Cost of living comparison

Lusaka, Zambia

compared to

Manila, Philippines

Manila vs. Lusaka Cost of Living Summary

Manila is 46.1% more expensive than Lusaka.

Restaurants: pay 13.3% more in Manila
Groceries: pay 46.5% more in Manila
Transportation: pay 13.8% more in Manila
Housing: pay 43.2% more in Manila
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Manila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.5% more in Manila
Clothing: pay 19.5% more in Manila

The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation in Manila are more expensive than in Lusaka. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Manila.

Manila vs. Lusaka Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.3% more for restaurants

	Lusaka	Manila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.21 ZMW205.58	$5.12 ₱294.03	-29.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.82 ZMW108.94	$4.26 ₱245.03	+11.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 ZMW20.34	$0.87 ₱50.18	+22.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.33 ZMW9.43	$0.49 ₱28.25	+48.5%
Average			+13.3%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.5% more for groceries

	Lusaka	Manila
Bread 1 loaf	$0.74 ZMW21.08	$1.35 ₱77.71	+82.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 ZMW103.65	$5.30 ₱304.86	+45.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.85 ZMW138.33	$6.79 ₱390.48	+40.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 ZMW54.86	$2.08 ₱119.48	+8.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 ZMW51.22	$2.42 ₱139.06	+34.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.20 ZMW34.24	$1.52 ₱87.47	+26.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 ZMW17.21	$0.80 ₱46.21	+33.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.27 ZMW36.07	$1.52 ₱87.49	+20.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 ZMW16.06	$0.98 ₱56.15	+73.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.96 ZMW27.25	$1.20 ₱69.03	+25.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 ZMW19.21	$1.48 ₱85.36	+120.4%
Average			+46.5%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.8% more for transportation

	Lusaka	Manila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 ZMW135.86	$4.14 ₱238.05	-13.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.04 ZMW1,055.86	$9.93 ₱570.71	-73.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$8,004.53 ZMW228,202.76	$25,575.45 ₱1,470,166.22	+219.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.13 ZMW345.81	$2.67 ₱153.39	-78.0%
Average			+13.8%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.2% more for housing

	Lusaka	Manila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$125.92 ZMW3,589.86	$28.80 ₱1,655.81	-77.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$214.42 ZMW6,113.02	$468.88 ₱26,953.00	+118.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$114.96 ZMW3,277.38	$234.44 ₱13,476.52	+103.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$83.50 ZMW2,380.57	$106.33 ₱6,112.21	+27.3%
Average			+43.2%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Lusaka	Manila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$176.79 ZMW5,040.12	$482.52 ₱27,737.14	+172.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,570.42 ZMW187,317.59	$14,127.39 ₱812,091.82	+115.0%
Average			+143.9%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Lusaka	Manila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.97 ZMW27.56	$1.36 ₱78.41	+41.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.07 ZMW59.11	$2.70 ₱155.04	+30.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.49 ZMW70.96	$3.07 ₱176.42	+23.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.21 ZMW1,174.92	$40.61 ₱2,334.45	-1.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.50 ZMW99.77	$7.67 ₱441.05	+119.3%
Average			+42.5%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.5% more for clothing

	Lusaka	Manila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.43 ZMW525.56	$33.31 ₱1,914.91	+80.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.78 ZMW535.52	$26.60 ₱1,528.87	+41.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.18 ZMW2,570.86	$74.03 ₱4,255.23	-17.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.76 ZMW2,359.46	$60.89 ₱3,500.26	-26.4%
Average			+19.5%

Lusaka vs. Manila - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Lusaka vs.

Bangkok

Lusaka vs.

Wellington

Lusaka vs.

Athens

Lusaka vs.

Berlin

Lusaka vs.

London

Lusaka vs.

Hong Kong

Lusaka vs.

Cairo

Lusaka vs.

Canberra

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Lusaka

Add prices for Manila

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Manila or Lusaka. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.