Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Liberia

Monrovia vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Monrovia is 6.0% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 92.2% more in Monrovia
Groceries: pay 84.0% more in Monrovia
Transportation: pay 0.5% more in Monrovia
Housing: pay 23.9% less in Monrovia
Childcare: pay 79.1% less in Monrovia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.4% more in Monrovia
Clothing: pay 36.8% more in Monrovia

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

Planning a move to Liberia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Monrovia vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 92.2% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$7.50 LRD1,280.63	+35.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$11.00 LRD1,878.26	+118.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 ZMW15.03	$2.00 LRD341.50	+165.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ZMW9.39	$2.00 LRD341.50	+324.3%
Average			+92.2%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.0% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.20 ZMW23.92	$1.79 LRD305.86	+49.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$3.86 LRD658.77	-25.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.52 ZMW129.88	$8.01 LRD1,367.97	+22.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 ZMW38.66	$3.60 LRD614.70	+85.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$5.38 LRD917.79	+87.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 ZMW30.42	$0.74 LRD126.76	-51.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$3.83 LRD654.55	+248.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$4.67 LRD796.84	+182.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$5.00 LRD853.76	+617.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$1.00 LRD170.75	-14.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$4.83 LRD825.30	+483.4%
Average			+84.0%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.5% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZMW115.01	$4.69 LRD801.39	-18.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$20.00 LRD3,415.02	-60.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$20,000.00 LRD3M	+165.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$16.91 LRD2,887.90	+16.0%
Average			+0.5%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.9% less for housing

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$180.00 LRD30,735.22	+227.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	$250.00 LRD42,687.81	-35.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	$95.00 LRD16,221.37	-47.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$115.47 LRD19,716.75	+87.7%
Average			-23.9%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.1% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$100.00 LRD17,075.12	-27.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$1,000.00 LRD171K	-94.0%
Average			-79.1%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$4.00 LRD683.00	+218.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$3.00 LRD512.25	+6.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$5.00 LRD853.76	+65.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$62.50 LRD10,671.95	+14.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$5.00 LRD853.76	-17.1%
Average			+32.4%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.8% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Monrovia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$25.00 LRD4,268.78	+7.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$32.50 LRD5,549.42	+110.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$55.00 LRD9,391.32	+21.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$92.50 LRD15,794.49	+27.5%
Average			+36.8%

Lusaka vs. Monrovia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Lusaka vs. Monrovia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Monrovia?

More cost comparisons

Lusaka vs.

Beijing

Lusaka vs.

Rome

Lusaka vs.

Vienna

Lusaka vs.

Warsaw

Lusaka vs.

Lima

Lusaka vs.

Dublin

Lusaka vs.

Canberra

Lusaka vs.

London

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Zambia vs. Liberia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zambia and Liberia.

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

Add prices for Lusaka

Add prices for Monrovia

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Monrovia or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.