Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kampala vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Kampala is 3.2% cheaper than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 84.9% less in Kampala
Groceries
pay 29.5% less in Kampala
Transportation
pay 34.9% less in Kampala
Housing
pay 2.7 times more in Kampala
Entertainment and Sports
pay 48.0% less in Kampala

Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries are lower in Kampala. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Kampala.

Kampala vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kampala instead of Apia, you would:

pay 84.9% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Kampala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$2.45
UGX10,058
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$7.36
UGX30,173
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$0.37
UGX1,509

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pay 29.5% less for groceries

 
Apia
Kampala
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$0.91
UGX3,713
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$2.18
UGX8,926
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$2.90
UGX11,866

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pay 34.9% less for transportation

 
Apia
Kampala
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$5.31
UGX21,759
Monthly public transit pass ?? $42.68
UGX175K
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $7,361.98
UGX30M

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

 
Apia
Kampala
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$34.66
UGX142K
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $482.64
UGX2M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $167.36
UGX686K

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Kampala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $251.43
UGX1M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $8,279.19
UGX34M

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pay 48.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Kampala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$1.23
UGX5,029
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$2.53
UGX10,374
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$2.45
UGX10,058

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Kampala
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $13.80
UGX56,574
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $12.88
UGX52,803
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $31.90
UGX131K

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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