Cost of living comparison

compared to

Uganda vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Uganda is 16.2% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 28.1% less in Uganda
Groceries: pay 6.0% more in Uganda
Transportation: pay 29.4% less in Uganda
Housing: pay 21.1% less in Uganda
Childcare: pay 2.9% less in Uganda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.7% more in Uganda
Clothing: pay 52.5% less in Uganda

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

Uganda vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Uganda instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.1% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Uganda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR155.52	$2.86 UGX10,326	-69.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR85.19	$8.80 UGX31,768	+72.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.19	$0.49 UGX1,764	-52.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.38	$0.30 UGX1,093	-62.3%
Average			-28.1%

South Africa vs. Uganda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.0% more for groceries

	South Africa	Uganda
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.71	$1.17 UGX4,206	+16.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR64.72	$2.18 UGX7,883	-43.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR72.82	$2.80 UGX10,112	-35.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR38.87	$1.82 UGX6,575	-21.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR35.56	$2.24 UGX8,073	+4.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.13	$1.29 UGX4,674	+77.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR10.86	$0.65 UGX2,342	-0.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.39	$0.77 UGX2,779	+12.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.82	$0.73 UGX2,629	+2.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.76	$0.73 UGX2,623	+24.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.00	$0.78 UGX2,810	+29.8%
Average			+6.0%

South Africa vs. Uganda - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.4% less for transportation

	South Africa	Uganda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR82.03	$5.73 UGX20,685	+16.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR935.98	$42.91 UGX154,895	-23.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR356,465.44	$10,011.73 UGX36,142,145	-53.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR155.58	$4.00 UGX14,457	-57.1%
Average			-29.4%

South Africa vs. Uganda - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.1% less for housing

	South Africa	Uganda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR655.74	$46.09 UGX166,369	+17.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,733.81	$411.55 UGX1,485,703	+1.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,024.57	$206.19 UGX744,356	-43.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,468.33	$35.00 UGX126,346	-60.3%
Average			-21.1%

South Africa vs. Uganda - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9% less for childcare

	South Africa	Uganda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,890.32	$173.88 UGX627,693	+0.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR66,013.87	$3,718.64 UGX13,424,225	-6.1%
Average			-2.9%

South Africa vs. Uganda - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.7% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Uganda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.29	$1.43 UGX5,163	-34.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.14	$2.86 UGX10,326	+39.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR49.38	$3.65 UGX13,166	+23.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR504.19	$45.77 UGX165,221	+51.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR114.10	$6.44 UGX23,234	-6.0%
Average			+14.7%

South Africa vs. Uganda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 52.5% less for clothing

	South Africa	Uganda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR845.44	$16.81 UGX60,667	-66.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR545.70	$15.94 UGX57,532	-51.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,569.35	$43.26 UGX156,186	-54.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,362.81	$50.77 UGX183,292	-37.9%
Average			-52.5%

South Africa vs. Uganda - 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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