Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malawi vs. Blantyre Cost of Living Summary
Malawi is 12.6% more expensive than Blantyre.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.1% more in Malawi
- Groceries
-
pay 15.9% more in Malawi
- Transportation
-
pay 1.0% more in Malawi
- Housing
-
pay 14.2% less in Malawi
- Childcare
-
pay 73.4% more in Malawi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 1.8% less in Malawi
The cost of childcare, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Malawi are more expensive than in Blantyre. Expenses including housing and entertainment and sports are lower in Malawi.
Malawi vs. Blantyre Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malawi instead of Blantyre, you would:
pay 1.1% more for restaurants
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.87
MWK8,450.59
|
$4.94
MWK8,560.73
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.93
MWK15,478.56
|
$9.59
MWK16,626.92
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.82
MWK1,423.30
|
$0.88
MWK1,523.45
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.51
MWK889.00
|
$0.45
MWK788.90
|
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants
pay 15.9% more for groceries
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.28
MWK2,225.39
|
$1.25
MWK2,174.21
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$1.78
MWK3,088.78
|
$4.83
MWK8,376.49
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
MWK6,420.31
|
$3.70
MWK6,421.66
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.71
MWK2,961.13
|
$2.18
MWK3,782.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.55
MWK4,420.32
|
$2.00
MWK3,464.14
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.00
MWK1,740.37
|
$1.09
MWK1,881.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.06
MWK1,841.40
|
$0.81
MWK1,409.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.11
MWK1,929.95
|
$0.90
MWK1,554.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.49
MWK851.64
|
$0.59
MWK1,030.57
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
MWK1,043.95
|
$0.61
MWK1,061.08
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.61
MWK1,052.30
|
$0.59
MWK1,014.91
|
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries
pay 1.0% more for transportation
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.98
MWK10,369.26
|
$6.04
MWK10,469.15
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$4.32
MWK7,495.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,205.31
MWK61,052,096.30
|
$35,205.31
MWK61,052,096.30
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.15
MWK34,947.42
|
$20.15
MWK34,947.42
|
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation
pay 14.2% less for housing
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$305.75
MWK530,219.54
|
$184.06
MWK319,187.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$201.16
MWK348,854.16
|
$201.16
MWK348,854.16
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$90.52
MWK156,981.71
|
$79.07
MWK137,115.86
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$28.92
MWK50,152.02
|
$31.77
MWK55,101.15
|
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - Cost of housing
pay 73.4% more for childcare
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$358.38
MWK621,489.87
|
$354.19
MWK614,225.22
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$593.71
MWK1,029,593.41
|
$1,471.60
MWK2,552,004.42
|
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare
pay 1.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.22
MWK2,120.88
|
$1.48
MWK2,564.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.66
MWK4,612.16
|
$2.85
MWK4,943.04
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.37
MWK4,118.37
|
$1.98
MWK3,434.85
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$59.37
MWK102,959.34
|
$48.41
MWK83,951.90
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.95
MWK6,850.95
|
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Blantyre
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$44.72
MWK77,544.27
|
$44.72
MWK77,544.27
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.73
MWK60,234.04
|
$34.73
MWK60,234.04
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$58.69
MWK101,783.88
|
$58.69
MWK101,783.88
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$70.38
MWK122,057.39
|
$70.38
MWK122,057.39
|
Blantyre vs. Malawi - 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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