How much does it cost to live in Zanzibar?
Typical Month (Mid Range)
$1,000 (TZS 2,643,703)
Housing, food, transport, mobile, coworking and gym.
Updated September 2026 · Sources cited: spendlifetraveling.com, digitalnomads.world
- Typical Month (Lower End)
- $585 (TZS 1,546,839)
- Typical Month (Premium)
- $1,496 (TZS 3,951,738)
- Furnished 1-bed rent
- $550 (TZS 1,453,370)
Stone Town (including the UNESCO heritage zone)
Good to know
Good to Know
- Housing prices vary enormously by exact location: Stone Town furnished apartments generally run $400-700/month while beachfront 1-bedrooms in Paje or Nungwi start around $700-1,000+ and rise steeply for villas.
- Furnished, move-in-ready units with backup power (solar/inverter) command a real premium and are worth paying for given the island's periodic power outages away from Stone Town.
- Many long-term landlords expect 6-month leases as the norm, but nomads commonly negotiate month-to-month directly with owners (via Facebook groups like local expat/housing pages or word-of-mouth) rather than going through an agency.
- It's often recommended to book a hotel or short-term place before arrival, since immigration/customs checks can ask for proof of accommodation, then negotiate a longer-term rental once you're on the ground.
- As a foreigner ('mzungu'), expect to be quoted noticeably higher prices than locals for things like boda-boda (scooter taxi) rides and informal transactions — asking locals or residents what they'd pay, and negotiating upfront, helps close the gap.
- Grocery costs rise quickly for imported items (cheese, wine, packaged goods); shopping at local markets like Darajani in Stone Town for produce and seafood keeps costs down.
- There's no dedicated Tanzanian digital nomad visa yet — nomads typically use the standard tourist visa (around $50 for US citizens, ~90 days validity) and either extend it or do a border run for longer stays.
- Zantel, not Vodacom, tends to give the best mobile signal on Zanzibar island itself, even though Vodacom is stronger on the mainland.
- There's no citywide monthly transit pass — dala-dala minibuses run per-ride, and most nomads rely on Bolt ride-hailing or a rented scooter instead.
- Be cautious buying SIM cards informally in Stone Town — travelers have reported being overcharged by unofficial 'helpers'; buying from an official carrier store or the airport is safer, even if slightly pricier.
- Coworking on Zanzibar leans casual and beach-oriented — spaces like The Train's House and Kokaya Space in Stone Town, plus beachfront setups elsewhere on the island, rarely publish fixed monthly hot-desk rates online, so it's worth asking directly.
- There's no permanent commercial cinema on the island — the nearest multiplex-style cinema is in Dar es Salaam on the mainland.
Monthly Totals
- Mid-range month
- TZS 2,643,703
Includes 6 estimated components
- Lean month
- TZS 1,546,839
Includes 3 estimated components
- Comfortable month
- TZS 3,951,738
Includes 7 estimated components
Living Costs
- Where nomads live
- Zanzibar's nomad/expat concentration is split between two areas: Stone Town (urban core, best power/internet reliability, first co-working space on the island) and the southeast coast villages of Paje and Jambiani (kitesurf/beach community, described by multiple guides as the most active nomad pocket on the island). Nungwi/Kendwa in the north has a large expat and rental presence too, but skews more tourist/party than remote-work-focused. Figures below are grounded in these areas rather than a city-wide blend.
Housing (per month)
- Mid-range 1-bed
- TZS 1,453,370
Estimated
Estimated as the midpoint of a real-estate agency's stated $400-$700/month range for furnished Stone Town apartments.
Published in USD
- Budget studio / 1-bed
- TZS 1,350,000
Survey / cost-of-living site
A Zanzibar rental-market blog states a typical 1-bedroom apartment in cheaper, local (non-coastal-tourist) neighborhoods like Michenzani costs around TZS 1,350,000/month (~$550), based on its analysis of Jiji Tanzania listings.
- Premium apartment
- TZS 2,246,117
Estimated
Estimated as the midpoint of a real-estate agency's stated $700-$1,000+/month range for one-bedroom beach-area rentals in Paje/Nungwi; furnished units dominate coastal listings per a separate rental-market analysis.
Published in USD
- Private room in a shared home
- TZS 924,872
Estimated
Estimated as the midpoint of a $200-$500/month range for shared apartments in Stone Town and Paje reported by a digital-nomad guide to Zanzibar.
Published in USD
Groceries
- Groceries for one (month)
- TZS 438,653
Survey / cost-of-living site
A cost-of-living aggregator states residents should expect to spend about $166/month on groceries.
