Cost of living comparison

compared to

Lilongwe vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 9.8% more expensive than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 27.3% more in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 9.8% less in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 81.5% more in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 12.8% more in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 20.8% less in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.5% less in Lilongwe

The cost of transportation, restaurants, and housing in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, and groceries are lower in Lilongwe. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Lilongwe.

Lilongwe vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Kuala Lumpur, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.3% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.74 MYR19.59	$5.00 MWK8,645.53	+5.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.74 MYR19.59	$10.25 MWK17,723.33	+116.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 MYR3.66	$0.94 MWK1,618.86	+5.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 MYR2.01	$0.40 MWK686.79	-18.4%
Average			+27.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.8% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 MYR4.03	$1.22 MWK2,116.83	+25.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.13 MYR29.45	$7.88 MWK13,624.28	+10.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.98 MYR32.96	$3.70 MWK6,404.24	-53.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 MYR9.21	$2.66 MWK4,590.93	+19.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.09 MYR8.65	$1.45 MWK2,500.63	-30.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.32 MYR5.45	$1.17 MWK2,017.38	-11.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 MYR3.09	$0.56 MWK975.24	-24.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 MYR5.04	$0.68 MWK1,176.47	-44.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.86	$0.70 MWK1,205.96	+0.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.62 MWK1,075.07	+10.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.56	$0.56 MWK974.66	-9.2%
Average			-9.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 81.5% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.87 MYR7.71	$6.09 MWK10,538.15	+226.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.85 MYR48.96	$4.32 MWK7,473.10	-63.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,284.36 MYR166,475.12	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.66 MYR44.07	??
Average			+81.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.8% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.49 MYR105.32	$62.37 MWK107,840.24	+144.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$573.16 MYR2,368.60	??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$350.71 MYR1,449.31	$67.61 MWK116,907.40	-80.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 MYR192.54	$34.63 MWK59,874.80	-25.7%
Average			+12.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 20.8% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.45 MYR1,092.86	$350.00 MWK605,187.00	+32.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,004.74 MYR37,212.09	$2,349.49 MWK4,062,509.77	-73.9%
Average			-20.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.27 MYR17.63	$1.73 MWK2,998.64	-59.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 MYR12.65	$3.04 MWK5,258.51	-0.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.27 MYR17.63	$1.59 MWK2,743.29	-62.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.43 MYR191.86	$37.45 MWK64,754.70	-19.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.98 MYR20.56	$3.95 MWK6,830.93	-20.6%
Average			-32.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.66 MYR254.80	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.10 MYR153.34	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.80 MYR362.83	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.47 MYR340.83	??

Kuala Lumpur vs. Lilongwe - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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