Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kampala vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Kampala is 5.9% cheaper than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 12.2% less in Kampala
Groceries: pay 17.4% more in Kampala
Transportation: pay 23.6% less in Kampala
Housing: pay 37.5% more in Kampala
Childcare: pay 35.0% less in Kampala
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5% less in Kampala
Clothing: pay 22.9% less in Kampala

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

Kampala vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.2% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Kampala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.85 KES499.01	$2.72 UGX9,796	-29.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES798.42	$9.48 UGX34,194	+53.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KES85.82	$0.45 UGX1,633	-31.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 KES68.95	$0.31 UGX1,127	-41.3%
Average			-12.2%

Nairobi vs. Kampala - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.4% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Kampala
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 KES72.27	$1.23 UGX4,428	+120.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 KES723.88	$1.81 UGX6,511	-67.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 KES434.03	$2.58 UGX9,288	-23.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 KES220.50	$1.87 UGX6,726	+9.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KES350.89	$2.16 UGX7,804	-20.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 KES163.65	$1.24 UGX4,457	-2.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 KES64.70	$0.68 UGX2,455	+36.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 KES113.15	$0.83 UGX3,002	-4.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.19	$0.70 UGX2,522	+53.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 KES62.48	$0.67 UGX2,420	+39.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 KES72.04	$0.84 UGX3,037	+51.4%
Average			+17.4%

Nairobi vs. Kampala - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.6% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Kampala
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.17 KES799.59	$5.75 UGX20,733	-6.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.83 KES3,992.08	$45.35 UGX163,547	+47.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,266.80 KES2,495,050.69	$8,827.16 UGX31,836,341	-54.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.87 KES1,796.44	$2.72 UGX9,796	-80.4%
Average			-23.6%

Nairobi vs. Kampala - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.5% more for housing

	Nairobi	Kampala
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.39 KES5,101.35	$70.62 UGX254,691	+79.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$428.53 KES55,494.39	$364.73 UGX1,315,436	-14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.44 KES21,553.40	$241.73 UGX871,826	+45.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$22.39 KES2,899.83	$31.44 UGX113,404	+40.4%
Average			+37.5%

Nairobi vs. Kampala - Cost of housing

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pay 35.0% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Kampala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.67 KES21,584.38	$126.15 UGX454,960	-24.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,008.06 KES1,037,043.35	$4,345.68 UGX15,673,275	-45.7%
Average			-35.0%

Nairobi vs. Kampala - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Kampala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES299.41	$1.36 UGX4,898	-41.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 KES290.20	$2.73 UGX9,840	+21.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 KES399.21	$2.78 UGX10,041	-9.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.12 KES5,713.16	$47.08 UGX169,794	+6.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.17 KES798.42	$6.79 UGX24,489	+10.1%
Average			-2.5%

Nairobi vs. Kampala - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.9% less for clothing

	Nairobi	Kampala
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.84 KES2,181.15	$17.11 UGX61,714	+1.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.95 KES2,971.88	$13.24 UGX47,755	-42.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.84 KES8,007.92	$33.20 UGX119,726	-46.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 KES6,798.97	$50.10 UGX180,678	-4.6%
Average			-22.9%

Nairobi 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: June 2025

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