Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Zambia Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and Zambia

Name: Zambia
Address: ZM

🙂 Solo nomad: South Africa is 4.1% cheaper than Zambia without rent, and 25.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: South Africa is 4.5% more expensive than Zambia without rent, and 5.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.05 R 161

$7 ZMW 172

29.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.84 R 691

$23.02 ZMW 566

68.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.9 R 87.1

$3.62 ZMW 89

35.36%

Cappuccino

$1.98 R 35.28

$1.98 ZMW 48.67

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

$0.96 R 17.06

$0.66 ZMW 16.27

45.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 R 13.31

$0.33 ZMW 8.07

127.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.18 R 38.72

$0.93 ZMW 22.94

134.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R 45.1

$1.48 ZMW 36.48

71.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.1 R 19.58

$1.24 ZMW 30.44

-11.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 R 18.32

$0.84 ZMW 20.69

22.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 R 27.71

$1.79 ZMW 44.07

-12.85%

Eggs

$2.25 R 39.93

$1.49 ZMW 36.56

51.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.67 R 136

$7.48 ZMW 184

2.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.62 R 82.2

$3.98 ZMW 97.8

16.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.86 R 122

$4.99 ZMW 123

37.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 28.02

$2.42 ZMW 59.5

-34.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 R 25.3

$1.56 ZMW 38.42

-8.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 R 25.58

$2.61 ZMW 64.3

-44.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 R 26.5

$1.14 ZMW 28.01

30.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 R 22.16

$1.96 ZMW 48.17

-36.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 R 23.81

$1.36 ZMW 33.46

-1.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 19.31

$0.89 ZMW 21.94

22.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 R 17.15

$0.53 ZMW 13.15

81.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.9 R 51.6

$2.25 ZMW 55.5

28.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.07 R 90.3

$6.78 ZMW 167

-25.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 24.49

$0.92 ZMW 22.58

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 R 29.79

$1.27 ZMW 31.31

32.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 R 30.47

$0.96 ZMW 23.56

78.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.01 R 801

$39.44 ZMW 970

14.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.1 R 19.61

$2.48 ZMW 61

-55.65%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 R 19.41

$1.06 ZMW 26.1

2.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.8 R 85.3

$9.4 ZMW 231

-48.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R 23.23

$1.24 ZMW 30.59

5.65%

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

$21K R 374.2K

$8,152 ZMW 200.5K

158.10%

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

$23.7K R 421.3K

$28.1K ZMW 692.2K

-15.81%

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

$113 R 2,009

$85.8 ZMW 2,111

31.64%

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

$33.11 R 589

$50.5 ZMW 1,243

-34.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.49 R 738

$126 ZMW 3,111

-67.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.69 R 564

$42.29 ZMW 1,040

-25.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.45 R 168

$13.59 ZMW 334

-30.46%

Cinema Ticket

$6.7 R 119

$4.1 ZMW 101

63.41%

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

$186 R 3,303

$176 ZMW 4,329

5.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,336 R 77.1K

$9,594 ZMW 236K

-54.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$48.56 R 864

$19.78 ZMW 487

145.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.74 R 547

$17.61 ZMW 433

74.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92 R 1,636

$78 ZMW 1,919

17.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 R 1,415

$71.2 ZMW 1,752

11.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$442 R 7,860

$208 ZMW 5,117

112.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 R 6,579

$127 ZMW 3,129

190.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$880 R 15.7K

$865 ZMW 21.3K

1.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 R 12.9K

$706 ZMW 17.4K

2.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,021 R 18.2K

$3,458 ZMW 85.1K

-70.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$803 R 14.3K

$6,440 ZMW 158.4K

-87.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,406 R 25K

$281 ZMW 6,903

401.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.55

-53.80%

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

Last update for South Africa: October 29, 2025

Last update for Zambia: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

Shanghai

🇨🇳 China

Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Baku

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan

Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova

Batumi, Ajara

🇬🇪 Georgia