Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santiago vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 72.0% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants
pay 2.4 times more in Santiago
Groceries
pay 30.8% more in Santiago
Transportation
pay 42.6% more in Santiago
Housing
pay 97.1% more in Santiago
Childcare
pay 60.2% more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports
pay 67.9% more in Santiago
Clothing
pay 65.9% more in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.48
ZMW172.19
$10.50
CLF0.2500
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$3.82
ZMW87.99
$8.10
CLF0.1900
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.62
ZMW14.25
$1.61
CLF0.0400

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pay 30.8% more for groceries

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Bread
1 loaf
$0.77
ZMW17.67
$1.55
CLF0.0400
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
ZMW86.62
$5.13
CLF0.1200
Milk (1 gallon) $4.99
ZMW114.88
$4.52
CLF0.1100

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pay 42.6% more for transportation

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.58
ZMW105.38
$5.23
CLF0.1200
Monthly public transit pass $38.52
ZMW886.94
$41.99
CLF0.9900
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $8,004.53
ZMW184,318.08
$19,201.90
CLF450.9900

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pay 97.1% more for housing

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$118.37
ZMW2,725.66
$21.76
CLF0.5100
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $226.58
ZMW5,217.38
$502.56
CLF11.8000
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $123.07
ZMW2,833.97
$424.00
CLF9.9600

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pay 60.2% more for childcare

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $176.79
ZMW4,070.88
$431.25
CLF10.1300
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $11,677.88
ZMW268,903.36
$8,923.79
CLF209.5900

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pay 67.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.98
ZMW22.49
$3.15
CLF0.0700
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.05
ZMW47.14
$3.09
CLF0.0700
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.67
ZMW84.61
$5.56
CLF0.1300

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pay 65.9% more for clothing

 
Lusaka
Santiago
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$18.93
ZMW435.83
$53.82
CLF1.2600
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$16.99
ZMW391.23
$30.77
CLF0.7200
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$84.33
ZMW1,941.82
$73.54
CLF1.7300

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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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