Cost of living comparison

Uganda

compared to

Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 52.2% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 37.1% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 12.2% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 35.3% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 40.6% more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.6% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 2.8 times more in Addis Ababa

The cost of clothing, housing, childcare, restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Kampala. Notably, clothing and housing are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

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Addis Ababa vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Kampala, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.1% more for restaurants

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.45 UGX10,151	$4.00 ETB654.34	+63.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 UGX30,452	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	-11.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 UGX1,523	$0.61 ETB99.06	+64.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 UGX1,107	$0.66 ETB107.50	+145.5%
Average			+37.1%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.2% more for groceries

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 UGX3,747	$1.19 ETB194.58	+31.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX9,009	$3.70 ETB604.57	+69.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.90 UGX11,976	$4.09 ETB669.40	+41.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.58 UGX6,530	$1.77 ETB289.63	+12.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 UGX8,472	$4.59 ETB750.34	+124.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 UGX3,939	$2.44 ETB399.44	+156.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 UGX2,353	$0.30 ETB48.73	-47.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.59 UGX2,430	$0.99 ETB161.65	+68.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 UGX2,225	$0.31 ETB50.42	-42.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.22 ETB35.99	-60.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.49 ETB79.77	-12.4%
Average			+12.2%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.3% more for transportation

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.31 UGX21,961	$3.53 ETB577.22	-33.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.68 UGX177K	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	-50.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,361.98 UGX30M	$55,000.00 ETB9M	+647.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.94 UGX12,181	$3.53 ETB576.64	+19.7%
Average			+35.3%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.66 UGX143K	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	+512.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$482.64 UGX2M	$706.95 ETB116K	+46.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$167.36 UGX692K	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	+135.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.08 UGX220K	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	+195.3%
Average			+111.4%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 40.6% more for childcare

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.43 UGX1M	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	-45.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,279.19 UGX34M	$30,187.50 ETB5M	+264.6%
Average			+40.6%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 UGX5,075	$0.80 ETB130.87	-34.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 UGX10,471	$0.92 ETB150.32	-63.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.45 UGX10,151	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	+226.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.21 UGX228K	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	-20.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.36 UGX30,452	$3.75 ETB613.45	-49.1%
Average			-32.6%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.8 times more for clothing

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.80 UGX57,098	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	+140.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$12.88 UGX53,292	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	+450.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.90 UGX132K	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	+146.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.25 UGX179K	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	+91.2%
Average			+180.9%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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