Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Botswana Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 14.3% cheaper than Botswana overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.0% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 17.4% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 26.6% less in Malawi
Housing: pay 29.2% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 16.8% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.0% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 7.2% more in Malawi

The cost of groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Malawi are more expensive than in Botswana. Expenses including housing, transportation, restaurants, and childcare are lower in Malawi.

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Malawi vs. Botswana Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Botswana, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.0% less for restaurants

	Botswana	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$4.50 MWK7,814.70	-58.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$8.57 MWK14,880.81	+48.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$1.06 MWK1,845.41	+46.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$0.52 MWK902.91	+25.0%
Average			-18.0%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.4% more for groceries

	Botswana	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.58 MWK2,738.49	+80.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$4.83 MWK8,388.22	+52.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$4.31 MWK7,492.69	-21.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$2.31 MWK4,003.47	-6.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$2.46 MWK4,278.75	+17.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$1.09 MWK1,884.46	+44.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$0.81 MWK1,411.72	+27.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$0.90 MWK1,557.11	-0.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$0.76 MWK1,319.77	+2.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$0.76 MWK1,319.61	+30.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$0.53 MWK920.74	+0.3%
Average			+17.4%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.6% less for transportation

	Botswana	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$5.95 MWK10,334.67	+15.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-85.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$35,205.31 MWK61M	+77.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$12.75 MWK22,137.83	-38.9%
Average			-26.6%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.2% less for housing

	Botswana	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$61.21 MWK106K	+45.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$384.08 MWK667K	+7.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	$99.97 MWK174K	-54.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$27.53 MWK47,807.03	-39.7%
Average			-29.2%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 16.8% less for childcare

	Botswana	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$370.40 MWK643K	+191.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$593.71 MWK1M	-76.3%
Average			-16.8%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Botswana	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$1.64 MWK2,846.35	-17.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$2.97 MWK5,154.08	+27.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$2.40 MWK4,173.70	-33.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$45.11 MWK78,336.01	+34.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	??
Average			+6.0%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.2% more for clothing

	Botswana	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	$43.37 MWK75,316.66	-8.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$39.87 MWK69,239.08	+138.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	$48.90 MWK84,923.42	-32.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$70.38 MWK122K	-10.2%
Average			+7.2%

Botswana vs. Malawi - Cost of clothing

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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

Compare further: Botswana vs. Malawi

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Malawi?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Make 91.4% less money in Malawi

Size Comparison · See true size

Botswana is about 4.9 times bigger than Malawi.

Moving from Botswana to Malawi · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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