Nairobi vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Nairobi Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$807
$1031
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2035
$1903
🏠 One person rent
$305
$604
🏘️ Family rent
$518
$628
🍽️ Food expenses
$276
$268
🚐 Transport expenses
$165
$90.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$228
$382
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
4 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
67
63
😀 Quality of life
59
43
🏙️ Population
5.55M
1.27M

The cost of living in Nairobi is 22% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 6736th and 5331st ($807 vs $1031) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 7th in Kenya and South Africa, respectively. Check Kenya vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Nairobi compared to 0.4 months in Soweto. Nairobi ranked 1st best city to live in Kenya vs Soweto ranked 10th in South Africa, while ranked 6034th and 7513th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$5.36
$6.93
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34.7
$29.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.22
$4.63
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.32
$2.12
☕ Cappuccino
$2.71
$2.31
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.6
$1.08
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$383
$911
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$205
$382
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$704
$566
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$371
$444
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$29.4
$81.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$45.2
$125
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$35.3
$34.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.79%
11.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1533
$980
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$900
$760
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.77
$2
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$35.7
$34
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.9
$8.05
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.48
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.87
$1.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.55
$1.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2
$1.46
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.64
$2.74
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.3
$8.54
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.19
$4.62
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.14
$7.66
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.14
$1.89
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$1.82
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.96
$1.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.96
$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.92
$1.39
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.48
$0.87
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.48
$1.29
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.5
$8.13
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.27
$1.69
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.48
$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3
$3.15
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.22
$2.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.32
$1.3
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.3
$0.54
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$47.8
$14.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.69
$5.86
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$15.9
$23
💇 Haircut, simple
$4.82
$3.31
👖 Brand Jeans
$22.7
$53.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$54.8
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$255
$243
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$10471
$5012

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$448
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$415
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$532
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$543
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$618
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$540
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$513
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$549
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$524
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$603
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$624
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$563
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$611
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$573
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$613
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$533
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$635
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$697
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$531
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$495
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$546
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$586
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$417
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$735
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$591
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$688
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$671
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$872
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$688
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$541
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$583
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$810
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$553
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$689
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$447
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$691
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$690
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$577
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$533
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$795

Cities near Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$1204
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$912
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$1104
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$742
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$851
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$867
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$997
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$784
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$1015
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$950
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$789
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$994
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$860
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$902
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$872
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$875
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$811
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$903
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$691
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$723
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$589
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$691
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$663
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$558
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$607
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$882
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$660
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$494
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$742
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$615
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$611
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$904
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$549
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$725
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$590
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$912
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1014
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$938
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$632
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$965