Cost of living comparison

compared to

Hanoi vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Hanoi is 43.1% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 52.1% less in Hanoi
Groceries: pay 12.3% less in Hanoi
Transportation: pay 9.1% less in Hanoi
Housing: pay 70.5% more in Hanoi
Childcare: pay 4.3 times more in Hanoi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.5% less in Hanoi
Clothing: pay 2.4% more in Hanoi

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

Hanoi vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 52.1% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Hanoi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.94 MWK8,546.53	$1.89 ₫49,824	-61.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.59 MWK16,599.35	$4.32 ₫113,598	-55.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 MWK1,520.92	$0.47 ₫12,456	-46.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 MWK787.59	$0.25 ₫6,469	-45.9%
Average			-52.1%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.3% less for groceries

	Malawi	Hanoi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 MWK2,170.61	$0.91 ₫23,820	-27.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,362.60	$4.95 ₫130,338	+2.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.70 MWK6,411.01	$5.27 ₫138,746	+42.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 MWK3,776.48	$1.51 ₫39,652	-30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MWK3,458.39	$1.59 ₫41,792	-20.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,878.71	$1.44 ₫37,756	+32.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,407.41	$0.47 ₫12,368	-42.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,552.35	$0.66 ₫17,384	-26.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,028.86	$0.50 ₫13,149	-15.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 MWK1,059.32	$0.44 ₫11,623	-27.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,013.23	$0.46 ₫12,128	-21.2%
Average			-12.3%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.1% less for transportation

	Malawi	Hanoi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.04 MWK10,451.79	$3.20 ₫84,298	-46.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,482.57	$7.58 ₫199,294	+75.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK60,950,860.76	$37,880.00 ₫996,471,280	+7.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.15 MWK34,889.48	$5.61 ₫147,478	-72.2%
Average			-9.1%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - Cost of transportation

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pay 70.5% more for housing

	Malawi	Hanoi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$184.06 MWK318,658.64	$8.67 ₫228,192	-95.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$201.16 MWK348,275.70	$348.52 ₫9,168,206	+73.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.07 MWK136,888.50	$258.44 ₫6,798,631	+226.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.77 MWK55,009.78	$56.25 ₫1,479,584	+77.0%
Average			+70.5%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - Cost of housing

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pay 4.3 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Hanoi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.19 MWK613,206.73	$231.49 ₫6,089,547	-34.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,471.60 MWK2,547,772.73	$11,784.89 ₫310,013,287	+700.8%
Average			+333.1%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Hanoi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.48 MWK2,559.90	$0.95 ₫24,912	-36.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 MWK4,934.84	$1.79 ₫47,146	-37.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.98 MWK3,429.16	$1.33 ₫34,876	-33.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.41 MWK83,812.70	$27.93 ₫734,784	-42.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,839.59	$3.79 ₫99,647	-4.1%
Average			-30.5%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.4% more for clothing

	Malawi	Hanoi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.72 MWK77,415.69	$41.82 ₫1,100,025	-6.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.73 MWK60,134.17	$22.94 ₫603,419	-34.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.69 MWK101,615.11	$86.52 ₫2,276,000	+47.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK121,855.00	$72.39 ₫1,904,367	+2.9%
Average			+2.4%

Malawi vs. Hanoi - 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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