Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mbarara and Belgrade

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbarara: $504 a month against $1,554 in Belgrade, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Mbarara
Learn more

Mbarara Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Belgrade
Learn more

Belgrade Living Index

Jump to prices

Mbarara

🇺🇬 Uganda

$504

/mo nomad

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

$1,554

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mbarara and in Belgrade

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

A single person spends $504 per month in Mbarara vs $1,554 in Belgrade, rent included.

Mbarara $504
Belgrade $1,554

A couple spends around $798 per month in Mbarara vs $2,337 in Belgrade, rent included.

Mbarara $798
Belgrade $2,337

A family of three spends $1,093 per month in Mbarara vs $3,121 in Belgrade, rent included.

Mbarara $1,093
Belgrade $3,121

Mbarara is about 68% cheaper than Belgrade, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Mbarara sits 63% below the global median, while Belgrade is 15% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.48 UGX 10.2K

$13.15 RSD 1,371

-81.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.03 UGX 102.9K

$57.5 RSD 5,999

-56.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.64 UGX 31.4K

$13.38 RSD 1,394

-42.90%

Cappuccino

$2.49 UGX 10.2K

$3.10 RSD 323

-19.68%

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

$0.35 UGX 1,455

$2.82 RSD 294

-87.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.28 UGX 1,165

$2.22 RSD 231

-87.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 UGX 4,998

$3.47 RSD 362

-64.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 UGX 7,765

$3.96 RSD 412

-52.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.49 UGX 2,012

$1.38 RSD 144

-64.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.88 UGX 3,621

$1.13 RSD 118

-22.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.27 UGX 5,239

$2.66 RSD 277

-52.26%

Eggs

$1.56 UGX 6,409

$2.78 RSD 290

-43.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.49 UGX 18.5K

$10.99 RSD 1,146

-59.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.69 UGX 19.3K

$6.56 RSD 684

-28.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.42 UGX 14.1K

$15.07 RSD 1,571

-77.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.11 UGX 8,662

$1.66 RSD 173

27.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 UGX 5,284

$1.79 RSD 186

-28.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 UGX 5,316

$1.87 RSD 195

-31.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.17 UGX 4,820

$3.03 RSD 315

-61.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 UGX 5,236

$0.92 RSD 96.3

38.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 UGX 5,007

$0.71 RSD 73.8

71.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 UGX 3,065

$0.74 RSD 77.6

1.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 UGX 2,149

$0.74 RSD 77.2

-29.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.44 UGX 10.0K

$4.61 RSD 481

-47.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.27 UGX 29.9K

$8.81 RSD 918

-17.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 UGX 4,363

$0.89 RSD 92.7

19.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 UGX 8,042

$1.45 RSD 151

35.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 UGX 3,030

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.48 UGX 1,975

$3.02 RSD 315

-84.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 UGX 1,334

$0.98 RSD 103

-67.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.16 UGX 13.0K

$17.08 RSD 1,780

-81.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 UGX 5,972

$1.91 RSD 199

-24.08%

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

$7,458 UGX 30.7M

$31.0K RSD 3.2M

-75.94%

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

$7,349 UGX 30.2M

$24.7K RSD 2.6M

-70.20%

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

$70.7 UGX 290.7K

$220 RSD 23.0K

-67.94%

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

$11.88 UGX 48.9K

$24.41 RSD 2,544

-51.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.51 UGX 146.1K

$35.64 RSD 3,715

-0.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.93 UGX 77.9K

$41.20 RSD 4,295

-54.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.60 RSD 2,356

Cinema Ticket

$7.55 UGX 31.0K

$8.59 RSD 896

-12.11%

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

$255 UGX 1.0M

$424 RSD 44.2K

-39.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,455 UGX 34.8M

$11.0K RSD 1.1M

-22.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.07 UGX 57.9K

$111 RSD 11.5K

-87.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.15 UGX 54.1K

$47.28 RSD 4,929

-72.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$32.11 UGX 132.1K

$113 RSD 11.8K

-71.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.20 UGX 181.8K

$157 RSD 16.3K

-71.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$85.9 UGX 353.5K

$805 RSD 83.9K

-89.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$74.2 UGX 305.2K

$546 RSD 56.9K

-86.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$239 UGX 981.4K

$1,452 RSD 151.4K

-83.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$172 UGX 708.1K

$931 RSD 97.0K

-81.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,368 RSD 559.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,155 RSD 328.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,237 RSD 128.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

20.75

4.61

350.11%

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

Last update for Mbarara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Belgrade: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mbarara

$141 28%

Belgrade

$241 15.5% 70.9% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mbarara

$118 23.4%

Belgrade

$280 18.1% 138% $162

Eating Out

Mbarara

$85 16.9%

Belgrade

$228 14.7% 168% $143

Accommodation & Living

Mbarara

$74 14.7%

Belgrade

$546 35.2% 636% $472

Clothing & Footwear

Mbarara

$47 9.3%

Belgrade

$192 12.4% 313% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Mbarara

$34 6.8%

Belgrade

$58 3.8% 71.6% $24

Getting Around

Mbarara

$5.1 * 1%

Belgrade

$7.9 * 0.5% 57.2% $2.9

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $85.9 in Mbarara versus $805 in Belgrade. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25.00 in Mbarara versus $58.0 in Belgrade. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $141 vs $241 – making Mbarara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇬 Mbarara

🇷🇸 Belgrade

🕒 Local time

03:00 3:00 AM

02:00 2:00 AM

1 h behind Mbarara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

195,013

1,197,714 Capital

💱 Currency

Ugandan Shilling UGX Sh

Serbian Dinar RSD din

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 UGX = 2.43 USD

10,000 UGX = 2.16 EUR

1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD

1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RSD, USD, EUR to UGX – Ugandan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇬 Ugandan Shilling (Sh)

Ugandan Shilling exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4,113 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.43 USD). 1 EUR = 4,624 UGX (10,000 UGX = 2.16 EUR).

Serbian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 104 RSD (1,000 RSD = 9.59 USD). 1 EUR = 117 RSD (1,000 RSD = 8.53 EUR).

USD to UGX in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mbarara Belgrade 5,150 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Mbarara
Belgrade

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

Mbarara vs Belgrade: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $504 in Mbarara, $1,554 in Belgrade – roughly 208% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $755 per month in Mbarara and $2,331 in Belgrade. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $25.00 in Mbarara and $58.0 in Belgrade. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 71% more in Belgrade, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Mbarara, where all-in costs run around $504, than in Belgrade at $1,554. In Mbarara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Belgrade it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mbarara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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