Nairobi si mama ya mtu. You arrive with a bit of cash and a first job, and rent is due at the end of the month. GrindLife is a free life game on real Nairobi streets, with real Kenyan pay, real deductions and real rent.
Take the matatu to work, join a chama, run a side hustle, climb from shop assistant or call centre trainee to something bigger. Other players are in the city with you, live.
The legal minimum for a general worker in Nairobi is KES 18,047 a month. In the game a supermarket shop assistant starts on about KES 28,000 and a call centre trainee on about KES 32,000. Source: Regulation of Wages (General) (Amendment) Order, 2026, Legal Notice No. 95.
About KES 26,194. NSSF takes KES 1,800, SHIF (2.75%) KES 825, the Housing Levy (1.5%) KES 450, and PAYE KES 731 after the KES 2,400 personal relief. Source: Kenya Revenue Authority; Social Health Authority; NSSF, 2026 rates.
About KES 2,500 to 5,000 for a single room in Kawangware, KES 7,000 to 10,000 for a bedsitter in Umoja, and KES 30,000 to 50,000 for a one-bedroom in Kilimani. Source: KNBS Kenya Housing Survey 2023/24; estimates by area.
To Umoja it is KES 70 to 80 off-peak, KES 125 to 130 in the rush, and KES 150 when it rains. Westlands is KES 20 to 30. Source: Reported matatu fares, April 2026.
Work out your own: Net Salary Calculator Kenya 2026: PAYE, SHIF, NSSF, Cost of Living in Nairobi 2026: Rent by Estate Calculator, M-Pesa Charges 2026: Send and Withdraw Fee Calculator, Fuliza Charges Calculator 2026: Daily Fee and Total, Loan Calculator Kenya: Reducing Balance vs Flat Rate, Mortgage Calculator Kenya 2026: Bank and KMRC Rates, Minimum Wage in Kenya 2026: Every Gazetted Rate and Net Pay, NSSF Calculator 2026: Tier I and II on the New Limits, Matatu Fares in Nairobi 2026: Every Route, Peak and Rain, SHIF Calculator 2026: Deductions on Salary and Self-Employed.
The streets, buildings and parks come from OpenStreetMap, so the CBD, Westlands, Kilimani and Umoja are where you know them.
Yes. Play in your browser on your phone or a computer. Nothing to download from the Play Store.
Same idea, a life game in an African city. GrindLife adds a real payslip, real rents by estate and other players walking the same streets.
Other cities: New York City.
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