Cost of living comparison
Costa Rica is 85.8% more expensive than Malawi.
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Malawi, you would:
pay 2.7 times more for restaurants
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.42
MWK5,918.21
|
$9.42
CRC4,798.93
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.89
MWK8,454.58
|
$8.16
CRC4,160.00
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.76
MWK1,321.03
|
$1.73
CRC880.27
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.35
MWK605.91
|
$1.50
CRC766.94
|
|
pay 79.1% more for groceries
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.68
MWK1,183.64
|
$1.87
CRC953.72
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.09
MWK12,259.15
|
$4.15
CRC2,115.80
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.28
MWK5,666.31
|
$6.45
CRC3,288.49
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.44
MWK2,483.39
|
$2.63
CRC1,341.18
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.02
MWK1,754.96
|
$3.92
CRC1,996.79
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$0.95
MWK1,644.47
|
$1.85
CRC941.61
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.50
MWK867.89
|
$0.66
CRC337.04
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.08
MWK1,866.34
|
$1.26
CRC640.35
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.64
MWK1,105.06
|
$0.97
CRC491.90
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.73
MWK1,269.88
|
$0.92
CRC470.99
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$0.70
MWK1,216.91
|
$1.08
CRC550.90
|
|
pay 31.4% more for transportation
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.57
MWK7,906.08
|
$5.58
CRC2,845.81
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$44.84
MWK77,528.53
|
$44.09
CRC22,470.57
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,894.87
MWK46,500,210.98
|
$25,829.98
CRC13,164,933.21
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$6.41
MWK11,075.50
|
$13.39
CRC6,822.60
|
|
pay 2.2 times more for housing
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$136.92
MWK236,728.35
|
$53.15
CRC27,087.53
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$291.36
MWK503,752.29
|
$813.71
CRC414,729.68
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$135.70
MWK234,614.70
|
$522.16
CRC266,135.01
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$35.40
MWK61,204.56
|
$64.83
CRC33,042.04
|
|
pay 34.6% more for childcare
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$268.95
MWK465,002.11
|
$366.72
CRC186,907.13
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,291.77
MWK10,878,231.17
|
$8,358.53
CRC4,260,144.21
|
|
pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$0.78
MWK1,352.73
|
$2.88
CRC1,468.60
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.46
MWK4,249.84
|
$2.93
CRC1,491.02
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.93
MWK5,072.75
|
$4.48
CRC2,284.77
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$22.98
MWK39,736.54
|
$55.95
CRC28,516.86
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$4.04
MWK6,977.52
|
$7.18
CRC3,658.60
|
|
pay 47.6% more for clothing
Malawi
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.71
MWK73,836.70
|
$66.61
CRC33,947.80
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$25.43
MWK43,963.84
|
$44.99
CRC22,932.62
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$62.59
MWK108,218.67
|
$101.09
CRC51,524.68
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$80.68
MWK139,500.63
|
$77.50
CRC39,499.25
|
|
Change currency:
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Malawi. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.