Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 23.5% more expensive than Kigali.
- Restaurants
-
pay 18.1% more in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 59.1% more in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 23.8% less in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 42.6% more in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 20.0% more in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 25.0% more in Lilongwe
The cost of groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, childcare, and restaurants in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Kigali.
Lilongwe vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Kigali, you would:
pay 18.1% more for restaurants
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.45
RWF5,016
|
$5.00
MWK8,669.98
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.89
RWF10,031
|
$10.25
MWK17,773.46
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.86
RWF1,248
|
$0.94
MWK1,623.44
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.57
RWF833
|
$0.40
MWK688.73
|
|
Kigali vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 59.1% more for groceries
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.05
RWF1,521
|
$1.22
MWK2,122.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$2.26
RWF3,283
|
$7.88
MWK13,662.81
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.64
RWF3,845
|
$3.70
MWK6,422.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.65
RWF2,407
|
$2.66
MWK4,603.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.10
RWF3,048
|
$1.45
MWK2,507.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.15
RWF1,678
|
$1.17
MWK2,023.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.37
RWF537
|
$0.56
MWK978.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.70
RWF1,021
|
$0.68
MWK1,179.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
RWF698
|
$0.70
MWK1,209.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.23
RWF331
|
$0.62
MWK1,078.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.39
RWF569
|
$0.56
MWK977.42
|
|
Kigali vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 23.8% less for transportation
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.42
RWF6,434
|
$6.09
MWK10,567.96
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$29.30
RWF42,632
|
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,543.61
RWF38,619,482
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.48
RWF21,065
|
?? | |
Kigali vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 42.6% more for housing
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$19.48
RWF28,338
|
$62.37
MWK108,145.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$575.44
RWF837,239
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$322.51
RWF469,235
|
$67.61
MWK117,238.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$39.98
RWF58,170
|
$34.63
MWK60,044.15
|
|
Kigali vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 20.0% more for childcare
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$166.62
RWF242,417
|
$350.00
MWK606,898.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$7,842.43
RWF11,410,301
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,000.49
|
|
Kigali vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 25.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.03
RWF1,505
|
$1.73
MWK3,007.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.31
RWF3,366
|
$3.04
MWK5,273.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.72
RWF2,508
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.41
RWF45,697
|
$37.45
MWK64,937.85
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.45
RWF5,016
|
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
|
Kigali vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Kigali
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$19.19
RWF27,920
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$19.30
RWF28,087
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$22.98
RWF33,437
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$37.92
RWF55,171
|
?? |
Kigali 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 Rwanda vs. Malawi.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Rwanda 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 Kigali. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.