Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 50.5% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 18.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 20.5% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 66.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 62.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 13.4% more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 82.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 90.3% more in Kuala Lumpur

The cost of clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, housing, groceries, and restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are more expensive than in Lusaka. Notably, clothing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.6% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.48 ZMW170.94	$4.74 MYR19.59	-36.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW87.36	$4.74 MYR19.59	+24.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 ZMW14.15	$0.89 MYR3.66	+43.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 ZMW7.73	$0.49 MYR2.01	+43.9%
Average			+18.6%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.5% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 ZMW17.54	$0.98 MYR4.03	+27.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 ZMW86.00	$7.13 MYR29.45	+89.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZMW114.04	$7.98 MYR32.96	+59.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW40.40	$2.23 MYR9.21	+26.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.78 ZMW40.78	$2.09 MYR8.65	+17.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW27.91	$1.32 MYR5.45	+8.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZMW16.65	$0.75 MYR3.09	+2.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW27.95	$1.22 MYR5.04	-0.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZMW11.42	$0.69 MYR2.86	+38.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 ZMW20.25	$0.57 MYR2.34	-36.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW15.30	$0.62 MYR2.56	-7.3%
Average			+20.5%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 66.0% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZMW104.62	$1.87 MYR7.71	-59.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.52 ZMW880.51	$11.85 MYR48.96	-69.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW182,982.35	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	+403.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.00 ZMW274.33	$10.66 MYR44.07	-11.1%
Average			+66.0%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.0% more for housing

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$118.37 ZMW2,705.91	$25.49 MYR105.32	-78.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$226.58 ZMW5,179.57	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	+153.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$123.07 ZMW2,813.44	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	+185.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.70 ZMW1,204.80	$46.59 MYR192.54	-11.6%
Average			+62.0%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 13.4% more for childcare

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,041.38	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	+49.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,677.88 ZMW266,954.64	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	-22.9%
Average			+13.4%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 82.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.98 ZMW22.32	$4.27 MYR17.63	+336.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZMW46.80	$3.06 MYR12.65	+49.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.67 ZMW84.00	$4.27 MYR17.63	+16.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.47 ZMW1,153.70	$46.43 MYR191.86	-8.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.18 ZMW95.66	$4.98 MYR20.56	+18.9%
Average			+82.7%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 90.3% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.93 ZMW432.67	$61.66 MYR254.80	+225.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.99 ZMW388.39	$37.10 MYR153.34	+118.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.33 ZMW1,927.74	$87.80 MYR362.83	+4.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.12 ZMW1,671.60	$82.47 MYR340.83	+12.8%
Average			+90.3%

Lusaka vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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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