Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Zambia

Lusaka vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 1.7% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 21.7% more in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 97.9% more in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 25.6% less in Lusaka
Housing: pay 40.1% less in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 46.4% more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.6% more in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 55.0% more in Lusaka

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

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Lusaka vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.7% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$5.53 ZMW110.20	+104.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$5.03 ZMW100.18	-25.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.75 ZMW15.03	-3.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.47 ZMW9.39	-15.7%
Average			+21.7%

Kigali vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 97.9% more for groceries

	Kigali	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.20 ZMW23.92	+14.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$5.15 ZMW102.63	+144.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$6.52 ZMW129.88	+106.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$1.94 ZMW38.66	+18.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.87 ZMW57.22	+37.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.53 ZMW30.42	+39.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$1.10 ZMW21.94	+211.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$1.65 ZMW32.94	+139.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.70 ZMW13.88	+45.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+416.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.83 ZMW16.51	+145.4%
Average			+97.9%

Kigali vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.6% less for transportation

	Kigali	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$5.77 ZMW115.01	-17.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+97.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-71.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$14.58 ZMW290.52	-23.1%
Average			-25.6%

Kigali vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.1% less for housing

	Kigali	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	+161.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	-42.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	-56.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	-4.4%
Average			-40.1%

Kigali vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 46.4% more for childcare

	Kigali	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	+22.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+74.9%
Average			+46.4%

Kigali vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.26 ZMW25.05	+23.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.82 ZMW56.21	+16.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$3.02 ZMW60.11	+48.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	+104.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$6.03 ZMW120.22	+78.1%
Average			+54.6%

Kigali vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.0% more for clothing

	Kigali	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$23.28 ZMW463.85	+33.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-0.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$45.19 ZMW900.42	+103.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	+114.1%
Average			+55.0%

Kigali 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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