Cost of living comparison
compared to
Nairobi vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary
Nairobi is 20.3% more expensive than Lusaka.
- Restaurants
-
pay 33.9% more in Nairobi
- Groceries
-
pay 7.4% less in Nairobi
- Transportation
-
pay 52.8% more in Nairobi
- Housing
-
pay 16.9% more in Nairobi
- Childcare
-
pay 1.0% more in Nairobi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 40.7% more in Nairobi
- Clothing
-
pay 3.9% more in Nairobi
The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, clothing, and childcare in Nairobi are more expensive than in Lusaka.
Nairobi vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Nairobi instead of Lusaka, you would:
pay 33.9% more for restaurants
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.48
ZMW170.94
|
$5.80
KES751.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.82
ZMW87.36
|
$6.97
KES901.74
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.62
ZMW14.15
|
$0.70
KES90.86
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.34
ZMW7.73
|
$0.55
KES71.09
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.4% less for groceries
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.77
ZMW17.54
|
$0.55
KES70.74
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.76
ZMW86.00
|
$5.57
KES720.62
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.99
ZMW114.04
|
$3.36
KES434.42
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.77
ZMW40.40
|
$1.64
KES212.89
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.78
ZMW40.78
|
$2.92
KES377.80
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.22
ZMW27.91
|
$1.41
KES182.10
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZMW16.65
|
$0.47
KES61.45
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.22
ZMW27.95
|
$0.89
KES115.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.50
ZMW11.42
|
$0.46
KES59.05
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
ZMW20.25
|
$0.49
KES63.55
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.67
ZMW15.30
|
$0.51
KES65.57
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries
pay 52.8% more for transportation
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.58
ZMW104.62
|
$5.40
KES698.91
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.52
ZMW880.51
|
$30.96
KES4,007.74
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$8,004.53
ZMW182,982.35
|
$21,671.83
KES2,805,417.96
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.00
ZMW274.33
|
$17.03
KES2,204.26
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation
pay 16.9% more for housing
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$118.37
ZMW2,705.91
|
$39.86
KES5,160.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$226.58
ZMW5,179.57
|
$476.96
KES61,741.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$123.07
ZMW2,813.44
|
$206.31
KES26,706.75
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$52.70
ZMW1,204.80
|
$29.32
KES3,796.09
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing
pay 1.0% more for childcare
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$176.79
ZMW4,041.38
|
$224.14
KES29,014.37
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,677.88
ZMW266,954.64
|
$8,775.09
KES1,135,934.95
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare
pay 40.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$0.98
ZMW22.32
|
$2.32
KES300.58
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZMW46.80
|
$2.37
KES306.78
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.67
ZMW84.00
|
$3.10
KES400.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.47
ZMW1,153.70
|
$45.30
KES5,863.82
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.18
ZMW95.66
|
$7.35
KES951.84
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 3.9% more for clothing
|
Lusaka
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$18.93
ZMW432.67
|
$19.62
KES2,540.20
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$16.99
ZMW388.39
|
$24.88
KES3,220.51
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.33
ZMW1,927.74
|
$67.92
KES8,791.98
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$73.12
ZMW1,671.60
|
$62.28
KES8,061.57
|
|
Lusaka vs. Nairobi - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Zambia vs. Kenya.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zambia and Kenya.
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 Nairobi or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.