Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Dili Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 29.1% cheaper than Dili.
- Restaurants
-
pay 28.3% less in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 31.5% more in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 14.2% more in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 81.0% less in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 85.3% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.9% less in Lilongwe
The cost of groceries and transportation in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Dili. Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Dili Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Dili, you would:
pay 28.3% less for restaurants
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.00
|
$5.00
MWK8,656.49
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.00
|
$10.25
MWK17,745.80
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
|
$0.94
MWK1,620.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.42
|
$0.40
MWK687.66
|
|
Dili vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 31.5% more for groceries
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.00
|
$1.22
MWK2,119.51
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$1.00
|
$7.88
MWK13,641.55
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.27
|
$3.70
MWK6,412.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.70
|
$2.66
MWK4,596.75
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.31
|
$1.45
MWK2,503.80
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.59
|
$1.17
MWK2,019.93
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.83
|
$0.56
MWK976.48
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.91
|
$0.68
MWK1,177.96
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.13
|
$0.70
MWK1,207.49
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
|
$0.62
MWK1,076.43
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$0.56
MWK975.90
|
|
Dili vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 14.2% more for transportation
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.34
|
$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) |
$23.50
|
?? | |
Dili vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 81.0% less for housing
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$62.37
MWK107,976.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,125.00
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$866.67
|
$67.61
MWK117,055.58
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$114.71
|
$34.63
MWK59,950.69
|
|
Dili vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 85.3% less for childcare
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$350.00
MWK605,954.12
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$16,000.00
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,067,659.31
|
|
Dili vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 25.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.00
|
$1.73
MWK3,002.44
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.83
|
$3.04
MWK5,265.17
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.75
|
$1.59
MWK2,746.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.00
|
$37.45
MWK64,836.78
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.50
|
$3.95
MWK6,839.59
|
|
Dili vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Dili
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.00
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$30.00
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$80.00
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$60.00
|
?? |
Dili 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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