Cost of living comparison

compared to

Zambia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Zambia is 2.8% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 42.2% less in Zambia
Groceries: pay 7.4% more in Zambia
Transportation: pay 19.4% less in Zambia
Housing: pay 9.1% more in Zambia
Childcare: pay 98.3% more in Zambia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.7% less in Zambia
Clothing: pay 33.0% less in Zambia

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

Zambia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Zambia instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.2% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Zambia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR162.17	$7.35 ZMW169.45	-21.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR88.83	$3.72 ZMW85.68	-27.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.92	$0.49 ZMW11.30	-52.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.95	$0.26 ZMW5.98	-67.7%
Average			-42.2%

South Africa vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.4% more for groceries

	South Africa	Zambia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.42	$0.77 ZMW17.69	-23.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR67.49	$3.76 ZMW86.70	-3.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR75.94	$4.89 ZMW112.73	+11.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR40.54	$1.53 ZMW35.34	-34.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR37.08	$1.78 ZMW41.11	-16.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.65	$0.90 ZMW20.66	+23.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.33	$0.73 ZMW16.79	+11.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.88	$1.22 ZMW28.18	+78.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.32	$0.50 ZMW11.52	-29.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.17	$0.89 ZMW20.42	+51.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.42	$0.67 ZMW15.43	+11.6%
Average			+7.4%

South Africa vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.4% less for transportation

	South Africa	Zambia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR85.54	$4.58 ZMW105.48	-7.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR976.02	$38.52 ZMW887.75	-31.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR371,717.80	$8,004.53 ZMW184,487.39	-62.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR162.24	$11.53 ZMW265.81	+23.5%
Average			-19.4%

South Africa vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.1% more for housing

	South Africa	Zambia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR683.80	$118.37 ZMW2,728.16	+200.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR7,021.94	$176.52 ZMW4,068.45	-56.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,282.35	$115.74 ZMW2,667.46	-68.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,531.16	$52.70 ZMW1,214.71	-40.2%
Average			+9.1%

South Africa vs. Zambia - Cost of housing

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pay 98.3% more for childcare

	South Africa	Zambia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR3,013.99	$176.79 ZMW4,074.62	+1.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR68,838.46	$11,677.88 ZMW269,150.36	+194.7%
Average			+98.3%

South Africa vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.7% less for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Zambia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.84	$0.98 ZMW22.51	-55.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.60	$2.05 ZMW47.18	-0.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR51.49	$3.67 ZMW84.69	+24.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR525.77	$50.47 ZMW1,163.19	+66.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR118.98	$4.18 ZMW96.44	-38.9%
Average			-0.7%

South Africa vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.0% less for clothing

	South Africa	Zambia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR881.61	$18.93 ZMW436.23	-62.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR569.05	$16.99 ZMW391.59	-48.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,636.50	$84.33 ZMW1,943.60	-10.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,421.13	$73.12 ZMW1,685.34	-10.6%
Average			-33.0%

South Africa vs. Zambia - 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: November 2025

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