Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Honiara Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 7.1% cheaper than Honiara.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.0% less in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 22.0% less in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 28.9% less in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 69.4% less in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 2.2 times more in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.5% less in Lilongwe
Expenses including housing, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Honiara Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Honiara, you would:
pay 32.0% less for restaurants
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$6.08
SBD50.04
|
$5.00
MWK8,669.98
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.16
SBD100.08
|
$10.25
MWK17,773.46
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.37
SBD11.26
|
$0.94
MWK1,623.44
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.06
SBD8.76
|
$0.40
MWK688.73
|
|
Honiara vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.0% less for groceries
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.49
SBD12.22
|
$1.22
MWK2,122.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$1.99
SBD16.35
|
$7.88
MWK13,662.81
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.73
SBD80.10
|
$3.70
MWK6,422.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.49
SBD45.19
|
$2.66
MWK4,603.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.92
SBD32.23
|
$1.45
MWK2,507.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.20
SBD26.33
|
$1.17
MWK2,023.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.17
SBD9.65
|
$0.56
MWK978.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.54
SBD29.14
|
$0.68
MWK1,179.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.50
SBD12.35
|
$0.70
MWK1,209.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
SBD7.49
|
$0.62
MWK1,078.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.52
SBD12.48
|
$0.56
MWK977.42
|
|
Honiara vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 28.9% less for transportation
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.90
SBD40.31
|
$6.09
MWK10,567.96
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$24.32
SBD200.16
|
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? | ?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.94
SBD90.07
|
?? | |
Honiara vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 69.4% less for housing
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$88.16
SBD725.60
|
$62.37
MWK108,145.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$547.19
SBD4,503.70
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$638.39
SBD5,254.32
|
$67.61
MWK117,238.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$325.45
SBD2,678.67
|
$34.63
MWK60,044.15
|
|
Honiara vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 2.2 times more for childcare
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$97.28
SBD800.66
|
$350.00
MWK606,898.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,796.75
SBD23,018.93
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,000.49
|
|
Honiara vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 12.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.82
SBD15.01
|
$1.73
MWK3,007.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.13
SBD25.77
|
$3.04
MWK5,273.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.01
SBD33.03
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$37.45
MWK64,937.85
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.34
SBD27.52
|
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
|
Honiara vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Honiara
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$20.59
SBD169.47
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$91.20
SBD750.62
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$77.01
SBD633.85
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$77.01
SBD633.85
|
?? |
Honiara 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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