Nairobi vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Nairobi Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$745
$971
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2030
$1777
🏠 One person rent
$269
$568
🏘️ Family rent
$619
$574
🍽️ Food expenses
$254
$243
🚐 Transport expenses
$161
$92.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$394
$1724
😷 Air quality
Good
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
4 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
67
62
😀 Quality of life
57
39
🏙️ Population
5.55M
1.27M

The cost of living in Nairobi is 23% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 6689th and 5883rd ($745 vs $971) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Kenya and South Africa, respectively. Check Kenya vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Nairobi compared to 1.8 months in Soweto. Nairobi ranked 1st best city to live in Kenya vs Soweto ranked 11th in South Africa, while ranked 5632nd and 7063rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Nairobi vs Soweto infographic

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Prices in Nairobi vs Soweto

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

Nairobi Soweto
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.67
$6.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$26.2
$28
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.77
$4.09
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.2
$2.03
☕ Cappuccino
$2.41
$2
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.65
$1.01
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$366
$883
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$164
$368
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1021
$544
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$420
$421
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$25.1
$61.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.8
$92.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.5
$35.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.58%
11.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1536
$917
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1125
$735
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.78
$2.22
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$34.5
$32.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13
$8.62
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.62
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.91
$1.04
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.48
$0.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
$1.29
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.84
$2.68
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.9
$7.79
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.43
$4.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.2
$6.47
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.83
$1.63
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.05
$1.53
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.48
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.53
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.08
$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.16
$1.32
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.47
$0.62
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.45
$1.23
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.3
$7.71
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.1
$1.52
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.93
$2.72
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.2
$3.04
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.94
$2.59
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.95
$1.25
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.2
$0.52
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$40.9
$13.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.09
$6.19
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$23.2
$22
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.57
$3.15
👖 Brand Jeans
$19.2
$50.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$58.6
$74.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$168
$216
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8325
$4830

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$571
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$482
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$493
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$535
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$543
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$548
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$460
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$518
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$483
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$581
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$583
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$502
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$560
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$511
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$466
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$601
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$643
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$707
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$559
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$564
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$675
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$736
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$639
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$722
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$579
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$509
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$622
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$723
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$509
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$568
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$545
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$784
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$598
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$509
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$441
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$510
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$509
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$576
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$579
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$768

Cities near Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$1079
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$874
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$997
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$717
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$822
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$838
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$696
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$909
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$848
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$717
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$943
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$689
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$819
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$788
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$841
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$774
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$809
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$692
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$718
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$690
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$654
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$623
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$791
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$627
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$459
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$696
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$663
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$581
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$859
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$554
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$600
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$1003
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1116
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$834
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$585
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$1045