Cost of living comparison
compared to
Colombo vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary
Colombo is 13.6% more expensive than Lilongwe.
- Restaurants
-
pay 16.1% less in Colombo
- Groceries
-
pay 42.3% more in Colombo
- Transportation
-
pay 10.2% more in Colombo
- Housing
-
pay 32.2% more in Colombo
- Childcare
-
pay 84.4% less in Colombo
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 97.2% more in Colombo
The cost of entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, and transportation in Colombo are more expensive than in Lilongwe. Expenses including childcare and restaurants are lower in Colombo. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in Colombo.
Colombo vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Colombo instead of Lilongwe, you would:
pay 16.1% less for restaurants
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.00
MWK8,645.53
|
$4.13
LKR1,269.15
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.25
MWK17,723.33
|
$8.26
LKR2,538.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.94
MWK1,618.86
|
$0.76
LKR233.26
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.40
MWK686.79
|
$0.36
LKR111.43
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.3% more for groceries
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.22
MWK2,116.83
|
$0.52
LKR160.10
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.88
MWK13,624.28
|
$6.78
LKR2,083.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
MWK6,404.24
|
$6.70
LKR2,060.40
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.66
MWK4,590.93
|
$1.95
LKR600.76
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.45
MWK2,500.63
|
$2.05
LKR629.94
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.17
MWK2,017.38
|
$3.42
LKR1,051.88
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
MWK975.24
|
$0.50
LKR152.38
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
MWK1,176.47
|
$2.69
LKR826.88
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
MWK1,205.96
|
$0.55
LKR168.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.62
MWK1,075.07
|
$0.51
LKR157.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.56
MWK974.66
|
$0.58
LKR177.69
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries
pay 10.2% more for transportation
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.09
MWK10,538.15
|
$4.12
LKR1,264.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$4.32
MWK7,473.10
|
$6.61
LKR2,030.64
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$26,432.11
LKR8,122,543.83
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$3.04
LKR934.09
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation
pay 32.2% more for housing
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.37
MWK107,840.24
|
$14.01
LKR4,306.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | ?? |
$360.90
LKR110,903.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$67.61
MWK116,907.40
|
$177.21
LKR54,457.87
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.63
MWK59,874.80
|
$38.78
LKR11,916.86
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - Cost of housing
pay 84.4% less for childcare
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$350.00
MWK605,187.00
|
$33.87
LKR10,407.01
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,349.49
MWK4,062,509.77
|
$505.51
LKR155,343.65
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare
pay 97.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.73
MWK2,998.64
|
$2.31
LKR710.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.04
MWK5,258.51
|
$2.67
LKR820.10
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.59
MWK2,743.29
|
$10.24
LKR3,147.49
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.45
MWK64,754.70
|
$13.33
LKR4,097.53
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.95
MWK6,830.93
|
$3.30
LKR1,015.32
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Lilongwe
|
Colombo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$26.56
LKR8,162.73
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$17.76
LKR5,457.33
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$67.21
LKR20,653.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$38.07
LKR11,700.33
|
Lilongwe vs. Colombo - 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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