Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malawi vs. Madagascar Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 85.0% more expensive than Madagascar overall.

Restaurants: pay 36.3% more in Malawi
Groceries: pay 44.6% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 77.2% more in Malawi
Housing: pay 41.2% more in Malawi
Childcare: pay 3.9 times more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.5% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 60.3% more in Malawi

The cost of childcare, transportation, clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing in Malawi are more expensive than in Madagascar. Notably, childcare and transportation are significantly more expensive in Malawi.

Malawi vs. Madagascar Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Madagascar, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 36.3% more for restaurants

	Madagascar	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.04 MGA13,565	$4.94 MWK8,559.86	+62.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.73 MGA21,097	$9.59 MWK16,625.22	+102.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 MGA3,657	$0.88 MWK1,523.30	+7.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 MGA2,776	$0.45 MWK788.82	-26.9%
Average			+36.3%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.6% more for groceries

	Madagascar	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 MGA3,910	$1.25 MWK2,173.99	+43.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 MGA23,916	$4.83 MWK8,375.64	-9.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.89 MGA17,345	$3.70 MWK6,421.01	-4.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 MGA8,790	$2.18 MWK3,782.37	+10.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 MGA11,752	$2.00 MWK3,463.78	-24.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.64 MGA2,859	$1.09 MWK1,881.64	+69.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.33 MGA1,481	$0.81 MWK1,409.60	+144.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 MGA2,524	$0.90 MWK1,554.77	+58.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 MGA1,823	$0.59 MWK1,030.46	+45.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.29 MGA1,279	$0.61 MWK1,060.98	+113.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 MGA1,805	$0.59 MWK1,014.81	+44.6%
Average			+44.6%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 77.2% more for transportation

	Madagascar	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.44 MGA19,804	$6.04 MWK10,468.08	+36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$4.32 MWK7,494.24
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$12,651.72 MGA56,433,540	$35,205.31 MWK61,045,878.62	+178.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.17 MGA76,588	$20.15 MWK34,943.87	+17.4%
Average			+77.2%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.2% more for housing

	Madagascar	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$60.23 MGA268,678	$184.06 MWK319,155.40	+205.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$257.49 MGA1,148,552	$201.16 MWK348,818.64	-21.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$71.69 MGA319,786	$79.07 MWK137,101.90	+10.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.95 MGA200,485	$31.77 MWK55,095.53	-29.3%
Average			+41.2%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 3.9 times more for childcare

	Madagascar	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$46.54 MGA207,595	$354.19 MWK614,162.67	+661.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,634.52 MGA38,514,631	$1,471.60 MWK2,551,744.52	-83.0%
Average			+289.0%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Madagascar	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.82 MGA3,642	$1.48 MWK2,563.89	+81.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.33 MGA5,930	$2.85 MWK4,942.54	+114.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.73 MGA7,734	$1.98 MWK3,434.50	+14.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.94 MGA133,560	$48.41 MWK83,943.35	+61.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.47 MGA28,875	$3.95 MWK6,850.26	-39.0%
Average			+46.5%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.3% more for clothing

	Madagascar	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.48 MGA86,877	$44.72 MWK77,536.37	+129.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.20 MGA76,743	$34.73 MWK60,227.91	+101.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.84 MGA315,983	$58.69 MWK101,773.52	-17.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$55.48 MGA247,460	$70.38 MWK122,044.96	+26.9%
Average			+60.3%

Madagascar vs. Malawi - 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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