Cost of living comparison
compared to
Dushanbe vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary
Dushanbe is 34.6% more expensive than Lilongwe.
- Restaurants
-
pay 9.7% less in Dushanbe
- Groceries
-
pay 4.5% less in Dushanbe
- Transportation
-
pay 56.3% more in Dushanbe
- Housing
-
pay 73.9% more in Dushanbe
- Childcare
-
pay 77.4% more in Dushanbe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.3% more in Dushanbe
The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Dushanbe are more expensive than in Lilongwe. Expenses including restaurants and groceries are lower in Dushanbe. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Dushanbe.
Dushanbe vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Dushanbe instead of Lilongwe, you would:
pay 9.7% less for restaurants
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.00
MWK8,670.87
|
$6.09
TJS56.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.25
MWK17,775.27
|
$9.00
TJS82.94
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.94
MWK1,623.60
|
$0.60
TJS5.53
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.40
MWK688.80
|
$0.35
TJS3.21
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.5% less for groceries
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.22
MWK2,123.03
|
$0.59
TJS5.48
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.88
MWK13,664.20
|
$5.82
TJS53.67
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
MWK6,423.01
|
$3.96
TJS36.53
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.66
MWK4,604.38
|
$1.76
TJS16.25
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.45
MWK2,507.96
|
$2.05
TJS18.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.17
MWK2,023.29
|
$0.77
TJS7.14
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
MWK978.10
|
$1.34
TJS12.32
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
MWK1,179.91
|
$0.92
TJS8.50
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
MWK1,209.50
|
$0.57
TJS5.26
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.62
MWK1,078.22
|
$0.31
TJS2.85
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.56
MWK977.52
|
$0.24
TJS2.19
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - Cost of groceries
pay 56.3% more for transportation
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.09
MWK10,569.03
|
$4.12
TJS37.97
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$4.32
MWK7,495.00
|
$10.59
TJS97.58
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$11,647.15
TJS107,336.20
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$3.60
TJS33.18
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - Cost of transportation
pay 73.9% more for housing
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.37
MWK108,156.28
|
$19.59
TJS180.52
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | ?? |
$432.36
TJS3,984.45
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$67.61
MWK117,250.01
|
$249.58
TJS2,300.06
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.63
MWK60,050.27
|
$42.01
TJS387.15
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - Cost of housing
pay 77.4% more for childcare
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$350.00
MWK606,960.57
|
$105.88
TJS975.78
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,415.44
|
$7,623.59
TJS70,256.42
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - Cost of childcare
pay 14.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.73
MWK3,007.43
|
$1.06
TJS9.76
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.04
MWK5,273.92
|
$1.94
TJS17.89
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.33
|
$3.18
TJS29.27
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.45
MWK64,944.47
|
$42.10
TJS387.99
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.95
MWK6,850.95
|
$5.29
TJS48.79
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Lilongwe
|
Dushanbe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$32.43
TJS298.83
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$40.87
TJS376.65
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$79.41
TJS731.84
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$58.24
TJS536.68
|
Lilongwe vs. Dushanbe - 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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