Cost of living comparison

Kampala, Uganda

compared to

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 2.4 times more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 55.2% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 52.1% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 31.3% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 5.4 times more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.1% more in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 3.5 times more in Addis Ababa

The cost of childcare, clothing, housing, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Kampala. Notably, childcare, clothing, and housing are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Kampala, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 55.2% more for restaurants

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.72 UGX9,868	$6.00 ETB815.36	+120.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.48 UGX34,446	$6.24 ETB847.34	-34.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 UGX1,645	$0.78 ETB106.68	+73.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 UGX1,135	$0.50 ETB68.24	+60.8%
Average			+55.2%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.1% more for groceries

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.23 UGX4,460	$1.20 ETB163.29	-2.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.81 UGX6,559	$4.85 ETB659.55	+168.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.58 UGX9,356	$6.08 ETB826.04	+136.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 UGX6,776	$2.65 ETB360.01	+42.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.16 UGX7,861	$5.65 ETB767.28	+161.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 UGX4,490	$3.30 ETB448.63	+167.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 UGX2,473	$0.51 ETB68.81	-25.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 UGX3,025	$1.08 ETB146.53	+29.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 UGX2,540	$0.39 ETB52.53	-44.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 UGX2,437	$0.31 ETB42.30	-53.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 UGX3,060	$0.79 ETB107.92	-5.7%
Average			+52.1%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.3% more for transportation

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 UGX20,886	$4.88 ETB663.12	-15.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.35 UGX164,754	$10.00 ETB1,358.93	-77.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,827.16 UGX32,071,262	$25,000.00 ETB3,397,335.00	+183.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.72 UGX9,868	$3.67 ETB498.05	+34.9%
Average			+31.3%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.62 UGX256,570	$171.17 ETB23,260.42	+142.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$364.73 UGX1,325,142	$645.10 ETB87,664.83	+76.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$241.73 UGX878,259	$422.74 ETB57,447.88	+74.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.44 UGX114,241	$124.84 ETB16,964.69	+297.0%
Average			+147.8%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.4 times more for childcare

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$126.15 UGX458,318	$81.47 ETB11,071.68	-35.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,345.68 UGX15,788,929	$43,916.67 ETB5,967,985.15	+910.6%
Average			+437.6%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 UGX4,934	$1.00 ETB135.89	-26.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.73 UGX9,913	$1.15 ETB156.24	-57.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.78 UGX10,115	$4.00 ETB543.57	+43.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.08 UGX171,047	$90.59 ETB12,311.26	+92.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.79 UGX24,670	$6.70 ETB910.49	-1.3%
Average			+10.1%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5 times more for clothing

	Kampala	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.11 UGX62,169	$48.33 ETB6,568.18	+182.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$13.24 UGX48,107	$75.17 ETB10,214.65	+467.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$33.20 UGX120,610	$108.84 ETB14,791.01	+227.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$50.10 UGX182,011	$119.32 ETB16,215.03	+138.2%
Average			+254.1%

Kampala vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Kampala vs.

Warsaw

Kampala vs.

Dublin

Kampala vs.

Bangkok

Kampala vs.

Manila

Kampala vs.

Ottawa

Kampala vs.

Berlin

Kampala vs.

Moscow

Kampala vs.

Lima

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Uganda vs. Ethiopia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Uganda and Ethiopia.

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 Kampala

Add prices for Addis Ababa

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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

Ask a question about Kampala

Ask a question about Addis Ababa