Cost of living comparison

Gaborone, Botswana

compared to

Harare, Zimbabwe

Harare vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Harare is 21.5% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 1.7% more in Harare
Groceries: pay 29.8% more in Harare
Transportation: pay 28.1% more in Harare
Housing: pay 39.1% more in Harare
Childcare: pay 73.6% more in Harare
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.4% more in Harare
Clothing: pay 38.0% less in Harare

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, transportation, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Harare are more expensive than in Gaborone.

Harare vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Harare instead of Gaborone, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.7% more for restaurants

	Gaborone	Harare
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.50 BWP103.25	$9.00 ZWL2,898.00	+20.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.00 BWP82.60	$5.50 ZWL1,771.00	-8.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 BWP11.47	$0.74 ZWL236.90	-11.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 BWP6.72	$0.52 ZWL167.52	+6.6%
Average			+1.7%

Gaborone vs. Harare - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.8% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Harare
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 BWP11.19	$1.01 ZWL324.64	+24.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.37 BWP46.40	$4.88 ZWL1,572.43	+45.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.06 BWP69.71	$6.09 ZWL1,960.22	+20.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.29 BWP31.56	$2.18 ZWL700.35	-5.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.27 BWP31.32	$2.86 ZWL919.99	+25.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.77 BWP10.66	$1.35 ZWL435.59	+74.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 BWP8.53	$0.76 ZWL244.28	+22.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.88 BWP12.17	$1.01 ZWL325.75	+14.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 BWP8.89	$0.83 ZWL266.25	+28.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 BWP8.23	$0.64 ZWL204.77	+6.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 BWP7.54	$0.94 ZWL302.06	+71.3%
Average			+29.8%

Gaborone vs. Harare - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.1% more for transportation

	Gaborone	Harare
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.27 BWP58.86	$6.10 ZWL1,964.49	+42.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.18 BWP388.24	$42.50 ZWL13,685.00	+50.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,486.26 BWP309,763.76	$25,000.00 ZWL8,050,000.00	+11.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.49 BWP268.46	$21.00 ZWL6,762.00	+7.8%
Average			+28.1%

Gaborone vs. Harare - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.1% more for housing

	Gaborone	Harare
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$90.60 BWP1,248.09	$119.22 ZWL38,389.56	+31.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$254.84 BWP3,510.66	$367.86 ZWL118,450.00	+44.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$149.91 BWP2,065.09	$283.33 ZWL91,233.33	+89.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.21 BWP677.92	$45.12 ZWL14,527.88	-8.3%
Average			+39.1%

Gaborone vs. Harare - Cost of housing

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pay 73.6% more for childcare

	Gaborone	Harare
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$180.24 BWP2,482.95	$261.43 ZWL84,180.00	+45.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,740.68 BWP51,530.49	$7,562.50 ZWL2,435,125.00	+102.2%
Average			+73.6%

Gaborone vs. Harare - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Harare
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 BWP30.98	$1.50 ZWL483.00	-33.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 BWP32.64	$3.14 ZWL1,012.00	+32.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.75 BWP51.63	$1.38 ZWL442.75	-63.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.19 BWP443.42	$63.64 ZWL20,490.91	+97.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.75 BWP92.93	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+48.2%
Average			+16.4%

Gaborone vs. Harare - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.0% less for clothing

	Gaborone	Harare
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.14 BWP608.05	$18.89 ZWL6,082.22	-57.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.17 BWP305.34	$23.89 ZWL7,692.22	+7.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.20 BWP1,049.75	$36.67 ZWL11,806.67	-51.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.16 BWP1,283.31	$45.91 ZWL14,782.73	-50.7%
Average			-38.0%

Gaborone vs. Harare - 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: April 2025

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See the cost of living in Botswana vs. Zimbabwe. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Botswana and Zimbabwe.

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