Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bishkek vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 29.4% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 40.7% more in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 9.1% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 34.6% more in Bishkek
Housing: pay 3.9% more in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 28.0% more in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.4% less in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in Bishkek

The cost of clothing, restaurants, transportation, childcare, and housing in Bishkek are more expensive than in Kampala. Expenses including entertainment and sports and groceries are lower in Bishkek. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Bishkek.

Bishkek vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.7% more for restaurants

	Kampala	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.86 UGX10,368	$6.86 KGS600.00	+139.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.80 UGX31,897	$5.72 KGS500.00	-35.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 UGX1,771	$0.69 KGS60.00	+40.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 UGX1,098	$0.36 KGS31.09	+17.4%
Average			+40.7%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.1% less for groceries

	Kampala	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 UGX4,223	$0.49 KGS42.62	-58.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX7,915	$4.06 KGS355.39	+86.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.80 UGX10,153	$3.57 KGS312.12	+27.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.82 UGX6,602	$1.72 KGS150.42	-5.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.24 UGX8,106	$2.18 KGS190.68	-2.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.29 UGX4,693	$0.49 KGS43.27	-61.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 UGX2,351	$0.85 KGS74.62	+31.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 UGX2,791	$0.93 KGS81.41	+20.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 UGX2,640	$0.71 KGS62.37	-2.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 UGX2,634	$0.26 KGS22.54	-64.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 UGX2,822	$0.22 KGS19.17	-71.8%
Average			-9.1%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.6% more for transportation

	Kampala	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.73 UGX20,769	$3.11 KGS272.26	-45.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.91 UGX155,522	$11.66 KGS1,020.00	-72.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$10,011.73 UGX36,288,494	$37,735.85 KGS3,300,000.00	+276.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.00 UGX14,515	$3.20 KGS280.00	-20.0%
Average			+34.6%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.9% more for housing

	Kampala	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.09 UGX167,042	$11.91 KGS1,041.67	-74.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$411.55 UGX1,491,719	$506.26 KGS44,272.71	+23.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.19 UGX747,370	$375.78 KGS32,861.85	+82.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$35.00 UGX126,857	$29.63 KGS2,591.13	-15.3%
Average			+3.9%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

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pay 28.0% more for childcare

	Kampala	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.88 UGX630,235	$199.59 KGS17,454.55	+14.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,718.64 UGX13,478,584	$5,249.21 KGS459,043.75	+41.2%
Average			+28.0%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.43 UGX5,184	$1.37 KGS120.00	-4.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.86 UGX10,368	$2.13 KGS186.30	-25.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.65 UGX13,219	$1.83 KGS160.00	-49.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.77 UGX165,890	$46.97 KGS4,107.14	+2.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.44 UGX23,328	$4.80 KGS420.00	-25.4%
Average			-20.4%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Kampala	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.81 UGX60,913	$38.88 KGS3,400.00	+131.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.94 UGX57,765	$39.76 KGS3,476.92	+149.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$43.26 UGX156,818	$96.12 KGS8,405.88	+122.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$50.77 UGX184,035	$105.77 KGS9,250.00	+108.3%
Average			+127.8%

Kampala vs. Bishkek - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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