Cost of living comparison

Peru

compared to

Malawi

Lilongwe vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 27.2% cheaper than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 22.4% more in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 16.1% more in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 54.6% less in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 50.5% less in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 95.5% more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.5% less in Lilongwe

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

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Lilongwe vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.4% more for restaurants

	Lima	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.36 PEN15.00	$5.00 MWK8,683.00	+14.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.94 PEN23.91	$10.25 MWK17,800.16	+47.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 PEN3.75	$1.26 MWK2,182.36	+15.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$0.57 MWK984.76	-10.4%
Average			+22.4%

Lima vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 16.1% more for groceries

	Lima	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.57 PEN8.87	$1.82 MWK3,155.26	-29.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.53 PEN15.62	$7.88 MWK13,683.33	+73.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.09 PEN20.97	$4.73 MWK8,212.45	-22.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.91 PEN10.03	$2.90 MWK5,041.67	-0.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.68 PEN9.25	$2.38 MWK4,131.01	-11.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 PEN3.14	$1.17 MWK2,026.12	+28.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.64	$0.56 MWK979.47	+18.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$0.68 MWK1,181.56	+7.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 PEN2.33	$1.03 MWK1,786.72	+52.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 PEN1.44	$0.92 MWK1,593.81	+119.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 PEN1.38	$0.45 MWK787.71	+13.3%
Average			+16.1%

Lima vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.6% less for transportation

	Lima	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.39 PEN22.00	$6.03 MWK10,463.30	-5.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.51 PEN91.33	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-83.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 PEN75,751.70	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.18 PEN69.52	??
Average			-54.6%

Lima vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.5% less for housing

	Lima	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.55 PEN94.90	$61.21 MWK106K	+122.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$734.53 PEN2,530.34	$540.71 MWK939K	-26.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$337.21 PEN1,161.65	$85.13 MWK148K	-74.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.42 PEN190.93	$34.63 MWK60,134.34	-37.5%
Average			-50.5%

Lima vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 95.5% more for childcare

	Lima	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$179.06 PEN616.82	$350.00 MWK608K	+95.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,095.48 PEN45,111.65	??
Average			+95.5%

Lima vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 PEN9.00	$2.20 MWK3,823.26	-15.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.24 PEN11.16	$3.21 MWK5,580.44	-0.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.76 PEN19.85	$2.43 MWK4,223.25	-57.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.49 PEN111.92	$30.85 MWK53,568.54	-5.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.26 PEN25.01	??
Average			-16.5%

Lima vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Lima	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.80 PEN181.88	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.89 PEN120.20	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.72 PEN288.40	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 PEN271.88	??

Lima 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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