Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rotherham and Lusaka

For one person, living is cheaper in Lusaka: $876 a month against $2,330 in Rotherham, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Rotherham
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Rotherham Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Lusaka
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Lusaka Living Index

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Rotherham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,330

/mo nomad

Lusaka

🇿🇲 Zambia

$876

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rotherham 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 Rotherham and in Lusaka actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,330 in Rotherham versus $876 in Lusaka.

Rotherham $2,330
Lusaka $876

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,403 in Rotherham versus $1,497 in Lusaka.

Rotherham $3,403
Lusaka $1,497

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,475 in Rotherham versus $2,117 in Lusaka.

Rotherham $4,475
Lusaka $2,117

Living in Rotherham is roughly 166% more expensive than in Lusaka, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Rotherham is 73% above, Lusaka is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.78 £14.84

$5.63 ZMW 112

251.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$30.45 ZMW 606

184.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.64 £7.98

$5.14 ZMW 102

107.00%

Cappuccino

$4.86 £3.65

$2.86 ZMW 56.8

69.93%

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

$2.30 £1.72

$0.78 ZMW 15.60

194.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.99

$0.45 ZMW 8.92

191.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.11 £4.58

$1.29 ZMW 25.56

373.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.06 £4.55

$2.32 ZMW 46.24

161.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.08

$1.67 ZMW 33.20

-14.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 £1.39

$1.23 ZMW 24.48

51.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$2.09 ZMW 41.62

-8.61%

Eggs

$3.95 £2.96

$1.90 ZMW 37.77

107.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.33 £7.00

$10.34 ZMW 206

-9.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.25 £6.19

$6.41 ZMW 128

28.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.46 £10.85

$6.47 ZMW 129

123.49%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 £2.23

$3.45 ZMW 68.5

-13.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.23 £0.92

$2.45 ZMW 48.71

-49.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.89 £2.17

$3.62 ZMW 72.1

-20.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 £2.43

$1.58 ZMW 31.35

105.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$2.62 ZMW 52.0

-31.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.88 ZMW 37.39

-28.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.15 ZMW 22.93

4.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 £1.05

$0.75 ZMW 14.96

85.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.64 £15.48

$3.07 ZMW 61.1

572.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.90 £8.18

$10.23 ZMW 203

6.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.87

$1.42 ZMW 28.24

76.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.11 £2.33

$2.24 ZMW 44.47

38.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.60 £1.95

$1.03 ZMW 20.44

152.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.0 £72.1

$50.4 ZMW 1,003

90.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.97 £3.73

$2.47 ZMW 49.14

101.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.52 ZMW 30.29

3.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.14 £15.11

$5.12 ZMW 102

293.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.49 ZMW 29.71

40.27%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$7,550 ZMW 150.2K

409.25%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$27.2K ZMW 540.1K

47.06%

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

$331 £249

$79.3 ZMW 1,577

317.72%

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

$16.55 £12.42

$10.56 ZMW 210

56.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.10 £30.08

$55.0 ZMW 1,093

-27.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.28 £33.22

$53.9 ZMW 1,072

-17.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.21 ZMW 303

Cinema Ticket

$13.15 £9.86

$6.06 ZMW 121

117.00%

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

$1,218 £913

$141 ZMW 2,802

764.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.8K £14.9K

$16.7K ZMW 331.8K

18.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.5 £62.7

$23.49 ZMW 467

255.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.69 £31.27

$15.47 ZMW 308

169.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.6 £68.7

$45.00 ZMW 895

103.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 £78.0

$71.8 ZMW 1,429

44.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 £915

$392 ZMW 7,794

211.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 £760

$181 ZMW 3,597

460.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,108 £1,582

$1,095 ZMW 21.8K

92.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,647 £1,235

$602 ZMW 12.0K

173.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,094 £3,821

$1,949 ZMW 38.8K

161.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,794 £2,847

$4,934 ZMW 98.1K

-23.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,849 £1,387

$311 ZMW 6,182

494.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.82

-83.38%

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

Last update for Rotherham: October 12, 2026

Last update for Lusaka: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rotherham

$1K 43.5%

Lusaka

$181 20.6% 82.1% $832

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rotherham

$388 16.7%

Lusaka

$145 16.5% 62.7% $243

Eating Out

Rotherham

$306 13.1%

Lusaka

$111 12.6% 63.8% $195

Groceries & Markets

Rotherham

$289 12.4%

Lusaka

$239 27.3% 17.3% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Rotherham

$144 6.2%

Lusaka

$70 8% 51.4% $74

Getting Around

Rotherham

$119 5.1%

Lusaka

$65 7.4% 45.8% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Rotherham

$71 3%

Lusaka

$66 7.5% 6.5% $4.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,219 in Rotherham and $392 in Lusaka. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Rotherham pays 495% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $87.0 in Rotherham vs $30.00 in Lusaka for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $289 vs $239 per month, with Lusaka cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Rotherham

🇿🇲 Lusaka

🕒 Local time

04:34 4:34 AM

05:34 5:34 AM

1 h ahead of Rotherham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

117,262

1,742,979 Capital

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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

Rotherham Lusaka 8,160 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Rotherham
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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

Rotherham vs Lusaka: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Rotherham and Lusaka differ by about 166% in total monthly costs ($2,330 vs $876 including rent). Lusaka is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 495% higher in Rotherham, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,219 in Rotherham versus $392 in Lusaka. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,330 per month in Rotherham versus $876 in Lusaka – a 166% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Lusaka runs roughly 90% less than in Rotherham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $876 in Lusaka versus $2,330 in Rotherham, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Lusaka but tight or insufficient in Rotherham. The gap between the two cities makes Lusaka the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Lusaka gentler on the wallet – expenses run 166% less than in Rotherham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.