Kinshasa vs Lusaka - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Kinshasa	Lusaka
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1120	$738
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3075	$2249
🏠 One person rent	$578	$312
🏘️ Family rent	$1557	$948
🍽️ Food expenses	$281	$239
🚐 Transport expenses	$182	$127
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$975	$333
😷 Air quality	Bad	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	2 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	31	37
😀 Quality of life	40	49
🏙️ Population	14.6M	2.47M

The cost of living in Kinshasa is 52% more expensive than in Lusaka. Cities ranked 4732nd and 6726th ($1120 vs $738) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th in the DR Congo and Zambia, respectively. Check the DR Congo vs Zambia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.9 months in Kinshasa compared to 0.5 months in Lusaka. Kinshasa ranked 1st best city to live in the DR Congo vs Lusaka ranked 1st in Zambia, while ranked 6909th and 6269th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Kinshasa vs Lusaka infographic

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Prices in Kinshasa vs Lusaka

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

	Kinshasa	Lusaka
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$5.68	$6.95
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$39.9	$27
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.45	$3.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.13	$0.91
☕ Cappuccino	$5.09	$2.02
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.9	$0.64
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$919	$194
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$304	$109
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1898	$1082
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1189	$641
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$134	$60.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$209	$94.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$17.3	$125
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	13.1%	21.29%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$6139	$2003
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$726	$4875
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.57	$1.23
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$63.2	$36.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.3	$12
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.08	$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1	$1.34
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.79	$0.75
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$1.7
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2	$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.09	$7.27
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.95	$3.63
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.96	$4.83
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.98	$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.15	$1.42
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.22	$2.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.31	$1.15
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$1.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.26	$1.41
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.66	$0.34
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.37	$0.97
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$11	$6.86
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.07	$1.09
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.27	$2.37
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.59	$4.66
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.56	$2.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.06	$1.17
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.68	$1.07
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$42.3	$44.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.19	$4.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$44.6	$12.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$5.17	$4.45
👖 Brand Jeans	$24.9	$18.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$61	$89.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$106	$176
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4674	$9642

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Kinshasa

Distance	City	Cost of living
8 km or 5 mi	Brazzaville	$580
61 km or 38 mi	Kinkala	$520
114 km or 71 mi	Mbanza-Ngungu	$812
197 km or 122 mi	Madingou	$519
225 km or 140 mi	Kayes	$523
260 km or 162 mi	Gamboma	$522
261 km or 162 mi	Matadi	$844
302 km or 188 mi	Boma	$821
371 km or 230 mi	Cabinda	$676
386 km or 240 mi	Pointe-Noire	$569
396 km or 246 mi	Kikwit	$876
421 km or 262 mi	N'zeto	$788
460 km or 286 mi	Ambriz	$863
551 km or 343 mi	Luanda	$1012
590 km or 366 mi	Mbandaka	$850
650 km or 404 mi	Tshikapa	$934
809 km or 503 mi	Kananga	$976
829 km or 515 mi	Port-Gentil	$625
836 km or 520 mi	Libreville	$668
914 km or 568 mi	Lobito	$645
924 km or 574 mi	Bata	$1121
937 km or 582 mi	Benguela	$671
938 km or 583 mi	Mbuji-Mayi	$1011
939 km or 584 mi	Huambo	$577
948 km or 589 mi	Mwene-Ditu	$843
958 km or 595 mi	Berberati	$482
971 km or 603 mi	Luena	$634
977 km or 607 mi	Gemena	$767
995 km or 618 mi	Gandajika	$828
1004 km or 624 mi	Yaounde	$747
1033 km or 642 mi	Bangui	$513
1075 km or 668 mi	Bumba	$806
1085 km or 674 mi	Sao Tome	$900
1090 km or 677 mi	Trindade	$900
1121 km or 697 mi	Douala	$1265
1149 km or 714 mi	Limbe	$655
1156 km or 718 mi	Malabo	$741
1162 km or 722 mi	Buea	$601
1187 km or 737 mi	Kindu	$746
1191 km or 740 mi	Kumba	$764

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