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

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

😐 Solo nomad: Zambia is 4.3% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 20.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Zambia is 4.3% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 5.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7 ZMW 172

$9.05 R 161

-22.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.02 ZMW 566

$38.84 R 691

-40.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.62 ZMW 89

$4.9 R 87.1

-26.12%

Cappuccino

$1.98 ZMW 48.67

$1.98 R 35.28

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

$0.66 ZMW 16.27

$0.96 R 17.06

-31.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ZMW 8.07

$0.75 R 13.31

-56.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.93 ZMW 22.94

$2.18 R 38.72

-57.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 ZMW 36.48

$2.54 R 45.1

-41.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 ZMW 30.44

$1.1 R 19.58

12.73%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 ZMW 20.69

$1.03 R 18.32

-18.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 ZMW 44.07

$1.56 R 27.71

14.74%

Eggs

$1.49 ZMW 36.56

$2.25 R 39.93

-33.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.48 ZMW 184

$7.67 R 136

-2.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 ZMW 97.8

$4.62 R 82.2

-13.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.99 ZMW 123

$6.86 R 122

-27.26%

Apples (1kg)

$2.42 ZMW 59.5

$1.58 R 28.02

53.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 ZMW 38.42

$1.42 R 25.3

9.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 ZMW 64.3

$1.44 R 25.58

81.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 ZMW 28.01

$1.49 R 26.5

-23.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 ZMW 48.17

$1.25 R 22.16

56.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 ZMW 33.46

$1.34 R 23.81

1.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.89 ZMW 21.94

$1.09 R 19.31

-18.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ZMW 13.15

$0.96 R 17.15

-44.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 ZMW 55.5

$2.9 R 51.6

-22.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.78 ZMW 167

$5.07 R 90.3

33.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ZMW 22.58

$1.38 R 24.49

-33.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 ZMW 31.31

$1.68 R 29.79

-24.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 ZMW 23.56

$1.71 R 30.47

-43.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.44 ZMW 970

$45.01 R 801

-12.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.48 ZMW 61

$1.1 R 19.61

125.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ZMW 26.1

$1.09 R 19.41

-2.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.4 ZMW 231

$4.8 R 85.3

95.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 ZMW 30.59

$1.31 R 23.23

-5.34%

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

$8,152 ZMW 200.5K

$21K R 374.2K

-61.25%

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

$28.1K ZMW 692.2K

$23.7K R 421.3K

18.77%

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

$85.8 ZMW 2,111

$113 R 2,009

-24.04%

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

$50.5 ZMW 1,243

$33.11 R 589

52.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$126 ZMW 3,111

$41.49 R 738

204.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.29 ZMW 1,040

$31.69 R 564

33.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.59 ZMW 334

$9.45 R 168

43.81%

Cinema Ticket

$4.1 ZMW 101

$6.7 R 119

-38.81%

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

$176 ZMW 4,329

$186 R 3,303

-5.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,594 ZMW 236K

$4,336 R 77.1K

121.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.78 ZMW 487

$48.56 R 864

-59.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.61 ZMW 433

$30.74 R 547

-42.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78 ZMW 1,919

$92 R 1,636

-15.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.2 ZMW 1,752

$79.6 R 1,415

-10.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$208 ZMW 5,117

$442 R 7,860

-52.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$127 ZMW 3,129

$370 R 6,579

-65.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$865 ZMW 21.3K

$880 R 15.7K

-1.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$706 ZMW 17.4K

$724 R 12.9K

-2.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,458 ZMW 85.1K

$1,021 R 18.2K

238.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,440 ZMW 158.4K

$803 R 14.3K

701.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$281 ZMW 6,903

$1,406 R 25K

-80.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.55

116.45%

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

Last update for Zambia: October 28, 2025

Last update for South Africa: October 29, 2025

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