Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malabo vs. Freetown Cost of Living Summary

Malabo is 2.2 times more expensive than Freetown.

Restaurants
pay 8.0% less in Malabo
Groceries
pay 29.1% more in Malabo
Transportation
pay 74.7% more in Malabo
Housing
pay 84.0% less in Malabo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 76.3% more in Malabo
Clothing
pay 7.0 times more in Malabo

The cost of clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in Malabo are more expensive than in Freetown. Expenses including housing and restaurants are lower in Malabo. Notably, clothing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Malabo.

Malabo vs. Freetown Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malabo instead of Freetown, you would:

pay 8.0% less for restaurants

 
Freetown
Malabo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.00
SLL62,908
??
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$10.00
SLL210K
$8.90
FCFA5,040
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.03
SLL21,591
$0.89
FCFA504

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pay 29.1% more for groceries

 
Freetown
Malabo
Bread
1 loaf
$0.67
SLL13,980
??
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.54
SLL74,319
$3.36
FCFA1,902
Milk (1 gallon) $9.15
SLL192K
$10.78
FCFA6,105

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pay 74.7% more for transportation

 
Freetown
Malabo
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.02
SLL105K
??
Monthly public transit pass ?? $26.33
FCFA14,905
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $12,000.00
SLL252M
$32,972.23
FCFA19M

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pay 84.0% less for housing

 
Freetown
Malabo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$100.00
SLL2M
$17.81
FCFA10,080
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,321.25
SLL28M
$267.09
FCFA151K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,261.67
SLL26M
$124.64
FCFA70,558

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Freetown
Malabo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? ??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $356.12
FCFA202K

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pay 76.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Freetown
Malabo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.50
SLL31,454
??
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.74
SLL36,435
$5.34
FCFA3,024
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.00
SLL62,908
$4.51
FCFA2,553

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pay 7.0 times more for clothing

 
Freetown
Malabo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$10.00
SLL210K
$26.71
FCFA15,120
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$8.00
SLL168K
$133.54
FCFA75,598
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$20.00
SLL419K
??

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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: March 2026
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