Cost of living comparison

Kampala, Uganda

compared to

Nairobi vs. Kampala Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 35.9% more expensive than Kampala.

Restaurants: pay 30.9% more in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 7.8% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 21.7% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 58.2% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.5% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 40.7% more in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. Kampala Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.9% more for restaurants

	Kampala	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.72 UGX9,978	$3.85 KES499.25	+41.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.48 UGX34,830	$6.17 KES798.80	-35.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 UGX1,663	$0.66 KES85.86	+46.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 UGX1,147	$0.53 KES68.99	+70.5%
Average			+30.9%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.8% more for groceries

	Kampala	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.23 UGX4,510	$0.56 KES72.31	-54.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.81 UGX6,632	$5.59 KES724.23	+209.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.58 UGX9,461	$3.35 KES434.24	+30.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 UGX6,852	$1.70 KES220.61	-8.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.16 UGX7,949	$2.71 KES351.06	+25.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 UGX4,540	$1.26 KES163.73	+2.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 UGX2,501	$0.50 KES64.73	-26.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 UGX3,058	$0.87 KES113.21	+5.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 UGX2,569	$0.46 KES59.22	-34.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 UGX2,465	$0.48 KES62.51	-28.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 UGX3,094	$0.56 KES72.08	-33.9%
Average			+7.8%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Kampala	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 UGX21,119	$6.17 KES799.97	+7.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.35 UGX166,588	$30.83 KES3,994.00	-32.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,827.16 UGX32,428,304	$19,266.80 KES2,496,247.04	+118.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.72 UGX9,978	$13.87 KES1,797.30	+410.7%
Average			+126.1%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.7% less for housing

	Kampala	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.62 UGX259,426	$39.39 KES5,103.80	-44.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$364.73 UGX1,339,895	$428.53 KES55,520.99	+17.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$241.73 UGX888,037	$166.44 KES21,563.73	-31.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.44 UGX115,513	$22.39 KES2,901.22	-28.8%
Average			-21.7%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 58.2% more for childcare

	Kampala	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$126.15 UGX463,420	$166.67 KES21,594.73	+32.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,345.68 UGX15,964,703	$8,008.06 KES1,037,540.60	+84.3%
Average			+58.2%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Kampala	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 UGX4,989	$2.31 KES299.55	+70.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.73 UGX10,023	$2.24 KES290.33	-17.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.78 UGX10,227	$3.08 KES399.40	+10.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.08 UGX172,951	$44.12 KES5,715.90	-6.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.79 UGX24,945	$6.17 KES798.80	-9.2%
Average			+9.5%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.7% more for clothing

	Kampala	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.11 UGX62,861	$16.84 KES2,182.20	-1.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$13.24 UGX48,642	$22.95 KES2,973.31	+73.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$33.20 UGX121,953	$61.84 KES8,011.76	+86.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$50.10 UGX184,038	$52.50 KES6,802.23	+4.8%
Average			+40.7%

Kampala vs. Nairobi - 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: March 2025

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