Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kampala vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Kampala is 1.7% cheaper than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 9.3% more in Kampala
Groceries: pay 0.3% less in Kampala
Transportation: pay 1.2% less in Kampala
Housing: pay 13.6% more in Kampala
Childcare: pay 34.9% less in Kampala
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.0% more in Kampala
Clothing: pay 24.2% less in Kampala

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

Kampala vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.3% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Kampala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.48 ZMW143.81	$2.86 UGX10,500	-61.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW73.49	$8.80 UGX32,302	+130.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 ZMW11.91	$0.49 UGX1,794	-21.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 ZMW6.50	$0.30 UGX1,112	-10.4%
Average			+9.3%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - Cost of restaurants

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pay 0.3% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Kampala
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 ZMW14.76	$1.17 UGX4,277	+51.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 ZMW72.35	$2.18 UGX8,016	-42.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZMW95.94	$2.80 UGX10,282	-43.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW33.99	$1.82 UGX6,686	+3.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.78 ZMW34.31	$2.24 UGX8,209	+25.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW23.48	$1.29 UGX4,753	+6.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZMW14.01	$0.65 UGX2,381	-10.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW23.52	$0.77 UGX2,826	-37.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZMW9.61	$0.73 UGX2,674	+45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 ZMW17.04	$0.73 UGX2,667	-18.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW12.87	$0.78 UGX2,858	+16.3%
Average			-0.3%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.2% less for transportation

	Lusaka	Kampala
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZMW88.01	$5.73 UGX21,033	+25.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.52 ZMW740.77	$42.91 UGX158K	+11.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW154K	$10,011.73 UGX37M	+25.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.00 ZMW230.79	$4.00 UGX14,700	-66.6%
Average			-1.2%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.6% more for housing

	Lusaka	Kampala
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$118.37 ZMW2,276.46	$46.09 UGX169K	-61.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$226.58 ZMW4,357.52	$411.55 UGX2M	+81.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$123.07 ZMW2,366.92	$206.19 UGX757K	+67.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.70 ZMW1,013.59	$35.00 UGX128K	-33.6%
Average			+13.6%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - Cost of housing

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pay 34.9% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Kampala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW3,399.98	$173.88 UGX638K	-1.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,677.88 ZMW225K	$3,718.64 UGX14M	-68.2%
Average			-34.9%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Kampala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.98 ZMW18.78	$1.43 UGX5,250	+46.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZMW39.37	$2.86 UGX10,500	+39.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.67 ZMW70.67	$3.65 UGX13,388	-0.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.47 ZMW970.60	$45.77 UGX168K	-9.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.18 ZMW80.48	$6.44 UGX23,625	+53.8%
Average			+26.0%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.2% less for clothing

	Lusaka	Kampala
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.93 ZMW364.01	$16.81 UGX61,688	-11.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.99 ZMW326.75	$15.94 UGX58,500	-6.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.33 ZMW1,621.79	$43.26 UGX159K	-48.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.12 ZMW1,406.30	$50.77 UGX186K	-30.6%
Average			-24.2%

Lusaka vs. Kampala - 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: March 2026

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