Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dushanbe vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Dushanbe is 3.9% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 29.2% more in Dushanbe
Groceries: pay 6.1% less in Dushanbe
Transportation: pay 26.8% less in Dushanbe
Housing: pay 22.4% more in Dushanbe
Childcare: pay 37.4% less in Dushanbe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.1% less in Dushanbe
Clothing: pay 46.4% more in Dushanbe

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

Dushanbe vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 29.2% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.48 ZMW172.19	$6.09 TJS55.86	-18.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW87.99	$9.00 TJS82.57	+135.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 ZMW14.25	$0.60 TJS5.51	-3.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 ZMW7.79	$0.35 TJS3.19	+2.9%
Average			+29.2%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.1% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 ZMW17.67	$0.59 TJS5.45	-22.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 ZMW86.62	$5.82 TJS53.43	+54.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZMW114.88	$3.96 TJS36.37	-20.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW40.70	$1.76 TJS16.18	-0.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.78 ZMW41.08	$2.05 TJS18.84	+15.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW28.12	$0.77 TJS7.11	-36.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZMW16.77	$1.34 TJS12.26	+83.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW28.16	$0.92 TJS8.46	-24.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZMW11.50	$0.57 TJS5.24	+14.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 ZMW20.40	$0.31 TJS2.84	-65.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW15.41	$0.24 TJS2.18	-64.5%
Average			-6.1%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.8% less for transportation

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZMW105.38	$4.12 TJS37.80	-10.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.52 ZMW886.94	$10.59 TJS97.15	-72.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW184,318.08	$11,647.15 TJS106,861.98	+45.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.00 ZMW276.33	$3.60 TJS33.03	-70.0%
Average			-26.8%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.4% more for housing

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$118.37 ZMW2,725.66	$19.59 TJS179.72	-83.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$226.58 ZMW5,217.38	$432.36 TJS3,966.85	+90.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$123.07 ZMW2,833.97	$249.58 TJS2,289.90	+102.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.70 ZMW1,213.60	$42.01 TJS385.44	-20.3%
Average			+22.4%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of housing

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pay 37.4% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,070.88	$105.88 TJS971.47	-40.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,677.88 ZMW268,903.36	$7,623.59 TJS69,946.02	-34.7%
Average			-37.4%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.98 ZMW22.49	$1.06 TJS9.71	+8.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZMW47.14	$1.94 TJS17.81	-5.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.67 ZMW84.61	$3.18 TJS29.14	-13.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.47 ZMW1,162.12	$42.10 TJS386.28	-16.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.18 ZMW96.36	$5.29 TJS48.57	+26.5%
Average			-0.1%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.4% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Dushanbe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.93 ZMW435.83	$32.43 TJS297.51	+71.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.99 ZMW391.23	$40.87 TJS374.99	+140.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.33 ZMW1,941.82	$79.41 TJS728.60	-5.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.12 ZMW1,683.80	$58.24 TJS534.31	-20.4%
Average			+46.4%

Lusaka vs. Dushanbe - Cost of clothing

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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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