Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malawi vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary
Malawi is 10.2% more expensive than Lilongwe.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.1% more in Malawi
- Groceries
-
pay 4.0% more in Malawi
- Transportation
-
pay 0.9% less in Malawi
- Housing
-
pay 67.9% more in Malawi
- Childcare
-
pay 18.1% less in Malawi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.3% more in Malawi
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in Malawi are more expensive than in Lilongwe. Expenses including childcare and transportation are lower in Malawi.
Malawi vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malawi instead of Lilongwe, you would:
pay 0.1% more for restaurants
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.00
MWK8,669.98
|
$4.94
MWK8,559.86
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.25
MWK17,773.46
|
$9.59
MWK16,625.22
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.94
MWK1,623.44
|
$0.88
MWK1,523.30
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.40
MWK688.73
|
$0.45
MWK788.82
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants
pay 4.0% more for groceries
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.22
MWK2,122.82
|
$1.25
MWK2,173.99
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.88
MWK13,662.81
|
$4.83
MWK8,375.64
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
MWK6,422.36
|
$3.70
MWK6,421.01
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.66
MWK4,603.91
|
$2.18
MWK3,782.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.45
MWK2,507.70
|
$2.00
MWK3,463.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.17
MWK2,023.08
|
$1.09
MWK1,881.64
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
MWK978.00
|
$0.81
MWK1,409.60
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
MWK1,179.79
|
$0.90
MWK1,554.77
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
MWK1,209.37
|
$0.59
MWK1,030.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.62
MWK1,078.11
|
$0.61
MWK1,060.98
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.56
MWK977.42
|
$0.59
MWK1,014.81
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries
pay 0.9% less for transportation
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.09
MWK10,567.96
|
$6.04
MWK10,468.08
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$35,205.31
MWK61,045,878.62
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$20.15
MWK34,943.87
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation
pay 67.9% more for housing
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.37
MWK108,145.26
|
$184.06
MWK319,155.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | ?? |
$201.16
MWK348,818.64
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$67.61
MWK117,238.07
|
$79.07
MWK137,101.90
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$34.63
MWK60,044.15
|
$31.77
MWK55,095.53
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - Cost of housing
pay 18.1% less for childcare
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$350.00
MWK606,898.76
|
$354.19
MWK614,162.67
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,000.49
|
$1,471.60
MWK2,551,744.52
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare
pay 8.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.73
MWK3,007.12
|
$1.48
MWK2,563.89
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.04
MWK5,273.38
|
$2.85
MWK4,942.54
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.05
|
$1.98
MWK3,434.50
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.45
MWK64,937.85
|
$48.41
MWK83,943.35
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Lilongwe
|
Malawi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$44.72
MWK77,536.37
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$34.73
MWK60,227.91
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$58.69
MWK101,773.52
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$70.38
MWK122,044.96
|
Lilongwe vs. Malawi - 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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