Cost of living comparison

Liberia

compared to

Zambia

Lusaka vs. Monrovia Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 5.7% cheaper than Monrovia.

Restaurants: pay 48.0% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 45.7% less in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 0.5% less in Lusaka
Housing: pay 31.4% more in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 4.8 times more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.5% less in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 26.9% less in Lusaka

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

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Lusaka vs. Monrovia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.0% less for restaurants

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.50 LRD1,280.63	$5.53 ZMW110.20	-26.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.00 LRD1,878.26	$5.03 ZMW100.18	-54.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 LRD341.50	$0.75 ZMW15.03	-62.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 LRD341.50	$0.47 ZMW9.39	-76.4%
Average			-48.0%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.7% less for groceries

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.79 LRD305.86	$1.20 ZMW23.92	-33.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.86 LRD658.77	$5.15 ZMW102.63	+33.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.01 LRD1,367.97	$6.52 ZMW129.88	-18.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.60 LRD614.70	$1.94 ZMW38.66	-46.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.38 LRD917.79	$2.87 ZMW57.22	-46.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 LRD126.76	$1.53 ZMW30.42	+105.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.83 LRD654.55	$1.10 ZMW21.94	-71.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$4.67 LRD796.84	$1.65 ZMW32.94	-64.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$5.00 LRD853.76	$0.70 ZMW13.88	-86.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 LRD170.75	$1.16 ZMW23.20	+16.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$4.83 LRD825.30	$0.83 ZMW16.51	-82.9%
Average			-45.7%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.5% less for transportation

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.69 LRD801.39	$5.77 ZMW115.01	+23.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.00 LRD3,415.02	$50.15 ZMW999.41	+150.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,000.00 LRD3M	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	-62.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.91 LRD2,887.90	$14.58 ZMW290.52	-13.8%
Average			-0.5%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.4% more for housing

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$180.00 LRD30,735.22	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	-69.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 LRD42,687.81	$384.95 ZMW7,670.79	+54.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$95.00 LRD16,221.37	$179.40 ZMW3,574.79	+88.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.47 LRD19,716.75	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	-46.7%
Average			+31.4%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay 4.8 times more for childcare

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$100.00 LRD17,075.12	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	+38.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,000.00 LRD171K	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	+1563.8%
Average			+379.6%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.00 LRD683.00	$1.26 ZMW25.05	-68.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 LRD512.25	$2.82 ZMW56.21	-6.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.00 LRD853.76	$3.02 ZMW60.11	-39.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.50 LRD10,671.95	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	-12.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 LRD853.76	$6.03 ZMW120.22	+20.7%
Average			-24.5%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 26.9% less for clothing

	Monrovia	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.00 LRD4,268.78	$23.28 ZMW463.85	-6.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.50 LRD5,549.42	$15.45 ZMW307.88	-52.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$55.00 LRD9,391.32	$45.19 ZMW900.42	-17.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.50 LRD15,794.49	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	-21.6%
Average			-26.9%

Monrovia vs. Lusaka - 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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