Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Uganda

Kampala vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Kampala is 66.5% more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 13.5% more in Kampala
Groceries: pay 10.7% more in Kampala
Transportation: pay 43.3% more in Kampala
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Kampala
Childcare: pay 9.0 times more in Kampala
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.3% more in Kampala
Clothing: pay 32.3% less in Kampala

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

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Kampala vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.5% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Kampala
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$2.45 UGX10,151	-5.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$7.36 UGX30,452	+49.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.37 UGX1,523	-26.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.27 UGX1,107	+48.0%
Average			+13.5%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.7% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Kampala
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$0.91 UGX3,747	-15.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$2.18 UGX9,009	+15.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$2.90 UGX11,976	-4.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.58 UGX6,530	-16.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$2.05 UGX8,472	+14.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$0.95 UGX3,939	-17.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.57 UGX2,353	-17.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.59 UGX2,430	-19.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.54 UGX2,225	+61.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.56 UGX2,302	+115.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.56 UGX2,302	+79.1%
Average			+10.7%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.3% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Kampala
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$5.31 UGX21,961	+90.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$42.68 UGX177K	+725.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$7,361.98 UGX30M	-55.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$2.94 UGX12,181	-77.7%
Average			+43.3%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Kampala
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$34.66 UGX143K	+43.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$482.64 UGX2M	+280.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$167.36 UGX692K	+94.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$53.08 UGX220K	+105.7%
Average			+152.6%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - Cost of housing

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pay 9.0 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Kampala
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$251.43 UGX1M	+459.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$8,279.19 UGX34M	+1355.9%
Average			+802.1%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Kampala
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$1.23 UGX5,075	-52.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$2.53 UGX10,471	+98.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$2.45 UGX10,151	-36.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$55.21 UGX228K	+18.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$7.36 UGX30,452	+137.3%
Average			+22.3%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.3% less for clothing

	Thimphu	Kampala
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$13.80 UGX57,098	-72.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$12.88 UGX53,292	-48.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$31.90 UGX132K	-52.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$43.25 UGX179K	+209.9%
Average			-32.3%

Thimphu vs. Kampala - 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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