Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Kenya

Kenya vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

Kenya is 18.1% cheaper than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5% less in Kenya
Groceries: pay 44.4% less in Kenya
Transportation: pay 17.7% more in Kenya
Housing: pay 20.9% less in Kenya
Childcare: pay 13.4% less in Kenya
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.8% more in Kenya
Clothing: pay 22.8% less in Kenya

The cost of transportation and entertainment and sports in Kenya are more expensive than in Zambia. Expenses including groceries, clothing, housing, childcare, and restaurants are lower in Kenya.

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Kenya vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kenya instead of Zambia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5% less for restaurants

	Zambia	Kenya
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$3.96 KES513.81	-28.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$6.49 KES842.08	+29.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 ZMW12.52	$0.58 KES74.64	-8.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ZMW7.20	$0.57 KES73.50	+56.8%
Average			-2.5%

Zambia vs. Kenya - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.4% less for groceries

	Zambia	Kenya
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ZMW23.48	$0.57 KES73.38	-52.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$5.04 KES654.07	-2.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.37 ZMW126.88	$2.81 KES364.50	-55.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW35.36	$1.68 KES218.44	-5.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.61 KES338.09	-9.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 ZMW22.03	$1.14 KES147.75	+3.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.42 KES55.09	-61.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.63 KES81.85	-61.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.34 KES43.54	-51.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.33 KES42.99	-71.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.35 KES45.50	-57.7%
Average			-44.4%

Zambia vs. Kenya - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.7% more for transportation

	Zambia	Kenya
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 ZMW108.98	$5.72 KES742.41	+4.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$30.03 KES3,896.40	-40.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$19,967.15 KES3M	+164.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$12.32 KES1,598.52	-15.5%
Average			+17.7%

Zambia vs. Kenya - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.9% less for housing

	Zambia	Kenya
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$33.50 KES4,347.14	-39.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	$208.27 KES27,025.43	-25.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	$163.35 KES21,195.68	-1.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$34.61 KES4,490.62	-43.7%
Average			-20.9%

Zambia vs. Kenya - Cost of housing

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pay 13.4% less for childcare

	Zambia	Kenya
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$167.67 KES21,757.09	+21.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$10,284.02 KES1M	-38.2%
Average			-13.4%

Zambia vs. Kenya - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	Kenya
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$2.14 KES278.31	+70.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.44 KES316.97	-13.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$3.21 KES417.11	+6.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$32.05 KES4,158.65	-41.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$8.52 KES1,106.12	+41.3%
Average			+3.8%

Zambia vs. Kenya - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.8% less for clothing

	Zambia	Kenya
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$16.22 KES2,105.20	-30.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$20.38 KES2,645.16	+31.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$35.38 KES4,590.56	-21.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$35.71 KES4,633.90	-50.8%
Average			-22.8%

Zambia vs. Kenya - 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

Compare further: Zambia vs. Kenya

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Size Comparison · See true size

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