Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iran vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Iran is 14.0% cheaper than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 4.1% more in Iran
Groceries: pay 48.4% less in Iran
Transportation: pay 19.2% more in Iran
Housing: pay 25.2% more in Iran
Childcare: pay 55.4% less in Iran
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.9% less in Iran
Clothing: pay 3.4% more in Iran

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

Iran vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.1% more for restaurants

	Malawi	Iran
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.94 MWK8,558.96	$3.73 IRR5M	-24.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.59 MWK16,623.49	$3.78 IRR5M	-60.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 MWK1,523.14	$0.78 IRR1M	-10.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 MWK788.74	$0.96 IRR1M	+111.9%
Average			+4.1%

Malawi vs. Iran - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.4% less for groceries

	Malawi	Iran
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 MWK2,173.76	$0.48 IRR641K	-61.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,374.77	$2.20 IRR3M	-54.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.70 MWK6,420.34	$2.58 IRR3M	-30.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 MWK3,781.97	$1.14 IRR2M	-47.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MWK3,463.42	$1.32 IRR2M	-34.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,881.44	$0.41 IRR537K	-62.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,409.46	$0.67 IRR881K	-18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,554.61	$0.43 IRR574K	-51.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,030.36	$0.28 IRR370K	-53.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 MWK1,060.87	$0.26 IRR339K	-58.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,014.70	$0.23 IRR300K	-61.2%
Average			-48.4%

Malawi vs. Iran - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.2% more for transportation

	Malawi	Iran
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.04 MWK10,466.99	$2.59 IRR3M	-57.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,493.46	$9.98 IRR13M	+131.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61M	$66,617.96 IRR88B	+89.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.15 MWK34,940.22	$2.79 IRR4M	-86.2%
Average			+19.2%

Malawi vs. Iran - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.2% more for housing

	Malawi	Iran
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$184.06 MWK319K	$11.37 IRR15M	-93.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$201.16 MWK349K	$329.21 IRR435M	+63.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.07 MWK137K	$233.51 IRR309M	+195.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.77 MWK55,089.79	$11.30 IRR15M	-64.4%
Average			+25.2%

Malawi vs. Iran - Cost of housing

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pay 55.4% less for childcare

	Malawi	Iran
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.19 MWK614K	$77.32 IRR102M	-78.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,471.60 MWK3M	$991.86 IRR1B	-32.6%
Average			-55.4%

Malawi vs. Iran - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Iran
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.48 MWK2,563.62	$0.80 IRR1M	-45.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 MWK4,942.02	$1.11 IRR1M	-61.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.98 MWK3,434.14	$1.97 IRR3M	-0.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.41 MWK83,934.60	$18.85 IRR25M	-61.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,849.54	$1.53 IRR2M	-61.4%
Average			-45.9%

Malawi vs. Iran - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.4% more for clothing

	Malawi	Iran
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.72 MWK77,528.29	$29.89 IRR40M	-33.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.73 MWK60,221.63	$28.92 IRR38M	-16.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.69 MWK102K	$102.93 IRR136M	+75.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122K	$61.87 IRR82M	-12.1%
Average			+3.4%

Malawi vs. Iran - 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: March 2026

Compare further: Malawi vs. Iran

Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics

Make 9.5 times more money in Iran

Size Comparison · See true size

Malawi is about 14 times smaller than Iran.

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