Cost of living comparison

Uganda

compared to

Zambia

Zambia vs. Uganda Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 14.3% more expensive than Uganda overall.

Restaurants: pay 37.1% more in Zambia
Groceries: pay 66.5% more in Zambia
Transportation: pay 24.3% more in Zambia
Housing: pay 16.3% less in Zambia
Childcare: pay 5.1% more in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.5% less in Zambia
Clothing: pay 48.0% more in Zambia

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

Planning a move to Zambia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Zambia vs. Uganda Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zambia instead of Uganda, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.1% more for restaurants

	Uganda	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.45 UGX10,151	$5.53 ZMW110.20	+125.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 UGX30,452	$5.03 ZMW100.18	-31.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 UGX1,523	$0.63 ZMW12.52	+70.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 UGX1,107	$0.36 ZMW7.20	+35.0%
Average			+37.1%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 66.5% more for groceries

	Uganda	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 UGX3,747	$1.18 ZMW23.48	+30.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 UGX9,009	$5.15 ZMW102.63	+136.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.90 UGX11,976	$6.37 ZMW126.88	+119.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.58 UGX6,530	$1.77 ZMW35.36	+12.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 UGX8,472	$2.87 ZMW57.22	+40.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.95 UGX3,939	$1.11 ZMW22.03	+16.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 UGX2,353	$1.10 ZMW21.94	+93.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.59 UGX2,430	$1.65 ZMW32.94	+181.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 UGX2,225	$0.70 ZMW13.88	+29.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+109.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 UGX2,302	$0.83 ZMW16.51	+48.9%
Average			+66.5%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.3% more for transportation

	Uganda	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.31 UGX21,961	$5.47 ZMW108.98	+3.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.68 UGX177K	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+17.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,361.98 UGX30M	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	+2.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.94 UGX12,181	$14.58 ZMW290.52	+395.1%
Average			+24.3%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.3% less for housing

	Uganda	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.66 UGX143K	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	+58.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$482.64 UGX2M	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	-41.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$167.36 UGX692K	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	-1.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.08 UGX220K	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	+15.9%
Average			-16.3%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.1% more for childcare

	Uganda	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$251.43 UGX1M	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	-45.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,279.19 UGX34M	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+101.0%
Average			+5.1%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Uganda	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 UGX5,075	$1.26 ZMW25.05	+2.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.53 UGX10,471	$2.82 ZMW56.21	+11.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.45 UGX10,151	$3.02 ZMW60.11	+22.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.21 UGX228K	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	-1.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.36 UGX30,452	$6.03 ZMW120.22	-18.1%
Average			-0.5%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.0% more for clothing

	Uganda	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$13.80 UGX57,098	$23.28 ZMW463.85	+68.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$12.88 UGX53,292	$15.45 ZMW307.88	+19.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.90 UGX132K	$45.19 ZMW900.42	+41.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$43.25 UGX179K	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	+67.7%
Average			+48.0%

Uganda vs. Zambia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Uganda vs. Zambia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Zambia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 3.7 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Zambia

Size Comparison · See true size

Uganda is about 3.1 times smaller than Zambia.

Moving from Uganda to Zambia · UN DESA 2020

559 people born in Uganda live in Zambia.

More cost comparisons

Uganda vs.

Kenya

Uganda vs.

Rwanda

Uganda vs.

United Kingdom

Uganda vs.

United States

Uganda vs.

India

Uganda vs.

Canada

Uganda vs.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Uganda vs.

South Africa

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kampala vs. Lusaka

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Uganda

Add prices for Zambia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Zambia or Uganda. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.