Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Bamako Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 1.7% cheaper than Bamako.
- Restaurants
-
pay 6.0% more in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 32.8% less in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 38.1% more in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 25.6% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 5.8% more in Lilongwe
The cost of transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Bamako. Expenses including groceries and housing are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Bamako Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Bamako, you would:
pay 6.0% more for restaurants
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.70
F CFA3,747
|
$5.00
MWK8,656.49
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.42
F CFA3,590
|
$10.25
MWK17,745.80
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.77
F CFA432
|
$0.94
MWK1,620.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.58
F CFA324
|
$0.40
MWK687.66
|
|
Bamako vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.8% less for groceries
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.84
F CFA2,145
|
$1.22
MWK2,119.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.91
F CFA4,979
|
$7.88
MWK13,641.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.86
F CFA4,951
|
$3.70
MWK6,412.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.50
F CFA3,074
|
$2.66
MWK4,596.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.08
F CFA3,958
|
$1.45
MWK2,503.80
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
F CFA1,014
|
$1.17
MWK2,019.93
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.48
F CFA266
|
$0.56
MWK976.48
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
F CFA717
|
$0.68
MWK1,177.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
F CFA533
|
$0.70
MWK1,207.49
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
F CFA312
|
$0.62
MWK1,076.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.64
F CFA356
|
$0.56
MWK975.90
|
|
Bamako vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 38.1% more for transportation
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.41
F CFA2,466
|
$6.09
MWK10,551.51
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$4.32
MWK7,482.57
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? | ?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? | ?? | |
Bamako vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 25.6% less for housing
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$57.51
F CFA32,142
|
$62.37
MWK107,976.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$175.00
F CFA97,804
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$80.00
F CFA44,710
|
$67.61
MWK117,055.58
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$114.71
F CFA64,107
|
$34.63
MWK59,950.69
|
|
Bamako vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$350.00
MWK605,954.12
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$2,349.49
MWK4,067,659.31
|
Bamako vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 5.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.39
F CFA1,334
|
$1.73
MWK3,002.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.89
F CFA1,056
|
$3.04
MWK5,265.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$0.93
F CFA522
|
$1.59
MWK2,746.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$67.41
F CFA37,676
|
$37.45
MWK64,836.78
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.67
F CFA3,170
|
$3.95
MWK6,839.59
|
|
Bamako vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Bamako
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? | ?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? | ?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? | ?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? | ?? |
Bamako 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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