Published in USD
Sample prices
1kg Rice
- 1kg Rice
- TZS 3,500
Estimated
No single live-listing or operator price found for this specific item; estimated from general knowledge of East African market staple pricing.
1L Milk
- 1L Milk
- TZS 3,000
Estimated
No single live-listing or operator price found for this specific item; estimated from general knowledge of East African market staple pricing.
Dozen Eggs
- Dozen Eggs
- TZS 6,000
Estimated
No single live-listing or operator price found for this specific item; estimated from general knowledge of East African market staple pricing.
1.5L Bottled Water (Store, Not Restaurant)
- 1.5L Bottled Water (Store, Not Restaurant)
- TZS 1,000
Estimated
No single live-listing or operator price found for this specific item; estimated from general knowledge of East African market staple pricing.
Loaf of Local Bread
- Loaf Of Local Bread
- TZS 1,500
Estimated
No single live-listing or operator price found for this specific item; estimated from general knowledge of East African market staple pricing.
Eating out
- Cheap meal
- TZS 9,909
Estimated
A cost-of-living guide states a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in Zanzibar costs approximately $5; a separate digital-nomad guide independently states the same figure. [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 13212 TZS reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Published in USD
- High-end meal
- TZS 118,912
Estimated
No source directly stated a high-end single-diner price for Zanzibar; estimated at roughly 3x the mid-range meal figure, reflecting typical upscale resort/beachfront restaurant pricing in tourist zones like Stone Town's waterfront and Paje's beach lodges.
Published in USD
- Mid-range meal
- TZS 29,728
Estimated
Estimated as the midpoint of a digital-nomad guide's stated $10-$20 per-meal range at mid-range restaurants (figure already stated per person, not halved from a couple's price). [Adjusted 2026-09-18: the source's 39637 TZS reduced by 25%; see "adjusted".]
Published in USD
Work, Transport & Essentials
Coworking
- Day pass
- TZS 18,497
Operator's own price
Dar Mar Zanzibar's own coworking page states a non-resident co-worker day rate of $7/day (discounted to $5/day for stays over a week).
Published in USD
- Monthly hot desk
- TZS 270,000
Estimated
No Zanzibar coworking space publishes a fixed monthly hot-desk rate online. Estimated by extending Dar Mar Zanzibar's discounted multi-day rate (~$5/day) and comparable East African coworking monthly pricing; venues like Kokaya Space and The Train's House in Stone Town offer monthly plans but do not list prices publicly.
Transport
- About monthly passes
- Zanzibar has no formal public-transit monthly pass. The island's dala-dala minibuses run on a pay-per-ride basis; most nomads instead use Bolt ride-hailing or rent a scooter/bicycle for getting around.
- Single ride
- TZS 1,000
Estimated
Estimated typical dala-dala (shared minibus) fare for a short in-town ride in Zanzibar; not confirmed against a single live fare source at the time of research.
Mobile & data
- Monthly plan
- TZS 20,000
Survey / cost-of-living site
Digital Nomad World's Zanzibar guide states Zantel offers a monthly package of 20GB for 20,000 TZS.
Short Stays (per night)
- Seasonal pricing
- Yes
- Why
- Zanzibar has a strong, sustained accommodation pricing swing driven by the dry season tourism cycle (June–October, plus December–February) when international tourists cluster, vs. heavy-rain off-season (March–May) when prices drop 30–40% and many lodges close.
Low season
- Budget
- TZS 76,500
Hotel rates April-May (Momondo $215/month avg suggests ~$30/night budget tier); confirmed 30-40% low-season drop
- Luxury
- TZS 598,000
5-star resorts offer 30-50% discounts in April-May per tanzaniasafariexperience.com; 40% off high season average
- Premium
- TZS 255,000
4-star hotels April-May, 30-40% discount applied to high season rate
- Standard
- TZS 137,000
3-star rates March-May, ~40% below high season; KAYAK data for April shows cheapest month
High season
- Budget
- TZS 130,000
Booking.com/KAYAK hotel search, 2-star hotels in Stone Town area, mid-July 2026
- Luxury
- TZS 1,017,500
5-star resort average (Booking.com reports $612/night weekend rates for 5-star; using lower weekday mid-season average)
- Premium
- TZS 432,500
4-star hotel booking data from KAYAK/Expedia, beachfront properties in high season
- Standard
- TZS 225,000
3-star hotel rates (Booking.com), Zanzibar City mid-range properties, July 2026
Low-season months
- March
- April
- May
High-season months
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- December
- January
- February
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this cost of living research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Zanzibar
Data last updated September 2026 · Verify anything important.