Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kampala

For one person, living is cheaper in Kampala: $674 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Kampala
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Kampala Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Kampala

🇺🇬 Uganda

$674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Kampala

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Kampala actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $674 in Kampala, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Kampala $674

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,045 in Kampala, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Kampala $1,045

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,417 in Kampala, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Kampala $1,417

Cape Town costs about 133% more than Kampala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Kampala is 50% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$2.54 UGX 10.3K

363.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$25.10 UGX 101.5K

85.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.40 UGX 29.9K

-19.46%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.57 UGX 10.4K

-3.89%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.38 UGX 1,543

250.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.26 UGX 1,044

296.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$1.21 UGX 4,910

148.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$1.92 UGX 7,748

90.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.76 UGX 3,069

82.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.95 UGX 3,832

25.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.33 UGX 5,360

58.65%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.64 UGX 6,631

83.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$4.37 UGX 17.7K

105.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.60 UGX 18.6K

44.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$4.87 UGX 19.7K

90.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.19 UGX 8,869

-16.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.24 UGX 5,033

53.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.30 UGX 5,253

34.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.22 UGX 4,928

71.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.21 UGX 4,912

28.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.25 UGX 5,061

19.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.78 UGX 3,168

66.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.50 UGX 2,020

132.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$2.51 UGX 10.2K

47.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$7.54 UGX 30.5K

-19.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.10 UGX 4,458

26.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.95 UGX 7,880

12.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.72 UGX 2,913

109.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$42.82 UGX 173.2K

42.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.51 UGX 2,072

23.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.32 UGX 1,297

378.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$3.19 UGX 12.9K

50.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.45 UGX 5,866

8.97%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.5K R 585.7K

$7,493 UGX 30.3M

373.78%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.7K R 523.8K

$7,453 UGX 30.1M

325.97%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$116 R 1,920

$70.9 UGX 287.0K

64.05%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.37 R 468

$11.85 UGX 47.9K

139.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$35.59 UGX 144.0K

14.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$56.9 UGX 230.2K

-14.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$5.97 UGX 24.1K

86.43%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$7.54 UGX 30.5K

17.11%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$261 R 4,314

$254 UGX 1.0M

3.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$8,231 UGX 33.3M

-18.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$14.16 UGX 57.3K

291.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$13.02 UGX 52.7K

147.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$32.01 UGX 129.5K

267.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$43.76 UGX 177.0K

144.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$495 UGX 2.0M

104.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$172 UGX 695.0K

316.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$1,044 UGX 4.2M

72.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$301 UGX 1.2M

342.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,214 UGX 4.9M

92.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$983 UGX 4.0M

53.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$176 UGX 712.8K

828.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

20.75

-47.13%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kampala: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Kampala

$172 24.9% 76% $544

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Kampala

$149 21.6% 33% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Kampala

$118 17.1% 36.2% $67

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Kampala

$86 12.4% 50.6% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Kampala

$46 6.7% 67% $94

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Kampala

$48 6.9% 36.5% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Kampala

$72 10.4% 8.2% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $495 in Kampala. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 828% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $25.00 in Kampala. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $149 – making Kampala the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇺🇬 Kampala

🕒 Local time

07:05 7:05 AM

08:05 8:05 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,516,210 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

10,000 UGX = 2.47 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UGX, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,045 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.47 USD). 1 EUR = 4,537 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.2 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Kampala 4,080 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kampala

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cape Town vs Kampala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 133% more than Kampala, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,011 in Kampala. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kampala, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,568 in Cape Town and $674 in Kampala. That's a gap of about 133%.

Public transport costs about 42% less in Kampala. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Kampala, where all-in costs run around $674, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Kampala it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kampala costs $674 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Kampala. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.