Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lilongwe vs. Banjul Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 74.2% more expensive than Banjul.

Restaurants
pay 22.4% less in Lilongwe
Groceries
pay 49.5% more in Lilongwe
Transportation
pay 6.8% more in Lilongwe
Housing
pay 2.1 times more in Lilongwe
Childcare
pay 51.8 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.8% less in Lilongwe

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, and transportation in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Banjul. Expenses including restaurants and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Lilongwe.

Lilongwe vs. Banjul Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Banjul, you would:

pay 22.4% less for restaurants

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $7.31
GMD536.99
$5.00
MWK8,683.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.86
GMD577.36
$10.25
MWK17,800.16
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.64
GMD193.83
$1.26
MWK2,182.36

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pay 49.5% more for groceries

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Bread
1 loaf
$0.63
GMD46.35
$1.82
MWK3,155.26
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.04
GMD223.48
$7.88
MWK13,683.33
Milk (1 gallon) $5.12
GMD375.98
$4.73
MWK8,212.45

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pay 6.8% more for transportation

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.00
GMD294.08
$6.03
MWK10,463.30
Monthly public transit pass $6.55
GMD481.43
$4.32
MWK7,505.49
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $2,635.13
GMD194K
??

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$45.05
GMD3,310.81
$61.21
MWK106K
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $102.56
GMD7,538.16
$540.71
MWK939K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $81.08
GMD5,959.46
$85.13
MWK148K

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pay 51.8 times more for childcare

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $6.76
GMD496.62
$350.00
MWK608K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $135.14
GMD9,932.43
??

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pay 13.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.61
GMD412.40
$2.20
MWK3,823.26
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.69
GMD271.01
$3.21
MWK5,580.44
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.69
GMD124.16
$2.43
MWK4,223.25

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Banjul
Lilongwe
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$56.00
GMD4,116.00
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.34
GMD3,258.99
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$99.43
GMD7,308.11
??

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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