Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Botswana

Gaborone vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Gaborone is 4.6% cheaper than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 39.9% more in Gaborone
Groceries: pay 30.4% less in Gaborone
Transportation: pay 16.9% more in Gaborone
Housing: pay 0.5% less in Gaborone
Childcare: pay 62.8% less in Gaborone
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.5% less in Gaborone
Clothing: pay 39.9% more in Gaborone

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

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Gaborone vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 39.9% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$10.85 BWP148.87	+96.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.79 BWP79.40	+15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$0.72 BWP9.92	-4.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$0.42 BWP5.71	-11.8%
Average			+39.9%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.4% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$0.88 BWP12.02	-27.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$3.16 BWP43.42	-38.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$5.47 BWP75.12	-16.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$2.47 BWP33.83	+27.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.11 BWP28.88	-26.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.75 BWP10.31	-50.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.64 BWP8.75	-42.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.90 BWP12.38	-45.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.74 BWP10.15	+6.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.58 BWP7.97	-50.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.53 BWP7.25	-36.2%
Average			-30.4%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.9% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$5.15 BWP70.71	-10.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$29.66 BWP406.91	-40.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$19,891.73 BWP273K	+163.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$20.87 BWP286.32	+43.1%
Average			+16.9%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.5% less for housing

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$42.10 BWP577.61	-23.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-7.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	+23.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$45.63 BWP626.12	-25.8%
Average			-0.5%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - Cost of housing

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pay 62.8% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	-8.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	-85.0%
Average			-62.8%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$1.99 BWP27.29	+58.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.32 BWP31.83	-17.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$3.62 BWP49.62	+19.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$33.58 BWP460.78	-38.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$6.15 BWP84.36	+1.9%
Average			-4.5%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.9% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Gaborone
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$47.53 BWP652.19	+104.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$16.75 BWP229.75	+8.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$72.33 BWP992.46	+60.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	+8.0%
Average			+39.9%

Lusaka vs. Gaborone - 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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