Cost of living comparison
compared to
Apia vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary
Apia is 26.2% cheaper than Lusaka.
Apia vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Apia instead of Lusaka, you would:
pay 4.6 times more for restaurants
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.53
ZMW112.60
|
$47.26
WST130.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.03
ZMW102.36
|
$14.54
WST40.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.75
ZMW15.35
|
$1.82
WST5.00
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.47
ZMW9.60
|
$1.36
WST3.75
|
|
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of restaurants
pay 18.3% less for groceries
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.20
ZMW24.44
|
$0.82
WST2.25
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.15
ZMW104.86
|
$0.45
WST1.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.52
ZMW132.71
|
$6.88
WST18.93
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.94
ZMW39.50
|
$4.27
WST11.76
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.87
ZMW58.47
|
$1.65
WST4.54
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.53
ZMW31.08
|
$2.31
WST6.35
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.10
ZMW22.42
|
$0.82
WST2.27
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
ZMW33.66
|
$0.82
WST2.27
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
ZMW14.19
|
$1.98
WST5.44
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.16
ZMW23.71
|
$1.65
WST4.54
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.83
ZMW16.87
|
$0.49
WST1.36
|
|
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of groceries
pay 0.9% more for transportation
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.77
ZMW117.51
|
$4.13
WST11.36
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$50.15
ZMW1,021.16
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$7,541.11
ZMW154K
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.58
ZMW296.85
|
$49.07
WST135.00
|
|
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of transportation
pay 70.4% less for housing
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$54.99
ZMW1,119.57
|
$36.35
WST100.00
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$384.95
ZMW7,837.72
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$179.40
ZMW3,652.58
|
?? | |
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$61.51
ZMW1,252.41
|
$13.90
WST38.24
|
|
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$138.25
ZMW2,814.92
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,638.36
ZMW339K
|
?? |
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of childcare
pay 75.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.26
ZMW25.59
|
$3.45
WST9.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.82
ZMW57.44
|
$2.91
WST8.00
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.02
ZMW61.42
|
$6.18
WST17.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$54.67
ZMW1,113.17
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.03
ZMW122.83
|
?? | |
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Lusaka
|
Apia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$23.28
ZMW473.94
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$15.45
ZMW314.58
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$45.19
ZMW920.02
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$72.53
ZMW1,476.75
|
?? |
Lusaka vs. Apia - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
Change currency:
Compare further: Lusaka vs. Apia
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Zambia vs. Samoa.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zambia and Samoa.
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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Apia or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.