Cost of living comparison

compared to

El Salvador vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 69.6% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 89.6% more in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 55.9% more in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 71.8% more in El Salvador
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 26.5% less in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.1% more in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in El Salvador

The cost of housing, clothing, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports in El Salvador are more expensive than in Zambia. Notably, housing, clothing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in El Salvador.

El Salvador vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in El Salvador instead of Zambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 89.6% more for restaurants

	Zambia	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.35 ZMW168.07	$5.50 SVC47.99	-25.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.72 ZMW84.98	$6.33 SVC55.23	+70.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 ZMW11.21	$0.99 SVC8.64	+102.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.26 ZMW5.93	$0.81 SVC7.05	+211.3%
Average			+89.6%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.9% more for groceries

	Zambia	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 ZMW17.54	$1.95 SVC17.01	+154.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 ZMW86.00	$3.77 SVC32.86	+0.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.89 ZMW111.81	$6.72 SVC58.61	+37.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.53 ZMW35.05	$2.78 SVC24.25	+81.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.78 ZMW40.78	$2.82 SVC24.64	+58.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 ZMW20.49	$1.67 SVC14.60	+86.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZMW16.65	$0.76 SVC6.60	+3.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ZMW27.95	$1.17 SVC10.17	-4.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZMW11.42	$1.22 SVC10.61	+143.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 ZMW20.25	$0.97 SVC8.44	+9.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW15.30	$0.98 SVC8.51	+45.7%
Average			+55.9%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 71.8% more for transportation

	Zambia	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZMW104.62	$3.75 SVC32.69	-18.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$38.52 ZMW880.51	$15.00 SVC130.88	-61.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW182,982.35	$24,666.67 SVC215,223.23	+208.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.53 ZMW263.64	$29.78 SVC259.88	+158.3%
Average			+71.8%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Zambia	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$118.37 ZMW2,705.91	$41.89 SVC365.49	-64.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$176.52 ZMW4,035.26	$666.67 SVC5,816.84	+277.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$115.74 ZMW2,645.69	$502.78 SVC4,386.87	+334.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.70 ZMW1,204.80	$64.97 SVC566.86	+23.3%
Average			+142.7%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.5% less for childcare

	Zambia	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,041.38	$162.67 SVC1,419.31	-8.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,677.88 ZMW266,954.64	$6,420.00 SVC56,016.21	-45.0%
Average			-26.5%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.98 ZMW22.32	$2.00 SVC17.45	+104.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZMW46.80	$2.83 SVC24.69	+38.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.67 ZMW84.00	$4.00 SVC34.90	+8.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.47 ZMW1,153.70	$30.27 SVC264.08	-40.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.18 ZMW95.66	$5.17 SVC45.08	+23.5%
Average			+27.1%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Zambia	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.93 ZMW432.67	$62.60 SVC546.20	+230.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.99 ZMW388.39	$45.83 SVC399.91	+169.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.33 ZMW1,927.74	$131.80 SVC1,149.99	+56.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.12 ZMW1,671.60	$109.17 SVC952.51	+49.3%
Average			+126.5%

Zambia vs. El Salvador - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Zambia vs.

Ecuador

Zambia vs.

Australia

Zambia vs.

France

Zambia vs.

China

Zambia vs.

Thailand

Zambia vs.

Russia

Zambia vs.

Poland

Zambia vs.

Iceland

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Lusaka vs. San Salvador

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 Zambia

Add prices for El Salvador

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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