Cost of living comparison

Uganda

compared to

Kenya

Nairobi vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 27.0% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 66.2% more in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 13.6% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 71.2% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 4.0% more in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 21.3% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.4% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 92.1% more in Nairobi

The cost of clothing, transportation, restaurants, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Nairobi are more expensive than in Kampala. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Nairobi.

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Nairobi vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 66.2% more for restaurants

	Kampala	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.45 UGX10,151	$6.16 KES799.26	+151.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 UGX30,452	$6.54 KES849.21	-11.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 UGX1,523	$0.64 KES83.49	+74.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 UGX1,107	$0.59 KES76.60	+120.5%
Average			+66.2%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.6% more for groceries

	Kampala	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 UGX3,747	$0.55 KES71.20	-39.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX9,009	$5.32 KES690.75	+144.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.90 UGX11,976	$3.32 KES430.19	+14.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.58 UGX6,530	$1.73 KES224.03	+9.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 UGX8,472	$2.90 KES375.95	+41.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 UGX3,939	$1.52 KES197.47	+59.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 UGX2,353	$0.49 KES63.08	-14.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.59 UGX2,430	$0.91 KES118.11	+54.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 UGX2,225	$0.51 KES65.97	-5.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.49 KES63.93	-11.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.49 KES63.19	-12.5%
Average			+13.6%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.2% more for transportation

	Kampala	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.31 UGX21,961	$5.96 KES773.87	+12.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.68 UGX177K	$46.20 KES5,994.46	+8.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,361.98 UGX30M	$21,558.36 KES3M	+192.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.94 UGX12,181	$13.86 KES1,798.34	+370.6%
Average			+71.2%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.0% more for housing

	Kampala	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.66 UGX143K	$34.94 KES4,534.27	+0.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$482.64 UGX2M	$445.43 KES57,799.49	-7.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$167.36 UGX692K	$216.55 KES28,099.01	+29.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.08 UGX220K	$42.75 KES5,547.48	-19.5%
Average			+4.0%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 21.3% more for childcare

	Kampala	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.43 UGX1M	$248.58 KES32,255.88	-1.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,279.19 UGX34M	$12,318.78 KES2M	+48.8%
Average			+21.3%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 UGX5,075	$2.31 KES299.72	+88.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 UGX10,471	$2.64 KES343.02	+4.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.45 UGX10,151	$3.54 KES459.57	+44.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.21 UGX228K	$50.37 KES6,535.62	-8.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.36 UGX30,452	$7.70 KES999.08	+4.6%
Average			+17.4%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 92.1% more for clothing

	Kampala	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.80 UGX57,098	$28.10 KES3,646.63	+103.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$12.88 UGX53,292	$29.04 KES3,768.70	+125.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.90 UGX132K	$69.92 KES9,073.43	+119.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.25 UGX179K	$58.58 KES7,601.62	+35.4%
Average			+92.1%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - 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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