Cost of living comparison

Zimbabwe

compared to

Zambia

Lusaka vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 13.1% cheaper than Harare.

Restaurants: pay 28.6% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 18.5% more in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 36.9% less in Lusaka
Housing: pay 16.2% less in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 21.3% less in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.2% less in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 11.4% more in Lusaka

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

Planning a move to Zambia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Lusaka vs. Harare Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.6% less for restaurants

	Harare	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$5.53 ZMW110.20	-44.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	$5.03 ZMW100.18	-12.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.96 ZWL308.58	$0.75 ZMW15.03	-21.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZWL151.05	$0.47 ZMW9.39	+0.5%
Average			-28.6%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.5% more for groceries

	Harare	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZWL322.00	$1.20 ZMW23.92	+20.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	$5.15 ZMW102.63	-10.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	$6.52 ZMW129.88	+13.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.93 ZWL622.53	$1.94 ZMW38.66	+0.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 ZWL791.38	$2.87 ZMW57.22	+16.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.37 ZWL439.66	$1.53 ZMW30.42	+11.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 ZWL243.55	$1.10 ZMW21.94	+45.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 ZWL296.54	$1.65 ZMW32.94	+79.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZWL226.23	$0.70 ZMW13.88	-0.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 ZWL251.62	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+49.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 ZWL257.47	$0.83 ZMW16.51	+3.6%
Average			+18.5%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.9% less for transportation

	Harare	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	$5.77 ZMW115.01	-16.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	$50.15 ZMW999.41	-16.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-65.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	$14.58 ZMW290.52	-27.1%
Average			-36.9%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% less for housing

	Harare	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	-20.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$390.00 ZWL126K	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	-1.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$316.60 ZWL102K	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	-43.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	+56.6%
Average			-16.2%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.3% less for childcare

	Harare	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$433.79 ZWL140K	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	-68.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+94.5%
Average			-21.3%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Harare	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.25 ZWL402.50	$1.26 ZMW25.05	+0.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 ZWL966.00	$2.82 ZMW56.21	-6.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 ZWL644.00	$3.02 ZMW60.11	+50.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	+14.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	$6.03 ZMW120.22	-39.7%
Average			-6.2%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.4% more for clothing

	Harare	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	$23.28 ZMW463.85	+0.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-26.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	$45.19 ZMW900.42	+16.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	+79.7%
Average			+11.4%

Harare vs. Lusaka - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Harare vs. Lusaka

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Lusaka?

More cost comparisons

Harare vs.

New York City

Harare vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Harare vs.

Toronto

Harare vs.

Rome

Harare vs.

Lima

Harare vs.

Moscow

Harare vs.

London

Harare vs.

Madrid

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Zimbabwe vs. Zambia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Harare

Add prices for Lusaka

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lusaka or Harare. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.