Cost of living comparison

Ghana

compared to

Zambia

Lusaka vs. Accra Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 21.7% cheaper than Accra.

Restaurants: pay 38.6% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 14.5% less in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 11.6% more in Lusaka
Housing: pay 31.2% less in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 48.3% less in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.0% less in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 24.1% more in Lusaka

The cost of clothing and transportation in Lusaka are more expensive than in Accra. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries are lower in Lusaka.

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Lusaka vs. Accra Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lusaka instead of Accra, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 38.6% less for restaurants

	Accra	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.98 GHS93.33	$5.53 ZMW110.20	-30.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.34 GHS120.88	$5.03 ZMW100.18	-51.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 GHS18.22	$0.75 ZMW15.03	-51.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 GHS5.37	$0.47 ZMW9.39	+2.7%
Average			-38.6%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.5% less for groceries

	Accra	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.63 GHS19.03	$1.20 ZMW23.92	-26.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.91 GHS69.08	$5.15 ZMW102.63	-12.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.71 GHS160.33	$6.52 ZMW129.88	-52.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.62 GHS30.70	$1.94 ZMW38.66	-26.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.26 GHS38.13	$2.87 ZMW57.22	-11.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.66 GHS19.36	$1.53 ZMW30.42	-7.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 GHS7.51	$1.10 ZMW21.94	+71.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 GHS9.50	$1.65 ZMW32.94	+103.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 GHS18.97	$0.70 ZMW13.88	-57.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.23 GHS14.34	$1.16 ZMW23.20	-5.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.22 GHS14.24	$0.83 ZMW16.51	-32.0%
Average			-14.5%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6% more for transportation

	Accra	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.98 GHS58.28	$5.77 ZMW115.01	+15.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.19 GHS469.97	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+24.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,000.00 GHS93,560.46	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-5.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.84 GHS138.52	$14.58 ZMW290.52	+23.1%
Average			+11.6%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.2% less for housing

	Accra	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.44 GHS496.28	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	+29.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$677.62 GHS7,924.86	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	-43.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$277.40 GHS3,244.17	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	-35.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$56.06 GHS655.60	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	+9.7%
Average			-31.2%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 48.3% less for childcare

	Accra	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$462.41 GHS5,407.96	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	-70.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$18,630.20 GHS218K	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	-10.7%
Average			-48.3%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Accra	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.85 GHS21.59	$1.26 ZMW25.05	-31.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.40 GHS51.49	$2.82 ZMW56.21	-35.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.54 GHS29.68	$3.02 ZMW60.11	+18.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$71.09 GHS831.35	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	-23.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.69 GHS148.41	$6.03 ZMW120.22	-52.5%
Average			-33.0%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.1% more for clothing

	Accra	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.19 GHS165.96	$23.28 ZMW463.85	+64.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.41 GHS215.27	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-16.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$36.21 GHS423.52	$45.19 ZMW900.42	+24.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.46 GHS613.49	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	+38.3%
Average			+24.1%

Accra vs. Lusaka - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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