Bamako vs Freetown - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Bamako	Freetown
🚶 Cost of living one person	$583	$1347
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1388	$1705
🏠 One person rent	$254	$974
🏘️ Family rent	$431	$652
🍽️ Food expenses	$205	$260
🚐 Transport expenses	$70.1	$69
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$134	$120
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	15 km
🎓 Higher education	20	22
😀 Quality of life	23	29
🏙️ Population	4.23M	951K

The cost of living in Bamako is 57% less expensive than in Freetown. Cities ranked 7964th and 4374th ($583 vs $1347) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Mali and Sierra Leone, respectively. Check Mali vs Sierra Leone comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Bamako compared to 0.1 months in Freetown. Bamako ranked 1st best city to live in Mali vs Freetown ranked 2nd in Sierra Leone, while ranked 9005th and 8809th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Bamako vs Freetown infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/bamako/freetown.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Bamako vs Freetown infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/bamako/freetown" target="_blank">Bamako vs Freetown - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Bamako vs Freetown

Prices for goods and services in Bamako and Freetown are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Bamako	Freetown
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.11	$2.91
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$20.3	$26.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.61	$7.27
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.98	$1.21
☕ Cappuccino	$1.97	$1.65
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.49	$1.04
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$269	$856
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$171	$797
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$497	$1547
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$307	$168
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$39.1	$79.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$60.6	$123
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$25	$85.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.89%	12.71%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1744	$1524
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1038	$942
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.34	$0.46
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$13.6	$17.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$5.76	$10.8
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.01	$1.02
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.16	$1.89
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.66	$0.53
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.14	$0.98
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.48	$1.74
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.04	$6.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.33	$6.12
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.85	$5.29
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.31	$3.11
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.12	$2
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.55	$0.71
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.95	$3.65
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.9	$1.7
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$1.62
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.31	$0.93
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.09	$1.09
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.24	$5.76
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.53	$0.89
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.76	$2.42
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.82	$1.53
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.85	$1.2
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.47	$0.78
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.16	$0.79
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$25.5	$40
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.24	$1.68
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$17	$15.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.22	$2.93
👖 Brand Jeans	$27.2	$10
👟 Brand Sneakers	$63.8	$63.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$98.4	$87.8
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3658	$3183

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bamako

Distance	City	Cost of living
52 km or 32 mi	Koulikoro	$506
116 km or 72 mi	Banamba	$506
147 km or 92 mi	Bougouni	$508
207 km or 129 mi	Segou	$506
237 km or 147 mi	Markala	$508
289 km or 180 mi	Kankan	$1007
293 km or 182 mi	Sikasso	$514
435 km or 270 mi	Bobo-Dioulasso	$831
438 km or 272 mi	Korhogo	$1099
448 km or 278 mi	Nouna	$821
492 km or 305 mi	Dedougou	$822
510 km or 317 mi	Gueckedou	$1010
512 km or 318 mi	Mamou	$1021
552 km or 343 mi	Nzerekore	$1003
566 km or 352 mi	Yekepa	$503
593 km or 368 mi	Sanniquellie	$503
612 km or 381 mi	Koudougou	$820
613 km or 381 mi	Ouahigouya	$851
634 km or 394 mi	Kenema	$1281
640 km or 398 mi	Bouake	$1123
652 km or 405 mi	Forecariah	$999
663 km or 412 mi	Bo	$1283
664 km or 412 mi	Leo	$846
702 km or 436 mi	Ouagadougou	$961
713 km or 443 mi	Yamoussoukro	$1056
714 km or 444 mi	Boffa	$999
715 km or 444 mi	Conakry	$1067
726 km or 451 mi	Bafata	$872
728 km or 452 mi	Kakata	$502
736 km or 458 mi	Freetown	$1347
754 km or 469 mi	Kolda	$1044
759 km or 471 mi	Gagnoa	$1082
761 km or 473 mi	Manga	$877
769 km or 478 mi	Monrovia	$536
810 km or 504 mi	Divo	$1083
822 km or 511 mi	Abengourou	$1066
831 km or 516 mi	Bissau	$895
854 km or 530 mi	Agboville	$1057
856 km or 532 mi	Greenville	$502
858 km or 533 mi	Tamale	$576

Cities near Freetown

Distance	City	Cost of living
126 km or 78 mi	Conakry	$1067
137 km or 85 mi	Forecariah	$999
174 km or 108 mi	Bo	$1283
207 km or 128 mi	Boffa	$999
235 km or 146 mi	Kenema	$1281
246 km or 153 mi	Mamou	$1021
341 km or 212 mi	Gueckedou	$1010
361 km or 224 mi	Monrovia	$536
385 km or 239 mi	Kakata	$502
439 km or 273 mi	Bafata	$872
456 km or 283 mi	Bissau	$895
480 km or 298 mi	Kankan	$1007
493 km or 306 mi	Nzerekore	$1003
514 km or 319 mi	Sanniquellie	$503
525 km or 326 mi	Kolda	$1044
527 km or 327 mi	Yekepa	$503
564 km or 350 mi	Ziguinchor	$1031
603 km or 375 mi	Greenville	$502
650 km or 404 mi	Brikama	$598
660 km or 410 mi	Lamin	$541
662 km or 412 mi	Banjul	$516
701 km or 436 mi	Kaolack	$1088
709 km or 441 mi	Bougouni	$508
736 km or 457 mi	Fatick	$1084
736 km or 458 mi	Bamako	$583
788 km or 490 mi	Koulikoro	$506
807 km or 502 mi	Thies	$1140
821 km or 510 mi	Rufisque	$1141
833 km or 518 mi	Dakar	$1221
842 km or 523 mi	Korhogo	$1099
846 km or 526 mi	Banamba	$506
846 km or 526 mi	Gagnoa	$1082
857 km or 532 mi	Louga	$1060
887 km or 551 mi	Sikasso	$514
896 km or 557 mi	Yamoussoukro	$1056
907 km or 564 mi	Bouake	$1123
911 km or 566 mi	Saint-Louis	$1062
917 km or 570 mi	Divo	$1083
935 km or 581 mi	Rosso	$630
940 km or 584 mi	Segou	$506