Cost of living comparison

compared to

Manama vs. Malabo Cost of Living Summary

Manama is 86.2% more expensive than Malabo.

Restaurants
pay 25.5% less in Manama
Groceries
pay 8.9% less in Manama
Transportation
pay 24.4% more in Manama
Housing
pay 2.9 times more in Manama
Childcare
pay 32.3 times more in Manama
Entertainment and Sports
pay 85.9% more in Manama

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

Manama vs. Malabo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Manama instead of Malabo, you would:

pay 25.5% less for restaurants

 
Malabo
Manama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.54
FCFA4,999
$5.30
BHD2.000
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.54
FCFA4,999
$7.43
BHD2.800
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.85
FCFA500
$0.86
BHD0.330

Improve prices ·

pay 8.9% less for groceries

 
Malabo
Manama
Bread
1 loaf
?? $1.08
BHD0.410
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.37
FCFA1,973
$4.33
BHD1.630
Milk (1 gallon) $10.34
FCFA6,056
$5.35
BHD2.020

Improve prices ·

pay 24.4% more for transportation

 
Malabo
Manama
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $2.53
BHD0.950
Monthly public transit pass $26.40
FCFA15,461
$37.13
BHD14.000
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,056.06
FCFA19M
$37,115.81
BHD13,996.040

Improve prices ·

pay 2.9 times more for housing

 
Malabo
Manama
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $35.14
BHD13.250
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $995.34
BHD375.330
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $223.95
FCFA131K
$645.13
BHD243.270

Improve prices ·

pay 32.3 times more for childcare

 
Malabo
Manama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $489.38
BHD184.540
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $341.40
FCFA200K
$11,017.71
BHD4,154.680

Improve prices ·

pay 85.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Malabo
Manama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.71
FCFA1,000
$6.63
BHD2.500
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.69
FCFA2,749
$4.94
BHD1.860
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.52
FCFA2,648
$5.30
BHD2.000

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Malabo
Manama
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $51.08
BHD19.260
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $57.58
BHD21.710
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $87.84
BHD33.130

Improve prices ·

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Equatorial Guinea vs. Bahrain. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Equatorial Guinea and Bahrain.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Manama or Malabo. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.