Cost of living comparison

compared to

Botswana vs. Zimbabwe Cost of Living Summary

Botswana is 3.7% more expensive than Zimbabwe overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.0% more in Botswana
Groceries: pay 10.4% less in Botswana
Transportation: pay 16.2% less in Botswana
Housing: pay 27.8% less in Botswana
Childcare: pay 40.1% less in Botswana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.8% more in Botswana
Clothing: pay 67.8% more in Botswana

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

Botswana vs. Zimbabwe Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Botswana instead of Zimbabwe, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.0% more for restaurants

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.25 ZWL2,334.50	$10.33 BWP137.19	+42.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ZWL1,771.00	$6.01 BWP79.82	+9.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 ZWL192.35	$0.82 BWP10.88	+37.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 ZWL134.02	$0.48 BWP6.39	+15.5%
Average			+26.0%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.4% less for groceries

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 ZWL326.12	$0.86 BWP11.40	-15.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.30 ZWL1,707.41	$3.42 BWP45.46	-35.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.96 ZWL1,918.06	$5.53 BWP73.48	-7.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.98 ZWL636.46	$2.32 BWP30.88	+17.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.37 ZWL762.99	$2.34 BWP31.11	-1.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.08 ZWL349.08	$0.80 BWP10.59	-26.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZWL234.29	$0.65 BWP8.63	-10.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.07 ZWL344.68	$0.80 BWP10.63	-25.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 ZWL196.88	$0.73 BWP9.72	+19.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 ZWL211.93	$0.64 BWP8.54	-2.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 ZWL258.09	$0.58 BWP7.69	-27.8%
Average			-10.4%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.2% less for transportation

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.92 ZWL1,906.80	$4.28 BWP56.92	-27.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.50 ZWL13,685.00	$30.79 BWP409.08	-27.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,500.00 ZWL7,567,000.00	$20,652.69 BWP274,382.03	-12.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	$20.46 BWP271.89	+2.3%
Average			-16.2%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.8% less for housing

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$159.29 ZWL51,291.92	$52.19 BWP693.44	-67.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$301.47 ZWL97,073.53	$262.85 BWP3,492.13	-12.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$202.31 ZWL65,143.08	$160.93 BWP2,138.04	-20.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$59.14 ZWL19,042.20	$52.95 BWP703.47	-10.5%
Average			-27.8%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - Cost of housing

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pay 40.1% less for childcare

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.11 ZWL74,417.78	$147.01 BWP1,953.10	-36.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,406.25 ZWL2,062,812.50	$3,593.57 BWP47,742.47	-43.9%
Average			-40.1%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.62 ZWL523.25	$2.25 BWP29.93	+38.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.52 ZWL810.92	$2.30 BWP30.49	-8.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.35 ZWL434.70	$3.68 BWP48.89	+172.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.19 ZWL14,551.92	$32.35 BWP429.75	-28.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.25 ZWL3,622.50	$6.76 BWP89.80	-39.9%
Average			+26.8%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 67.8% more for clothing

	Zimbabwe	Botswana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$20.71 ZWL6,668.08	$46.00 BWP611.12	+122.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.58 ZWL5,339.83	$24.41 BWP324.27	+47.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$48.80 ZWL15,712.98	$71.82 BWP954.10	+47.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.17 ZWL18,731.73	$90.12 BWP1,197.30	+54.9%
Average			+67.8%

Zimbabwe vs. Botswana - 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: December 2025

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