Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ndola and Tagbilaran City

For one person, living is cheaper in Tagbilaran City: $620 a month against $719 in Ndola, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

35

Cost of Living Index in Ndola
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Ndola Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Tagbilaran City
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Tagbilaran City Living Index

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Ndola

🇿🇲 Zambia

$719

/mo nomad

Tagbilaran City

🇵🇭 Philippines

$620

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Ndola and in Tagbilaran City

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

A single person spends $719 per month in Ndola vs $620 in Tagbilaran City, rent included.

Ndola $719
Tagbilaran City $620

A couple spends around $1,721 per month in Ndola vs $1,005 in Tagbilaran City, rent included.

Ndola $1,721
Tagbilaran City $1,005

A family of three spends $2,723 per month in Ndola vs $1,390 in Tagbilaran City, rent included.

Ndola $2,723
Tagbilaran City $1,390

Ndola costs about 16% more than Tagbilaran City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Ndola and Tagbilaran City are more affordable than the global median – Ndola 47% lower, Tagbilaran City 54% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.58 ZMW 111

$2.93 ₱185

90.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.02 ZMW 597

$17.16 ₱1,081

74.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 ZMW 99.4

$2.91 ₱183

71.82%

Cappuccino

$2.76 ZMW 54.8

$2.48 ₱156

11.29%

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

$0.52 ZMW 10.25

$0.99 ₱62.6

-47.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 ZMW 4.73

$0.42 ₱26.32

-42.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.22 ZMW 24.31

$0.77 ₱48.77

58.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 ZMW 44.02

$2.25 ₱142

-1.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.65 ZMW 32.92

$1.49 ₱94.0

10.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.18 ZMW 23.56

$1.01 ₱63.8

16.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.13 ZMW 42.31

$0.98 ₱61.9

117.35%

Eggs

$1.56 ZMW 31.07

$1.72 ₱108

-9.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 ZMW 202

$9.68 ₱610

4.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.18 ZMW 123

$4.56 ₱287

35.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ZMW 133

$7.70 ₱485

-12.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.47 ZMW 29.27

$2.90 ₱183

-49.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 ZMW 48.00

$1.31 ₱82.3

83.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.74 ZMW 74.3

$2.36 ₱149

58.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.72

$1.52 ₱95.8

1.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.53 ZMW 50.4

$2.32 ₱146

9.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZMW 35.84

$1.90 ₱120

-5.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ZMW 21.93

$0.70 ₱43.81

57.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ZMW 11.60

$0.50 ₱31.38

16.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ZMW 61.5

$2.37 ₱149

30.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.83 ZMW 196

$6.33 ₱399

55.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ZMW 28.97

$0.92 ₱58.1

58.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 ZMW 46.73

$1.04 ₱65.7

125.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 ZMW 14.29

$0.47 ₱29.42

53.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 ZMW 51.2

$0.79 ₱49.99

225.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 ZMW 30.41

$0.22 ₱13.87

595.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.03 ZMW 100

$4.38 ₱276

14.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 ZMW 26.78

$1.03 ₱65.1

31.07%

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

$7,392 ZMW 147.0K

$21.5K ₱1.4M

-65.62%

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

$26.9K ZMW 534.7K

$19.2K ₱1.2M

40.37%

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

$80.2 ZMW 1,596

$78.0 ₱4,911

2.87%

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

$10.45 ZMW 208

$14.28 ₱899

-26.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.2 ZMW 1,098

$25.32 ₱1,594

118.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$10.92 ₱687

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.22 ₱203

Cinema Ticket

$6.04 ZMW 120

$3.60 ₱227

67.78%

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

$135 ZMW 2,692

$280 ₱17.6K

-51.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K ZMW 324.7K

$7,908 ₱497.9K

106.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.64 ZMW 470

$36.94 ₱2,326

-36.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.39 ZMW 306

$17.89 ₱1,126

-13.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$45.69 ZMW 909

$65.0 ₱4,094

-29.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.4 ZMW 1,421

$58.2 ₱3,665

22.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$177 ZMW 3,526

$190 ₱12.0K

-6.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 ZMW 2,948

$135 ₱8,524

9.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 ZMW 7,365

$482 ₱30.3K

-23.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,482 ZMW 29.5K

$350 ₱22.0K

323.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$805 ₱50.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$476 ₱30.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$596 ZMW 11.9K

$171 ₱10.8K

248.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.2

302.78%

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

Last update for Ndola: October 18, 2026

Last update for Tagbilaran City: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ndola

$223 31.1%

Tagbilaran City

$189 30.5% 15.3% $34

Accommodation & Living

Ndola

$148 20.6%

Tagbilaran City

$135 21.8% 8.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ndola

$146 20.3%

Tagbilaran City

$118 19% 19.4% $28

Eating Out

Ndola

$106 14.8%

Tagbilaran City

$76 12.3% 28.5% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Ndola

$70 9.8%

Tagbilaran City

$80 12.9% 14% $9.9

Getting Around

Ndola

$13 * 1.8%

Tagbilaran City

$3.8 * 0.6% 71.3% $9.3

Sport & Entertainment

Ndola

$12 * 1.7%

Tagbilaran City

$18 2.9% 50% $6

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $177 in Ndola versus $190 in Tagbilaran City. 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 248% higher in Ndola, 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 $30.00 in Ndola versus $17.00 in Tagbilaran City. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $189 – making Tagbilaran City the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Ndola

🇵🇭 Tagbilaran City

🕒 Local time

14:26 2:26 PM

20:26 8:26 PM

6 h ahead of Ndola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

455,194

86,411

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PHP, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Ndola Tagbilaran City 10,810 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Ndola
Tagbilaran City

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

Ndola vs Tagbilaran City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ndola is pricier by about 16%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,079 per month in Ndola and $930 in Tagbilaran City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tagbilaran City, 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 $30.00 in Ndola and $17.00 in Tagbilaran City. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 18% more in Ndola, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

$1,200 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $719 in Ndola and $620 in Tagbilaran City, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Tagbilaran City – 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 Tagbilaran City. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Ndola makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.