Cost of Living in Mbarara, 🇺🇬 Uganda - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

AI estimate Updated Mar 22, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing $424 $291 $582 $119 $48

Utilities $58 $74 $119 $23 —

Internet & Mobile $66 $53 $93 $17 $4

Groceries $93 $199 $476 $106 $8

Transportation $106 $172 $318 $32 $16

Dining Out $371 $159 $251 $40 $29

Leisure Activities $119 $106 $185 $16 $40

Health Insurance $58 $48 $146 $12 $3

Visa & Legal Fees $49 $66 $159 — $3

Total $1,344 $1,168 $2,329 $365 $151

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Clothing

Summer Dress $14.56 per dress

Running Shoes $47.65 per pair

Jeans $17.21 per pair

Housing

Coliving Space $238.24 per month

Apartment (1 bedroom) $145.59 per month

Coworking Space $100.59 per month

Airbnb (1 month) $370.59 per month

Food & Dining

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) $23.82 per meal

Coffee $1.99 per cup

Beer $1.19 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) $2.65 per meal

Fast Food Combo $6.62 per meal

Apples $3.18 per kg

Bread $1.19 per loaf

Milk $0.58 per liter

Rice $1.46 per kg

Chicken Fillets $6.35 per kg

Beef $4.24 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $10.59 per bottle

Water (1.5L bottle) $0.53 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start $1.32 per trip

Taxi per km $0.93 per km

Monthly Transport Pass $39.71 per month

Gasoline $1.44 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) $3.18 per trip

Scooter Rental $11.91 per month

Services

Mobile Plan $11.91 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) $58.24 per month

Gym Membership $29.12 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $7.94 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) $2.65 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $5.29 per ticket

Personal Care

Haircut $3.97 per visit

Laundry $6.62 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) $13.24 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $4.76 per purchase

About these costs

Method: AI estimate
Last updated: Mar 22, 2026
Generated by: Model not recorded
Last changed: None yet
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 3,777.7485 UGX

Generated by an AI model without cited sources and not yet checked by research. A research pass replaces these values with sourced ones, compared with similar cities.

Mbarara cost of living