Cost of living comparison

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

compared to

Malawi

Lilongwe vs. Kingstown Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 38.9% cheaper than Kingstown.

Restaurants: pay 26.4% less in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 52.6% less in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 75.7% less in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 28.9% less in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.1% less in Lilongwe

Expenses including transportation, groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lilongwe.

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Lilongwe vs. Kingstown Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Kingstown, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.4% less for restaurants

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.48 EC$17.50	$5.00 MWK8,683.00	-22.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.55 EC$28.50	$10.25 MWK17,800.16	-2.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.34 EC$6.33	$1.26 MWK2,182.36	-46.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.85 EC$5.00	$0.57 MWK984.76	-69.3%
Average			-26.4%

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.6% less for groceries

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.13 EC$5.76	$1.82 MWK3,155.26	-14.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.47 EC$17.49	$7.88 MWK13,683.33	+21.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$12.14 EC$32.81	$4.73 MWK8,212.45	-61.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.49 EC$12.13	$2.90 MWK5,041.67	-35.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 EC$4.86	$2.38 MWK4,131.01	+32.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.32 EC$11.67	$1.17 MWK2,026.12	-73.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.60 EC$4.31	$0.56 MWK979.47	-64.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$4.37 EC$11.80	$0.68 MWK1,181.56	-84.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.65 EC$7.18	$1.03 MWK1,786.72	-61.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.75 EC$4.72	$0.92 MWK1,593.81	-47.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.75 EC$4.72	$0.45 MWK787.71	-74.0%
Average			-52.6%

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.7% less for transportation

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$11.87 EC$32.09	$6.03 MWK10,463.30	-49.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.95 EC$135.00	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-91.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,927.14 EC$102K	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.90 EC$70.00	??
Average			-75.7%

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.9% less for housing

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.80 EC$140.00	$61.21 MWK106K	+18.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$283.68 EC$766.67	$540.71 MWK939K	+90.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$323.77 EC$875.00	$85.13 MWK148K	-73.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$56.59 EC$152.94	$34.63 MWK60,134.34	-38.8%
Average			-28.9%

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$104.84 EC$283.33	$350.00 MWK608K	+233.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	??
Average			+233.8%

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.67 EC$4.50	$2.20 MWK3,823.26	+32.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.07 EC$11.00	$3.21 MWK5,580.44	-21.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.07 EC$11.00	$2.43 MWK4,223.25	-40.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.38 EC$87.50	$30.85 MWK53,568.54	-4.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.63 EC$12.50	??
Average			-7.1%

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Kingstown	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.75 EC$175.00	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.98 EC$167.50	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$74.00 EC$200.00	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.51 EC$250.00	??

Kingstown vs. Lilongwe - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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