Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Lusaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Lusaka: $889 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $38,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Lusaka
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Lusaka Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Lusaka

🇿🇲 Zambia

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Lusaka

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 Lusaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $4,086 per month in London vs $889 in Lusaka, rent included.

London $4,086
Lusaka $889

A couple spends around $5,816 per month in London vs $1,510 in Lusaka, rent included.

London $5,816
Lusaka $1,510

A family of three spends $7,546 per month in London vs $2,131 in Lusaka, rent included.

London $7,546
Lusaka $2,131

London costs about 359% more than Lusaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

London sits 205% above the global median, while Lusaka is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$5.74 ZMW 114

363.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$30.85 ZMW 612

248.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$4.96 ZMW 98.4

109.48%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.90 ZMW 57.4

99.66%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.74 ZMW 14.65

306.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.46 ZMW 9.16

367.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.30 ZMW 25.85

619.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.27 ZMW 44.98

245.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.76 ZMW 34.83

1.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.18 ZMW 23.41

74.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$2.13 ZMW 42.28

8.45%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.92 ZMW 38.15

163.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$10.36 ZMW 205

21.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$6.25 ZMW 124

70.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$6.62 ZMW 131

158.76%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$3.48 ZMW 69.0

-12.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.40 ZMW 47.66

-41.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$3.59 ZMW 71.1

-15.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.58 ZMW 31.25

113.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$2.53 ZMW 50.1

-33.99%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.81 ZMW 35.93

-4.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.12 ZMW 22.23

25.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.79 ZMW 15.68

126.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$2.96 ZMW 58.7

684.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$10.26 ZMW 203

26.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.44 ZMW 28.53

120.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.35 ZMW 46.63

87.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.98 ZMW 19.51

294.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$49.75 ZMW 987

402.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$2.51 ZMW 49.71

127.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$1.56 ZMW 30.84

113.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$5.02 ZMW 99.6

1053.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.55 ZMW 30.69

31.61%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$7,507 ZMW 148.9K

400.17%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$27.0K ZMW 536.2K

51.25%

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

$376 £284

$80.5 ZMW 1,595

367.42%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$10.41 ZMW 207

71.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$55.5 ZMW 1,101

-27.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$55.5 ZMW 1,100

10.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$15.10 ZMW 300

39.54%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$6.00 ZMW 119

199.17%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$139 ZMW 2,748

1967.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$16.7K ZMW 331.0K

111.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$23.34 ZMW 463

397.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$15.35 ZMW 304

252.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$45.95 ZMW 911

175.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$72.3 ZMW 1,433

120.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$391 ZMW 7,744

630.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$180 ZMW 3,575

1176.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$1,107 ZMW 21.9K

369.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$596 ZMW 11.8K

525.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$1,906 ZMW 37.8K

897.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$4,999 ZMW 99.1K

57.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$317 ZMW 6,282

1420.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

-83.97%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Lusaka: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Lusaka

$180 20.5% 92.2% $2.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Lusaka

$146 16.7% 66.3% $288

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Lusaka

$111 12.7% 71.9% $285

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Lusaka

$239 27.2% 31.5% $110

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Lusaka

$64 7.3% 77.8% $224

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Lusaka

$71 8% 65.6% $135

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Lusaka

$67 7.7% 30.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,853 in London versus $391 in Lusaka. 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 1421% higher in London, 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 $108 in London versus $31.00 in Lusaka. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $239 – making Lusaka the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇲 Lusaka

🕒 Local time

14:47 2:47 PM

15:47 3:47 PM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

1,742,979 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZMW = 5.04 USD

100 ZMW = 4.5 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 19.83 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.04 USD). 1 EUR = 22.22 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.5 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

London Lusaka 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Lusaka

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 Lusaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $4,086 in London, $889 in Lusaka – roughly 359% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $6,129 per month in London and $1,334 in Lusaka. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Groceries cost about 46% 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 mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in London and $31.00 in Lusaka. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Lusaka, where all-in costs run around $889, than in London at $4,086. In Lusaka it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $889 in Lusaka to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Lusaka. 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.