Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Harare Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 19.6% cheaper than Harare.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.6% more in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 12.4% less in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 44.8% less in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 44.7% less in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 18.1% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.1% less in Lilongwe
Expenses including transportation, housing, childcare, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Harare Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Harare, you would:
pay 10.6% more for restaurants
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.00
ZWL3,220.00
|
$5.00
MWK8,669.98
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.00
ZWL1,932.00
|
$10.25
MWK17,773.46
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.69
ZWL223.71
|
$0.94
MWK1,623.44
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.46
ZWL147.28
|
$0.40
MWK688.73
|
|
Harare vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.4% less for groceries
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZWL322.00
|
$1.22
MWK2,122.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.77
ZWL1,857.25
|
$7.88
MWK13,662.81
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.10
ZWL1,963.08
|
$3.70
MWK6,422.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.09
ZWL672.39
|
$2.66
MWK4,603.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.97
ZWL956.35
|
$1.45
MWK2,507.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.34
ZWL430.38
|
$1.17
MWK2,023.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
ZWL239.53
|
$0.56
MWK978.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.02
ZWL328.63
|
$0.68
MWK1,179.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.75
ZWL242.73
|
$0.70
MWK1,209.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZWL229.11
|
$0.62
MWK1,078.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.97
ZWL311.47
|
$0.56
MWK977.42
|
|
Harare vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 44.8% less for transportation
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.94
ZWL1,912.67
|
$6.09
MWK10,567.96
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$55.00
ZWL17,710.00
|
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,000.00
ZWL7,084,000.00
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$21.00
ZWL6,762.00
|
?? | |
Harare vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 44.7% less for housing
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$93.58
ZWL30,133.83
|
$62.37
MWK108,145.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$402.94
ZWL129,747.06
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$284.62
ZWL91,646.15
|
$67.61
MWK117,238.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$45.88
ZWL14,774.12
|
$34.63
MWK60,044.15
|
|
Harare vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 18.1% less for childcare
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$255.56
ZWL82,288.89
|
$350.00
MWK606,898.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,812.50
ZWL2,837,625.00
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,000.49
|
|
Harare vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 8.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.50
ZWL483.00
|
$1.73
MWK3,007.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.91
ZWL937.59
|
$3.04
MWK5,273.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.20
ZWL386.40
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$55.38
ZWL17,833.85
|
$37.45
MWK64,937.85
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.00
ZWL3,220.00
|
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
|
Harare vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Harare
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$18.92
ZWL6,091.17
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$21.50
ZWL6,923.00
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$33.85
ZWL10,898.46
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$38.85
ZWL12,508.46
|
?? |
Harare 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Zimbabwe vs. Malawi.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lilongwe or Harare. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.