Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 36.2% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.9% less in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 14.3% less in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 12.0% more in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 67.4% less in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 62.8% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 63.6% less in Lilongwe
Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:
pay 20.9% less for restaurants
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.89
AED40.00
|
$5.00
MWK8,645.53
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
AED35.00
|
$10.25
MWK17,723.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.29
AED4.74
|
$0.94
MWK1,618.86
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.44
AED1.61
|
$0.40
MWK686.79
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 14.3% less for groceries
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.60
AED5.89
|
$1.22
MWK2,116.83
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.28
AED19.39
|
$7.88
MWK13,624.28
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.50
AED27.54
|
$3.70
MWK6,404.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
AED13.37
|
$2.66
MWK4,590.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.12
AED15.11
|
$1.45
MWK2,500.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
AED4.21
|
$1.17
MWK2,017.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.82
AED3.00
|
$0.56
MWK975.24
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.83
AED3.05
|
$0.68
MWK1,176.47
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.67
AED2.46
|
$0.70
MWK1,205.96
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.53
AED1.96
|
$0.62
MWK1,075.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.65
AED2.39
|
$0.56
MWK974.66
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 12.0% more for transportation
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.94
AED10.80
|
$6.09
MWK10,538.15
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$25.87
AED95.00
|
$4.32
MWK7,473.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$44,639.07
AED163,937.00
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.62
AED28.00
|
?? | |
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 67.4% less for housing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.96
AED370.79
|
$62.37
MWK107,840.24
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,490.68
AED5,474.52
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,109.19
AED4,073.48
|
$67.61
MWK116,907.40
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$115.93
AED425.75
|
$34.63
MWK59,874.80
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 62.8% less for childcare
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$625.43
AED2,296.88
|
$350.00
MWK605,187.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$12,786.81
AED46,959.57
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,062,509.77
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 63.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.29
AED41.45
|
$1.73
MWK2,998.64
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.77
AED21.18
|
$3.04
MWK5,258.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.26
AED23.00
|
$1.59
MWK2,743.29
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$62.90
AED230.98
|
$37.45
MWK64,754.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.61
AED50.00
|
$3.95
MWK6,830.93
|
|
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.62
AED222.62
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$51.93
AED190.71
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$98.09
AED360.23
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.21
AED353.33
|
?? |
Abu Dhabi vs. Lilongwe - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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