Skip to main content

Cost of Living in Kenya

Whether you’re retiring, temporarily relocating, or moving to Kenya for good, it’s helpful to have a picture of what life there will cost as an expat. Using Wise could help you reduce your overall costs. Now you can send, receive, and organise your money internationally, without hefty fees.

Get a Wise account for living abroadSee our coverage

Compare the cost of living by city in Kenya

This is a breakdown showing the living expenses in Kenya by city. Major cities usually have a higher cost of living than smaller cities. The average cost of living is about 30.2 as of April 2025, taking into account the most common and unavoidable costs such as housing, food, transport and more.

CityCOL IndexRent Index

30.6

10.3

Calculate the cost for living in Kenya

Use our currency exchange calculator to figure out your costs in your preferred currency. Understand the mid-market exchange rate for your currency pair to make sure you get a fair deal when you send, spend or convert currencies.

Use Wise to hold over 40 currencies, and to convert and send money to 160 countries. Plus, receive money using local account details to get your salary, pension or other payments conveniently deposited to Wise, with account details for EUR, GBP, AUD and more.

Average living cost in Kenya

CategoryLocal currencyRange

Restaurants

Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant

500.00 KSh

200.00-1,000.00

Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course

4,000.00 KSh

2,500.00-12,900.00

McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)

750.00 KSh

500.00-1,000.00

Domestic Beer (1 pint draught)

300.00 KSh

200.00-450.00

Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle)

400.00 KSh

250.00-645.00

Cappuccino (regular)

285.86 KSh

150.00-645.00

Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle)

78.05 KSh

50.00-200.00

Water (12 oz small bottle)

64.47 KSh

35.00-150.00

Markets

Milk (regular), (1 gallon)

403.69 KSh

246.05-605.67

Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb)

61.62 KSh

54.43-90.72

Rice (white), (1 lb)

91.37 KSh

54.43-151.05

Eggs (regular) (12)

208.98 KSh

150.00-300.00

Local Cheese (1 lb)

644.67 KSh

272.16-1,587.58

Chicken Fillets (1 lb)

348.78 KSh

204.12-500.00

Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat)

276.89 KSh

204.12-385.55

Apples (1 lb)

142.91 KSh

54.43-208.65

Banana (1 lb)

58.33 KSh

36.29-117.03

Oranges (1 lb)

99.37 KSh

40.82-226.80

Tomato (1 lb)

50.84 KSh

22.68-90.72

Potato (1 lb)

48.13 KSh

22.68-90.72

Onion (1 lb)

60.39 KSh

31.75-103.87

Lettuce (1 head)

81.71 KSh

50.00-150.00

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

86.01 KSh

50.00-150.00

Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)

1,500.00 KSh

800.00-2,500.00

Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

251.17 KSh

190.00-350.00

Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle)

321.06 KSh

220.00-500.00

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro)

350.00 KSh

300.00-450.00

Transportation

One-way Ticket (Local Transport)

100.00 KSh

70.00-200.00

Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

4,240.00 KSh

3,000.00-6,000.00

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

200.00 KSh

180.00-400.00

Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff)

321.87 KSh

160.93-482.80

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

400.00 KSh

150.00-1,200.00

Gasoline (1 gallon)

767.92 KSh

552.29-832.79

Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car)

2,000,000.00 KSh

1,600,000.00-3,000,000.00

Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car)

2,280,000.00 KSh

1,500,000.00-3,300,000.00

Utilities (Monthly)

Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment

3,720.62 KSh

2,000.00-8,000.00

Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data

1,894.12 KSh

1,000.00-3,000.00

Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL)

5,415.66 KSh

3,000.00-10,000.00

Sports And Leisure

Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult

5,284.38 KSh

2,500.00-8,000.00

Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend)

2,111.88 KSh

1,000.00-3,000.00

Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat

800.00 KSh

600.00-1,500.00

Childcare

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

19,083.33 KSh

10,000.00-41,666.67

International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child

967,260.87 KSh

500,000.00-2,000,000.00

Clothing And Shoes

1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

2,096.50 KSh

1,200.00-5,000.00

1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...)

3,004.35 KSh

800.00-6,000.00

1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range)

6,444.56 KSh

2,500.00-15,000.00

1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes

6,015.59 KSh

2,500.00-10,000.00

Rent Per Month

Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre

37,271.79 KSh

15,000.00-80,000.00

Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre

18,162.50 KSh

10,000.00-35,000.00

Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre

117,631.58 KSh

45,000.00-250,000.00

Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre

45,631.58 KSh

25,000.00-104,000.00

Buy Apartment Price

Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre

14,399.85 KSh

9,290.23-35,953.18

Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre

16,631.05 KSh

8,361.20-32,515.79

Salaries And Financing

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

48,558.82 KSh

Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate

13.17

10.00-16.00

Source: Numbeo, Cost of living comparison. Checked April 2025.

The international debit card for Living Abroad

With the Wise card, you never have to worry about exchange rate markups
or high transaction fees when you spend abroad. Pay all sorts of bills remotely too, from subscriptions to your mortgage.

Get a Wise cardSee the features
international-debit-card-living-abroad

Discover the living expenses in different countries

Convert and calculate the currency anytime

Features our users love:


  • Free and ad-free.
  • Track live exchange rates.
  • Compare the best money transfer providers.

See how rates have changed over the last day or the last 500. Add currencies you use often — or just want to keep an eye on — to your favourites for easy access. Pounds, dollars, pesos galore.


Download from the Apple App Store Download from the Google Play Store

download-wise-currency-converter-app

Currency Converter is an exchange rate information and news app only and not a currency trading platform. The information shown there does not constitute financial advice.

Money without borders

Join over million customers who trust Wise.

Open an account today
FacebookTwitterInstagram

Frequently Asked Questions