Blantyre vs Lusaka - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Blantyre	Lusaka
🚶 Cost of living one person	$507	$738
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1439	$2249
🏠 One person rent	$147	$312
🏘️ Family rent	$369	$948
🍽️ Food expenses	$210	$239
🚐 Transport expenses	$98.9	$127
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$499	$333
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	22	37
😀 Quality of life	25	49
🏙️ Population	800K	2.47M

The cost of living in Blantyre is 31% less expensive than in Lusaka. Cities ranked 8593rd and 6726th ($507 vs $738) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 5th and 6th in Malawi and Zambia, respectively. Check Malawi vs Zambia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1 months in Blantyre compared to 0.5 months in Lusaka. Blantyre ranked 1st best city to live in Malawi vs Lusaka ranked 1st in Zambia, while ranked 8566th and 6269th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Blantyre vs Lusaka infographic

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Prices in Blantyre vs Lusaka

Prices for goods and services in Blantyre and Lusaka are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Blantyre	Lusaka
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.98	$6.95
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$12.7	$27
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.71	$3.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.01	$0.91
☕ Cappuccino	$2.01	$2.02
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.82	$0.64
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$175	$194
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$81.7	$109
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$454	$1082
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$274	$641
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$21.8	$60.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$33.5	$94.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$25.2	$125
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.26%	21.29%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$10525	$2003
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$398	$4875
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.85	$1.23
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$15.1	$36.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$20.2	$12
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.21	$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.81	$1.34
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.93	$0.75
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.4	$1.7
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.37	$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.91	$7.27
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.51	$3.63
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.13	$4.83
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.77	$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.32	$1.42
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.44	$2.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.86	$1.15
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$1.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.34	$1.41
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.53	$0.34
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$0.73	$0.97
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.55	$6.86
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.94	$1.09
🚬 Cigarette pack	$1.87	$2.37
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.48	$4.66
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$1.3	$2.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.73	$1.17
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.7	$1.07
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$41.8	$44.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$1.45	$4.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$17.1	$12.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$2.97	$4.45
👖 Brand Jeans	$34	$18.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$59.1	$89.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$359	$176
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$591	$9642

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Blantyre

Distance	City	Cost of living
57 km or 35 mi	Zomba	$457
60 km or 37 mi	Mulanje	$461
112 km or 70 mi	Ntcheu	$492
149 km or 92 mi	Mangochi	$493
157 km or 98 mi	Tete	$825
191 km or 119 mi	Monkey Bay	$518
240 km or 149 mi	Lilongwe	$587
307 km or 191 mi	Quelimane	$675
405 km or 252 mi	Chimoio	$947
432 km or 269 mi	Mutare	$752
450 km or 280 mi	Beira	$1003
454 km or 282 mi	Marondera	$794
458 km or 285 mi	Mzimba	$566
463 km or 287 mi	Nampula	$872
478 km or 297 mi	Harare	$992
487 km or 303 mi	Chitungwiza	$873
493 km or 307 mi	Mzuzu	$525
541 km or 336 mi	Chinhoyi	$646
611 km or 380 mi	Kadoma	$723
626 km or 389 mi	Nacala	$1150
637 km or 396 mi	Kwekwe	$730
650 km or 404 mi	Masvingo	$854
674 km or 419 mi	Pemba	$1506
685 km or 425 mi	Gweru	$597
708 km or 440 mi	Kapiri Mposhi	$687
721 km or 448 mi	Lusaka	$738
746 km or 463 mi	Kasama	$748
754 km or 469 mi	Ndola	$541
784 km or 487 mi	Mbeya	$461
803 km or 499 mi	Kitwe	$917
811 km or 504 mi	Mufulira	$1018
837 km or 520 mi	Mansa	$776
837 km or 520 mi	Bulawayo	$766
849 km or 528 mi	Chingola	$875
865 km or 537 mi	Choma	$700
935 km or 581 mi	Lubumbashi	$1050
991 km or 616 mi	Francistown	$624
999 km or 621 mi	Livingstone	$688
1000 km or 621 mi	Moroni	$1105
1038 km or 645 mi	Morogoro	$486

Cities near Lusaka

Distance	City	Cost of living
166 km or 103 mi	Kapiri Mposhi	$687
209 km or 130 mi	Choma	$700
275 km or 171 mi	Ndola	$541
289 km or 179 mi	Kitwe	$917
297 km or 184 mi	Chinhoyi	$646
318 km or 198 mi	Mufulira	$1018
322 km or 200 mi	Chingola	$875
370 km or 230 mi	Kadoma	$723
373 km or 232 mi	Livingstone	$688
399 km or 248 mi	Harare	$992
411 km or 255 mi	Chitungwiza	$873
426 km or 265 mi	Lubumbashi	$1050
429 km or 267 mi	Kwekwe	$730
464 km or 288 mi	Marondera	$794
475 km or 295 mi	Mansa	$776
478 km or 297 mi	Gweru	$597
521 km or 324 mi	Likasi	$961
529 km or 329 mi	Bulawayo	$766
574 km or 356 mi	Tete	$825
584 km or 363 mi	Masvingo	$854
605 km or 376 mi	Kolwezi	$975
611 km or 380 mi	Mutare	$752
613 km or 381 mi	Lilongwe	$587
645 km or 401 mi	Francistown	$624
658 km or 409 mi	Kasama	$748
686 km or 426 mi	Chimoio	$947
688 km or 428 mi	Ntcheu	$492
694 km or 431 mi	Mzimba	$566
721 km or 448 mi	Blantyre	$507
729 km or 453 mi	Monkey Bay	$518
756 km or 470 mi	Zomba	$457
757 km or 471 mi	Mangochi	$493
762 km or 474 mi	Mzuzu	$525
775 km or 482 mi	Mulanje	$461
792 km or 492 mi	Serowe	$583
802 km or 499 mi	Palapye	$540
852 km or 529 mi	Beira	$1003
869 km or 540 mi	Mahalapye	$631
917 km or 570 mi	Mbeya	$461
956 km or 594 mi	Quelimane	$675