Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kathmandu vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 8.5% cheaper than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 18.6% less in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 29.8% less in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 58.4% more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 45.5% less in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 47.5% less in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.9% more in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 0.3% more in Kathmandu

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

Kathmandu vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kathmandu instead of Lusaka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.6% less for restaurants

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW200.08	$1.47 NPR202.80	-79.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW106.03	$7.36 NPR1,012.99	+92.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW19.80	$0.46 NPR62.79	-36.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW9.18	$0.16 NPR22.26	-51.1%
Average			-18.6%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.8% less for groceries

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW20.52	$0.57 NPR77.91	-23.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW100.88	$4.70 NPR646.49	+29.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW134.63	$3.17 NPR436.81	-34.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW53.40	$1.62 NPR223.66	-15.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW49.85	$1.48 NPR203.52	-17.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW33.32	$1.09 NPR149.71	-9.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW16.75	$0.47 NPR64.79	-22.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW35.10	$0.52 NPR71.91	-58.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW15.63	$0.33 NPR45.09	-41.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW26.52	$0.22 NPR29.93	-77.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW18.69	$0.29 NPR40.32	-56.5%
Average			-29.8%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.4% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW132.22	$4.85 NPR668.17	+1.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW1,027.60	$9.94 NPR1,368.91	-73.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW222,096.11	$33,138.99 NPR4,563,018.54	+314.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW336.55	$11.05 NPR1,521.01	-8.9%
Average			+58.4%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.5% less for housing

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,493.79	$10.42 NPR1,435.21	-91.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW5,949.44	$191.60 NPR26,382.70	-10.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW3,189.68	$102.03 NPR14,048.18	-11.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,316.87	$26.40 NPR3,634.76	-68.4%
Average			-45.5%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

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pay 47.5% less for childcare

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW4,905.25	$91.89 NPR12,652.01	-48.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW182,305.02	$3,479.59 NPR479,116.95	-47.0%
Average			-47.5%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW26.83	$2.58 NPR354.90	+166.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW57.53	$1.66 NPR228.54	-20.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW69.06	$2.95 NPR405.60	+18.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,143.48	$22.71 NPR3,126.51	-44.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW97.10	$3.31 NPR456.30	-5.3%
Average			+22.9%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.3% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW511.50	$24.02 NPR3,307.21	+30.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW521.19	$31.19 NPR4,294.61	+66.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,502.06	$53.29 NPR7,338.19	-40.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,296.32	$37.76 NPR5,199.08	-54.4%
Average			+0.3%

Lusaka vs. Kathmandu - 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: January 2025

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