Cost of Living in Kabwe, 🇿🇲 Zambia - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 4 5 $280 $180 $350 $150 $25

Utilities 3 8 — $95 $125 $80 —

Internet & Mobile 6 7 $10 $125 $140 $50 $1

Groceries 1 2 $58 $188 $405 $98 $8

Transportation 13 14 17 $102 $168 $285 $50 $20

Dining Out 3 2 $185 $118 $225 $33 $36

Leisure Activities 3 16 $68 $65 $360 $20 $15

Health Insurance 11 $68 $60 $195 $8 $2

Visa & Legal Fees 12 $50 $75 $100 — $2

Total $821 $1,074 $2,185 $489 $109

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 4 3 $149.85 $100 – $225 per month

Coworking Space 10 $141.61 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 5 4 $270.00 $220 – $400 per month

Coliving Space 5 $174.83 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 3 2 $2.80 per cup

Beer 3 1 $1.25 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 3 2 $5.49 per meal

Fast Food Combo 3 2 $4.99 per meal

Apples 2 3 $2.00 per kg

Bread 1 $0.65 per loaf

Milk 1 $0.90 per liter

Rice 1 $0.87 per kg

Chicken Fillets 2 1 $3.15 per kg

Beef 2 $7.24 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 3 1 $9.99 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 22 3 $29.97 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 23 1 $0.25 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 3 14 $2.50 per trip

Taxi per km 3 14 $1.50 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 13 14 $31.17 per month

Gasoline 17 9 $1.57 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) 14 27 3 $9.99 per trip

Scooter Rental 14 $74.93 per month

Services

Mobile Plan 6 $9.99 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 7 $114.88 per month

Gym Membership 16 3 $39.96 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) 14 3 $14.99 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 6 $0.50 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 18 3 $5.99 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans 19 3 $23.18 per pair

Summer Dress 20 3 $15.38 per dress

Running Shoes 21 3 $45.08 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut 24 3 $6.99 per visit

Laundry 25 3 $2.00 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) 15 3 $19.98 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 26 3 $6.99 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 20.02 ZMW on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Lusaka, Livingstone, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, London

Shoprite Zambia bread K13, rice K87/5kg, milk K27/1.5L (national incl. Kabwe)Retailer
Shoprite deli meals, produce and meat per kg (national stores)Retailer
Kabwe restaurants, taxi, utilities, clothing, cinema crowdsourcedIndex
Kabwe 3BR Nkrumah K7,000/mo; 4BR Luangwa K10,000/moListings
Kabwe furnished lodge rooms with Wi-Fi (listed rent K750)Listings
MTN 1Zed ZMW 200 / 19 GB monthly dataOfficial
Liquid Home Family Entertainment K2,300 / 65 MbpsOfficial
ZESCO residential prepaid energy bands Nov 2025–Oct 2026Official
Zambia octane-95 ZMW 31.46/L (ERB, 19 Oct 2026)Index
Lusaka hot desk K2,835/mo (coworking proxy)Listings
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 / 4 weeksOfficial
KAZA UNIVISA USD 50 / 30 daysOfficial
Kabwe local minibus ZMW 5–10 per tripSecondary
Kabwe motorcycle taxi ZMW 5–30; no formal transport passSecondary
Kabwe Central Hospital outpatient listingOfficial
Fitness House Kabwe, Freedom Way (Broadway)Listings
ERB petrol K31.46/L October 2026Official
Ster-Kinekor Zambia Epic Deal K120 incl. 2D/3D ticketOfficial
PEP Zambia men's jeans K349.90Retailer
PEP Zambia ladies dresses K199.90Retailer
PEP Zambia primary sport shoes K249.90Retailer
Nando's Zambia menu (mid-range dinner for two)Retailer
Shoprite Zambia online Aquasavanna 1.5 L still water K4.99Retailer
Wella Hair & Beauty barber haircut from K100Listings
Lion Touch Laundry corporate wash from K25/kgListings
HnG Online Pharmacy Panadol Advance 16s K140Retailer
Yango Lusaka Economy K22 min + K3.6/km (app proxy)Official

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 742.04 270
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 194.46 149.85
- Apples 2.15 2
- Beef 4.86 7.24
- Beer 1.43 1.25
40 more changes
- Bread 0.92 0.65
- Chicken Fillets 5.89 3.15
- Cinema Ticket 4.61 5.99
- Coffee 2.3 2.8
- Coliving Space 332.64 174.83
- Coworking Space 92.11 141.61
- Dining Out local 38.38, nomad 434.99, expat 163.76, family 281.46, tourist 43.5 local 33, nomad 185, expat 118, family 225, tourist 36
- Doctor Visit (GP) 20.47 19.98
- Fast Food Combo 6.14 4.99
- Gasoline 1.71 1.57
- Groceries local 143.29, nomad 61.41, expat 230.29, family 486.16, tourist 7.68 local 98, nomad 58, expat 188, family 405, tourist 7.5
- Gym Membership 28.15 39.96
- Haircut 6.14 6.99
- Health Insurance local 10.23, nomad 107.47, expat 92.11, family 266.11, tourist 6.14 local 8, nomad 68, expat 60, family 195, tourist 2.25
- Housing local 163.76, nomad 742.04, expat 486.16, family 818.8, tourist 61.41 local 150, nomad 280, expat 180, family 350, tourist 25
- Internet & Mobile local 17.91, nomad 56.29, expat 48.62, family 81.88, tourist 3.07 local 50, nomad 10, expat 125, family 140, tourist 0.5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 61.41 114.88
- Jeans 33.26 23.18
- Laundry 7.68 2
- Leisure Activities local 20.47, nomad 214.93, expat 127.94, family 230.29, tourist 25.59 local 20, nomad 68, expat 65, family 360, tourist 15
- Meal (Inexpensive) 3.84 5.49
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 33.26 29.97
- Milk 1.33 0.9
- Mobile Plan 12.79 9.99
- Monthly Transport Pass 23.03 31.17
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 5.63 6.99
- Rice 1.79 0.87
- Ride-hailing (5km) 4.35 9.99
- Running Shoes 71.64 45.08
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 1.02 0.5
- Scooter Rental 12.79 74.93
- Summer Dress 25.59 15.38
- Taxi Start 2.05 2.5
- Taxi per km 1.02 1.5
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 5.12 14.99
- Transportation local 46.06, nomad 179.11, expat 245.64, family 383.81, tourist 23.03 local 50, nomad 102, expat 168, family 285, tourist 20
- Utilities local 33.26, nomad 61.41, expat 92.11, family 143.29, tourist 0 local 79.92, nomad 0, expat 95, family 125, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 69.09, expat 179.11, family 358.22, tourist 69.09 local 0, nomad 50, expat 75, family 100, tourist 1.67
- Water (1.5L bottle) 0.61 0.25
- Wine (Mid-range) 8.19 9.99
Lint fix — retailer/operator sources for Numbeo-only lines. Water (1.5L bottle) moved to Shoprite **K4.99** (drivenfresh-order.netsolutionindia.com). Pharmacy (basic meds) aligned to HnG **K140** (hngapp.co.zm). Cinema Ticket, Jeans, Summer Dress, Running Shoes, Meal (Mid-range, 2 people), Ride-hailing (5km), Haircut and Laundry now pair Numbeo Kabwe with Ster-Kinekor, PEP, Nando's, TravelDojo/Yango, Wella and Lion Touch (sterkinekor.com, pep.co.zm, nandos.co.zm, yango.com)

Kabwe cost of living