Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 32.1% more expensive than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 60.2% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 21.7% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 54.7% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 73.1% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 34.7% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.2% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 90.5% more in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 60.2% more for restaurants

	Zambia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+84.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$5.91 ZAR97.49	+17.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 ZMW12.52	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+72.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ZMW7.20	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+131.2%
Average			+60.2%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.7% less for groceries

	Zambia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ZMW23.48	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-9.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-20.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.37 ZMW126.88	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-28.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW35.36	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+44.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-19.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 ZMW22.03	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-26.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-33.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-52.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+10.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.64 ZAR10.62	-44.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.66 ZAR10.85	-20.6%
Average			-21.7%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.7% more for transportation

	Zambia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 ZMW108.98	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+0.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+29.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+331.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-49.6%
Average			+54.7%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 73.1% more for housing

	Zambia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$38.93 ZAR642.17	-29.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+50.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+123.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+71.6%
Average			+73.1%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 34.7% less for childcare

	Zambia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	+44.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-70.4%
Average			-34.7%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+79.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-20.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$3.16 ZAR52.13	+4.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-42.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+21.3%
Average			-1.2%

Zambia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 90.5% more for clothing

	Zambia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+126.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$34.13 ZAR562.92	+120.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+120.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+19.4%
Average			+90.5%

Zambia vs. South Africa - 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. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 5.5 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Zambia is about 1.6 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Zambia to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

22,901 people born in Zambia live in South Africa.

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