Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lusaka vs. Sofia Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 2.1% more expensive than Sofia.

Restaurants: pay 51.9% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 2.4% less in Lusaka
Transportation: pay 1.9% more in Lusaka
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Lusaka
Childcare: pay 35.3% less in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.9% less in Lusaka
Clothing: pay 36.5% less in Lusaka

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

Lusaka vs. Sofia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 51.9% less for restaurants

	Sofia	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.96 BGN20.91	$7.21 ZMW200.08	-34.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.22 BGN15.68	$3.82 ZMW106.03	-53.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.48 BGN2.82	$0.71 ZMW19.80	-51.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 BGN1.96	$0.33 ZMW9.18	-67.9%
Average			-51.9%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4% less for groceries

	Sofia	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$1.12 BGN2.14	$0.74 ZMW20.52	-34.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.28 BGN10.07	$3.64 ZMW100.88	-31.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.60 BGN12.58	$4.85 ZMW134.63	-26.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.55 BGN6.76	$1.92 ZMW53.40	-45.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.50 BGN6.67	$1.80 ZMW49.85	-48.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.80 BGN1.53	$1.20 ZMW33.32	+50.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 BGN1.63	$0.60 ZMW16.75	-29.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 BGN1.55	$1.27 ZMW35.10	+56.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 BGN2.11	$0.56 ZMW15.63	-49.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 BGN0.97	$0.96 ZMW26.52	+88.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 BGN0.90	$0.67 ZMW18.69	+43.6%
Average			-2.4%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.9% more for transportation

	Sofia	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.66 BGN10.79	$4.77 ZMW132.22	-15.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$27.40 BGN52.26	$37.04 ZMW1,027.60	+35.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,952.87 BGN57,131.57	$8,004.53 ZMW222,096.11	-73.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.51 BGN14.32	$12.13 ZMW336.55	+61.6%
Average			+1.9%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Sofia	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.48 BGN25.71	$125.92 ZMW3,493.79	+834.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$570.94 BGN1,089.00	$214.42 ZMW5,949.44	-62.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$430.23 BGN820.62	$114.96 ZMW3,189.68	-73.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$114.12 BGN217.68	$83.50 ZMW2,316.87	-26.8%
Average			+167.9%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.3% less for childcare

	Sofia	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$554.43 BGN1,057.51	$176.79 ZMW4,905.25	-68.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,747.31 BGN12,869.71	$6,570.42 ZMW182,305.02	-2.6%
Average			-35.3%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Sofia	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.74 BGN5.23	$0.97 ZMW26.83	-64.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.26 BGN4.31	$2.07 ZMW57.53	-8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.34 BGN6.38	$2.49 ZMW69.06	-25.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.04 BGN70.65	$41.21 ZMW1,143.48	+11.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.22 BGN15.68	$3.50 ZMW97.10	-57.4%
Average			-28.9%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 36.5% less for clothing

	Sofia	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$70.63 BGN134.72	$18.43 ZMW511.50	-73.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.57 BGN64.03	$18.78 ZMW521.19	-44.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.28 BGN189.36	$90.18 ZMW2,502.06	-9.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.16 BGN194.86	$82.76 ZMW2,296.32	-19.0%
Average			-36.5%

Sofia vs. Lusaka - 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: January 2025

More cost comparisons

Sofia vs.

Dodoma

Sofia vs.

Delhi

Sofia vs.

Phnom Penh

Sofia vs.

Moscow

Sofia vs.

Madrid

Sofia vs.

Warsaw

Sofia vs.

Wellington

Sofia vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Sofia

Add prices for Lusaka

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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