Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom

Name: United Kingdom
Address: GB

For one person, living is cheaper in Zimbabwe: $864 a month against $2,462 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $19,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Zimbabwe
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Zimbabwe Living Index
119

Cost of Living Index in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom Living Index

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🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

$864

/mo nomad

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zimbabwe and in the United Kingdom

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $864 in Zimbabwe versus $2,462 in the United Kingdom.

Zimbabwe $864
United Kingdom $2,462

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,423 in Zimbabwe versus $3,600 in the United Kingdom.

Zimbabwe $1,423
United Kingdom $3,600

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,981 in Zimbabwe versus $4,738 in the United Kingdom.

Zimbabwe $1,981
United Kingdom $4,738

Internal cost variation is higher in the United Kingdom: monthly costs span $1,126 to $4,646, compared to $579–$1,065 in Zimbabwe. City choice carries more weight in the United Kingdom.

Living in Zimbabwe costs about 65% less than in the United Kingdom on average.

Zimbabwe (36% below) and the United Kingdom (81% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.28 ZWL 167

$21.48 £16.05

-70.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.61 ZWL 1,079

$85.7 £64.1

-52.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.55 ZWL 147

$10.61 £7.93

-47.69%

Cappuccino

$2.58 ZWL 68.6

$4.91 £3.67

-47.45%

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

$0.74 ZWL 19.55

$2.66 £1.99

-72.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 ZWL 12.74

$1.87 £1.39

-74.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.47 ZWL 39.04

$6.63 £4.95

-77.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.98 ZWL 52.5

$6.84 £5.11

-71.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ZWL 39.69

$1.68 £1.26

-11.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 ZWL 27.22

$1.72 £1.28

-40.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 ZWL 40.46

$2.17 £1.62

-29.95%

Eggs

$1.89 ZWL 50.3

$4.00 £2.99

-52.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.84 ZWL 261

$9.42 £7.04

4.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 ZWL 132

$9.19 £6.86

-45.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.60 ZWL 149

$14.77 £11.03

-62.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.72 ZWL 72.3

$2.97 £2.22

-8.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 ZWL 45.89

$1.62 £1.21

6.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.97 ZWL 52.4

$2.85 £2.13

-30.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 ZWL 36.02

$3.52 £2.63

-61.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 ZWL 42.97

$1.83 £1.37

-11.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 ZWL 41.56

$1.61 £1.20

-3.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 ZWL 30.54

$1.25 £0.93

-8.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 ZWL 26.30

$1.66 £1.24

-40.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.05 ZWL 54.4

$23.65 £17.67

-91.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.92 ZWL 184

$10.50 £7.84

-34.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 ZWL 32.88

$2.98 £2.23

-58.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 ZWL 51.0

$3.51 £2.62

-45.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 ZWL 26.06

$3.98 £2.97

-75.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.26 ZWL 1,043

$107 £80.3

-63.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.92 ZWL 77.7

$5.18 £3.87

-43.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.97 ZWL 52.3

$2.35 £1.75

-16.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 ZWL 134

$26.84 £20.05

-81.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 ZWL 47.24

$1.99 £1.48

-10.55%

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

$24.8K ZWL 659.1K

$39.4K £29.5K

-37.11%

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

$27.5K ZWL 729.4K

$40.5K £30.2K

-32.20%

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

$51.2 ZWL 1,361

$327 £244

-84.34%

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

$18.70 ZWL 497

$18.21 £13.60

2.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.0 ZWL 1,860

$43.60 £32.57

60.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.11 ZWL 1,119

$42.36 £31.64

-0.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.29 ZWL 539

$18.22 £13.61

11.36%

Cinema Ticket

$10.07 ZWL 267

$13.85 £10.34

-27.29%

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

$287 ZWL 7,613

$1,868 £1,396

-84.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,672 ZWL 203.8K

$22.6K £16.9K

-66.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.37 ZWL 515

$92.9 £69.4

-79.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.62 ZWL 468

$45.92 £34.30

-61.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$40.22 ZWL 1,069

$102 £75.9

-60.43%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.91 ZWL 1,140

$102 £76.4

-58.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$299 ZWL 7,942

$1,342 £1,003

-77.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$241 ZWL 6,409

$1,073 £802

-77.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$736 ZWL 19.6K

$2,231 £1,667

-67.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$557 ZWL 14.8K

$1,742 £1,301

-68.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$924 ZWL 24.6K

$5,601 £4,185

-83.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$397 ZWL 10.6K

$4,265 £3,186

-90.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$369 ZWL 9,804

$3,349 £2,502

-88.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.77

5.32

158.83%

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

Last update for Zimbabwe: October 27, 2026

Last update for the United Kingdom: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Zimbabwe

$241 27.9%

United Kingdom

$1.1K 43.6% 345% $832

Groceries & Markets

Zimbabwe

$197 22.8%

United Kingdom

$307 12.5% 56% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zimbabwe

$140 16.2%

United Kingdom

$389 15.8% 178% $249

Eating Out

Zimbabwe

$114 13.2%

United Kingdom

$328 13.3% 187% $214

Sport & Entertainment

Zimbabwe

$62 7.2%

United Kingdom

$70 2.9% 12.5% $7.8

Getting Around

Zimbabwe

$56 6.5%

United Kingdom

$140 5.7% 151% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Zimbabwe

$54 6.3%

United Kingdom

$154 6.3% 185% $100

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $240 in Zimbabwe, $1,287 in the United Kingdom. Capital cities: $399 in Harare vs $2,811 in London.

National salary averages: $363 in Zimbabwe, $3,251 in the United Kingdom. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 436% higher in the United Kingdom.

Dining out costs 93% more in the United Kingdom.

Public transport is 181% more expensive in the United Kingdom.

Salaries are about 9 times higher in the United Kingdom, and purchasing power comes out stronger in the United Kingdom.

Good to know

🇿🇼 Zimbabwe

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🕒 Local time

06:11 6:11 AM

04:11 4:11 AM

2 h behind Zimbabwe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,178,979

67,326,569

💱 Currency

Zimbabwean Dollar ZWL $

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZWL = 3.76 USD

100 ZWL = 3.37 EUR

1 GBP = 1.34 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZWL – Zimbabwean Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇼 Zimbabwean Dollar ($)

Zimbabwean Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 26.57 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.76 USD). 1 EUR = 29.67 ZWL (100 ZWL = 3.37 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.747 GBP (1 GBP = 1.34 USD). 1 EUR = 0.834 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to ZWL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zimbabwe United Kingdom 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Zimbabwe
United Kingdom

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

Zimbabwe vs United Kingdom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $2,462 per month in the United Kingdom and $864 in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe comes out about 65% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Zimbabwe: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $1,287 in the United Kingdom and $240 in Zimbabwe. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

It depends on what you’re after: Zimbabwe wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.