Cost of living comparison
compared to
Zambia vs. Kenya Cost of Living Summary
Zambia is 32.6% more expensive than Kenya overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.7% more in Zambia
- Groceries
-
pay 51.5% more in Zambia
- Transportation
-
pay 11.0% less in Zambia
- Housing
-
pay 77.9% more in Zambia
- Childcare
-
pay 29.8% more in Zambia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.0% more in Zambia
- Clothing
-
pay 76.0% more in Zambia
The cost of housing, clothing, groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Zambia are more expensive than in Kenya. Notably, housing and clothing are significantly more expensive in Zambia.
Zambia vs. Kenya Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Zambia instead of Kenya, you would:
pay 1.7% more for restaurants
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.74
KES484.15
|
$7.35
ZMW168.07
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.17
KES798.62
|
$3.72
ZMW84.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.54
KES69.44
|
$0.49
ZMW11.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
KES57.53
|
$0.26
ZMW5.93
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants
pay 51.5% more for groceries
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.54
KES70.01
|
$0.77
ZMW17.54
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
KES565.28
|
$3.76
ZMW86.00
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.52
KES326.23
|
$4.89
ZMW111.81
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.60
KES207.28
|
$1.53
ZMW35.05
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.57
KES332.87
|
$1.78
ZMW40.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.08
KES139.60
|
$0.90
ZMW20.49
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.40
KES51.88
|
$0.73
ZMW16.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.69
KES89.87
|
$1.22
ZMW27.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.32
KES41.21
|
$0.50
ZMW11.42
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.30
KES38.21
|
$0.89
ZMW20.25
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.37
KES47.67
|
$0.67
ZMW15.30
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries
pay 11.0% less for transportation
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
KES698.69
|
$4.58
ZMW104.62
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$26.41
KES3,419.10
|
$38.52
ZMW880.51
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$19,331.14
KES2,502,416.20
|
$8,004.53
ZMW182,982.35
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.74
KES1,778.12
|
$11.53
ZMW263.64
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation
pay 77.9% more for housing
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$37.35
KES4,834.47
|
$118.37
ZMW2,705.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$194.00
KES25,113.52
|
$176.52
ZMW4,035.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$131.26
KES16,990.97
|
$115.74
ZMW2,645.69
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$24.47
KES3,167.26
|
$52.70
ZMW1,204.80
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of housing
pay 29.8% more for childcare
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$172.28
KES22,301.68
|
$176.79
ZMW4,041.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$7,439.34
KES963,022.59
|
$11,677.88
ZMW266,954.64
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare
pay 2.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.03
KES262.67
|
$0.98
ZMW22.32
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.28
KES294.98
|
$2.05
ZMW46.80
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.80
KES362.51
|
$3.67
ZMW84.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$29.27
KES3,788.44
|
$50.47
ZMW1,153.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.10
KES790.23
|
$4.18
ZMW95.66
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 76.0% more for clothing
|
Kenya
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$12.46
KES1,612.32
|
$18.93
ZMW432.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$20.02
KES2,592.06
|
$16.99
ZMW388.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$34.44
KES4,457.72
|
$84.33
ZMW1,927.74
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$32.93
KES4,262.80
|
$73.12
ZMW1,671.60
|
|
Kenya vs. Zambia - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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