Cost of living Kyoto vs. Osaka

what is the cost of living differences in Kyoto and Osaka?

Kyoto and Osaka are close to one another. I haven't found much difference between these 2 towns (and Kobe).

In each town , whether you talk about hotels or apartments, or restaurants, cafes, clothes etc. there are expensive ones and cheaper ones...
Some neighbourhoods are expensive... other cheap..

It is hard to generalize..

You are talking about living, I assume.
Since Kyoto has restriction on construction of big building/development of the natures in order to preserve the historical environments, I feel there are less large supermarkets or shopping malls than in Osaka and less competitions among shops. Variety of restaurants/shops in Osaka excels. You may also want to consider the middle size towns between Osaka and Kyoto along the Hankyu Line or Keihan Line where the house rental is cheaper than these two cities and is convenient for travel to either city as necessary. Apart from the cost of living, however, Kyoto would give you therapeutic effect in the silent environment. I used to like walk around the temples in Higashiyama area very early morning feeling change of seasons, which is a privilege given to the residents there.