Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Kabwe

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabwe: $573 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $41,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
28

Cost of Living Index in Kabwe
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Kabwe Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Kabwe

🇿🇲 Zambia

$573

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Kabwe

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

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $573 in Kabwe, rent included.

London $3,986
Kabwe $573

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $907 in Kabwe, rent included.

London $5,791
Kabwe $907

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $1,242 in Kabwe, rent included.

London $7,595
Kabwe $1,242

London costs about 596% more than Kabwe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Kabwe is 58% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$5.47 ZMW 109

374.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$30.30 ZMW 603

251.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$5.06 ZMW 101

111.66%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.88 ZMW 57.2

89.93%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$0.73 ZMW 14.60

306.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.45 ZMW 9.03

388.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$1.28 ZMW 25.49

613.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$2.31 ZMW 46.03

243.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.67 ZMW 33.24

11.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.23 ZMW 24.42

68.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$2.03 ZMW 40.41

19.21%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$1.17 ZMW 23.21

335.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$10.30 ZMW 205

24.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$6.35 ZMW 126

64.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$6.46 ZMW 128

161.15%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$3.42 ZMW 68.1

-9.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.04 ZMW 20.66

34.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$3.63 ZMW 72.2

-15.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.52 ZMW 30.18

115.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.51 ZMW 49.92

-37.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.78 ZMW 35.43

-2.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.15 ZMW 22.95

21.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$0.76 ZMW 15.09

136.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.03 ZMW 60.3

668.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$10.01 ZMW 199

30.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.48 ZMW 29.47

114.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.36 ZMW 47.02

87.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$2.59 ZMW 51.5

115.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.54 ZMW 30.53

118.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$4.89 ZMW 97.3

1060.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.35 ZMW 26.81

57.78%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$7,588 ZMW 150.9K

403.25%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$27.1K ZMW 539.4K

50.82%

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

$372 £279

$79.2 ZMW 1,576

369.66%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$10.24 ZMW 204

74.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$56.0 ZMW 1,115

-27.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$5.86 ZMW 117

202.73%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$137 ZMW 2,719

1995.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$16.9K ZMW 335.9K

109.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$22.99 ZMW 457

395.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$15.34 ZMW 305

253.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$44.92 ZMW 893

176.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$72.2 ZMW 1,437

125.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

-83.66%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Kabwe: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Kabwe

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Kabwe

$146 25.4% 66.2% $285

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Kabwe

$109 19.1% 71.8% $278

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Kabwe

$226 39.5% 35.3% $123

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Kabwe

$10 * 1.8% 96.4% $275

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Kabwe

$70 12.2% 65.9% $135

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Kabwe

$12 * 2.1% 87.7% $84

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London versus $30.00 in Kabwe. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $226 – making Kabwe the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇲 Kabwe

🕒 Local time

19:29 7:29 PM

20:29 8:29 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

117,517

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZMW, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Kabwe 7,840 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Kabwe

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

London vs Kabwe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

London costs about 596% more than Kabwe, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $859 in Kabwe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $107 in London and $30.00 in Kabwe. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 54% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Kabwe, where all-in costs run around $573, than in London at $3,986. In Kabwe it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kabwe costs $573 versus $3,986 in London. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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