Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lesotho vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary
Lesotho is 23.8% more expensive than Zambia overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.4 times more in Lesotho
- Groceries
-
pay 11.9% more in Lesotho
- Transportation
-
pay 25.4% more in Lesotho
- Housing
-
pay 41.9% less in Lesotho
- Childcare
-
pay 81.0% less in Lesotho
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 18.2% more in Lesotho
- Clothing
-
pay 97.1% more in Lesotho
The cost of restaurants, clothing, transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Lesotho are more expensive than in Zambia. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in Lesotho. Notably, restaurants and clothing are significantly more expensive in Lesotho.
Lesotho vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lesotho instead of Zambia, you would:
pay 2.4 times more for restaurants
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.35
ZMW169.30
|
$11.52
LSL195.30
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.72
ZMW85.60
|
$8.07
LSL136.71
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.49
ZMW11.29
|
$1.33
LSL22.46
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.26
ZMW5.97
|
$0.79
LSL13.35
|
|
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of restaurants
pay 11.9% more for groceries
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.77
ZMW17.67
|
$0.74
LSL12.50
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.76
ZMW86.62
|
$3.65
LSL61.92
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.89
ZMW112.63
|
$3.99
LSL67.67
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.53
ZMW35.31
|
$1.44
LSL24.41
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.78
ZMW41.08
|
$2.68
LSL45.44
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.90
ZMW20.64
|
$0.82
LSL13.85
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZMW16.77
|
$0.97
LSL16.51
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.22
ZMW28.16
|
$1.18
LSL19.94
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.50
ZMW11.50
|
$1.05
LSL17.73
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.89
ZMW20.40
|
$0.68
LSL11.52
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.67
ZMW15.41
|
$0.70
LSL11.85
|
|
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of groceries
pay 25.4% more for transportation
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.58
ZMW105.38
|
$4.58
LSL77.54
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$38.52
ZMW886.94
|
$28.81
LSL488.25
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$8,004.53
ZMW184,318.08
|
$20,166.39
LSL341,776.69
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$11.53
ZMW265.57
|
$5.70
LSL96.67
|
|
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of transportation
pay 41.9% less for housing
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$118.37
ZMW2,725.66
|
$32.68
LSL553.77
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$176.52
ZMW4,064.71
|
$145.97
LSL2,473.81
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$115.74
ZMW2,665.01
|
$73.94
LSL1,253.18
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$52.70
ZMW1,213.60
|
?? | |
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of housing
pay 81.0% less for childcare
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$176.79
ZMW4,070.88
|
$49.99
LSL847.27
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$11,677.88
ZMW268,903.36
|
$1,133.16
LSL19,204.60
|
|
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of childcare
pay 18.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$0.98
ZMW22.49
|
$2.02
LSL34.18
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZMW47.14
|
$1.82
LSL30.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.67
ZMW84.61
|
$4.90
LSL83.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.47
ZMW1,162.12
|
$22.09
LSL374.33
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.18
ZMW96.36
|
?? | |
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 97.1% more for clothing
|
Zambia
|
Lesotho
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$18.93
ZMW435.83
|
$44.17
LSL748.65
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$16.99
ZMW391.23
|
$40.33
LSL683.55
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.33
ZMW1,941.82
|
$101.79
LSL1,725.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$73.12
ZMW1,683.80
|
$144.05
LSL2,441.26
|
|
Zambia vs. Lesotho - Cost of clothing
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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