10 R 17.88

-20.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 KES 73.4

$1.10 R 17.86

-48.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 KES 205

$1.83 R 29.85

-13.11%

Eggs

$1.68 KES 217

$2.50 R 40.77

-32.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.40 KES 1,472

$8.65 R 141

31.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.64 KES 857

$5.06 R 82.5

31.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.57 KES 719

$7.58 R 124

-26.52%

Apples (1kg)

$3.15 KES 407

$1.57 R 25.61

100.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 KES 135

$1.41 R 23.04

-26.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 KES 280

$1.50 R 24.51

44.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.02 KES 131

$1.53 R 24.94

-33.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 KES 132

$1.09 R 17.69

-6.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 KES 145

$1.18 R 19.27

-4.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.70 KES 90.6

$1.06 R 17.27

-33.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 KES 104

$0.99 R 16.09

-18.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 KES 405

$3.11 R 50.6

0.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.65 KES 1,505

$6.36 R 104

83.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 KES 281

$1.37 R 22.31

59.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.75 KES 355

$1.75 R 28.60

57.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 KES 98.1

$0.92 R 14.94

-17.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.27 KES 4,038

$48.28 R 787

-35.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 KES 196

$1.38 R 22.45

10.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 KES 194

$0.93 R 15.16

61.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.85 KES 367

$4.37 R 71.2

-34.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 KES 199

$1.20 R 19.56

28.33%

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

$21.9K KES 2.8M

$21.6K R 351.9K

1.37%

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

$20.3K KES 2.6M

$24.0K R 391.3K

-15.38%

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

$34.60 KES 4,468

$101 R 1,654

-65.90%

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

$16.64 KES 2,149

$32.97 R 537

-49.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.82 KES 5,143

$40.85 R 666

-2.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.27 KES 5,458

$42.59 R 694

-0.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.64 KES 2,665

$7.89 R 129

161.60%

Cinema Ticket

$6.26 KES 808

$6.62 R 108

-5.44%

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

$204 KES 26.3K

$213 R 3,469

-4.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,885 KES 1.0M

$5,331 R 86.9K

47.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.29 KES 2,362

$54.6 R 890

-66.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.62 KES 3,051

$33.27 R 542

-29.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.2 KES 8,547

$114 R 1,866

-42.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.7 KES 7,316

$84.0 R 1,369

-32.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$449 KES 57.9K

$767 R 12.5K

-41.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$184 KES 23.7K

$525 R 8,551

-65.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,129 KES 145.8K

$1,440 R 23.5K

-21.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$433 KES 56.0K

$1,008 R 16.4K

-56.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,566 KES 202.2K

$2,240 R 36.5K

-30.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$903 KES 116.7K

$1,451 R 23.6K

-37.73%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$406 KES 52.4K

$1,707 R 27.8K

-76.21%

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: April 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: April 14, 2026

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

Nairobi vs other spots: cost of living compared

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