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 6.9% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 20.4% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Zambia is 7% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 4.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.26 ZMW 140

$8.70 R 146

-16.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.64 ZMW 437

$38.91 R 651

-41.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.61 ZMW 69.8

$5.17 R 86.6

-30.17%

Cappuccino

$1.91 ZMW 36.97

$2.05 R 34.35

-6.83%

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

$0.63 ZMW 12.19

$1.02 R 17.13

-38.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.36 ZMW 6.86

$0.76 R 12.70

-52.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.94 ZMW 18.15

$2.26 R 37.79

-58.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 ZMW 29.06

$2.53 R 42.43

-40.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 ZMW 24.79

$1.10 R 18.49

16.36%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 ZMW 16.82

$0.94 R 15.76

-7.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.73 ZMW 33.45

$1.62 R 27.18

6.79%

Eggs

$1.52 ZMW 29.36

$2.22 R 37.19

-31.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.91 ZMW 153

$7.52 R 126

5.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 ZMW 76.5

$4.48 R 75.0

-11.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.77 ZMW 92.0

$6.61 R 111

-27.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.31 ZMW 44.64

$1.50 R 25.13

54.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 ZMW 29.98

$1.42 R 23.78

9.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 ZMW 48.80

$1.46 R 24.46

73.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 ZMW 21.76

$1.51 R 25.30

-25.17%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 ZMW 38.55

$1.26 R 21.02

58.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 ZMW 27.31

$1.29 R 21.68

9.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 ZMW 18.40

$1.03 R 17.22

-7.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ZMW 10.18

$0.97 R 16.18

-45.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 ZMW 43.49

$2.87 R 48.04

-21.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.59 ZMW 127

$4.90 R 82.0

34.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 ZMW 17.83

$1.31 R 21.99

-29.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 ZMW 24.63

$1.73 R 29.04

-26.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 ZMW 18.53

$1.65 R 27.60

-41.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$40.29 ZMW 778

$44.20 R 740

-8.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.53 ZMW 48.82

$1.14 R 19.08

121.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.06 ZMW 20.48

$1.09 R 18.26

-2.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.38 ZMW 181

$4.70 R 78.8

99.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ZMW 22.85

$1.30 R 21.69

-9.23%

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

$8,144 ZMW 157.3K

$20.8K R 348.1K

-60.83%

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

$29.0K ZMW 560.2K

$23.5K R 393.6K

23.39%

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

$86.2 ZMW 1,665

$111 R 1,864

-22.58%

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

$51.2 ZMW 988

$32.36 R 542

58.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$125 ZMW 2,414

$40.49 R 678

208.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.02 ZMW 811

$31.96 R 535

31.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.05 ZMW 271

$9.72 R 163

44.55%

Cinema Ticket

$4.12 ZMW 79.5

$6.80 R 114

-39.41%

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

$180 ZMW 3,480

$189 R 3,156

-4.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,561 ZMW 184.6K

$4,400 R 73.7K

117.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.55 ZMW 377

$50.2 R 840

-61.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.56 ZMW 339

$30.53 R 511

-42.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 ZMW 1,541

$94.5 R 1,582

-15.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.7 ZMW 1,404

$81.3 R 1,361

-10.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$212 ZMW 4,086

$453 R 7,578

-53.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$126 ZMW 2,438

$372 R 6,229

-66.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$850 ZMW 16.4K

$906 R 15.2K

-6.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$704 ZMW 13.6K

$703 R 11.8K

0.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,981 ZMW 38.2K

$1,150 R 19.2K

72.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,060 ZMW 97.7K

$836 R 14.0K

505.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$376 ZMW 7,251

$1,471 R 24.6K

-74.48%

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: March 2, 2026

Last update for South Africa: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated January 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated January 2026)

Zambia

South Africa

Zambia

South Africa

Similar countries

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

🇲🇾 Malaysia

🇦🇿 Azerbaijan

🇺🇿 Uzbekistan

🇧🇾 Belarus

🇪🇨 Ecuador

🇵🇪 Peru

🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan