Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Philippines

Philippines vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Philippines is 0.5% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 39.3% less in Philippines
Transportation: pay 13.8% less in Philippines
Housing: pay 21.4% more in Philippines
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Philippines
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.4% less in Philippines
Clothing: pay 13.3% less in Philippines

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

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Philippines vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 39.3% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Philippines
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.50 MWK7,814.70	$3.66 ₱230.42	-18.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.57 MWK14,880.81	$3.23 ₱203.25	-62.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 MWK1,845.41	$0.73 ₱45.74	-31.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 MWK902.91	$0.40 ₱25.06	-23.5%
Average			-39.3%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of restaurants

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pay about the same for groceries

	Malawi	Philippines
Bread 1 loaf	$1.58 MWK2,738.49	$1.15 ₱72.70	-26.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,388.22	$3.30 ₱208.05	-31.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.31 MWK7,492.69	$6.50 ₱409.51	+50.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK4,003.47	$1.97 ₱124.13	-14.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.46 MWK4,278.75	$1.82 ₱114.44	-26.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,884.46	$1.27 ₱80.03	+17.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,411.72	$0.64 ₱40.04	-21.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,557.11	$1.14 ₱72.11	+27.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 MWK1,319.77	$0.60 ₱37.83	-21.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 MWK1,319.61	$0.91 ₱57.20	+19.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK920.74	$1.01 ₱63.69	+90.7%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.8% less for transportation

	Malawi	Philippines
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.95 MWK10,334.67	$4.37 ₱275.11	-26.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	$12.98 ₱817.46	+200.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61M	$20,989.85 ₱1M	-40.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.75 MWK22,137.83	$2.59 ₱163.09	-79.7%
Average			-13.8%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.4% more for housing

	Malawi	Philippines
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.21 MWK106K	$25.62 ₱1,613.68	-58.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$384.08 MWK667K	$267.48 ₱16,849.92	-30.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$99.97 MWK174K	$170.01 ₱10,709.57	+70.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$27.53 MWK47,807.03	$85.57 ₱5,390.60	+210.8%
Average			+21.4%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Philippines
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$370.40 MWK643K	$162.60 ₱10,243.03	-56.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$593.71 MWK1M	$7,174.58 ₱452K	+1108.4%
Average			+130.3%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Philippines
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.64 MWK2,846.35	$1.24 ₱78.00	-24.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.97 MWK5,154.08	$2.15 ₱135.51	-27.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.40 MWK4,173.70	$2.72 ₱171.21	+13.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.11 MWK78,336.01	$30.00 ₱1,889.99	-33.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$5.33 ₱335.98
Average			-24.4%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.3% less for clothing

	Malawi	Philippines
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.37 MWK75,316.66	$37.72 ₱2,376.14	-13.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.87 MWK69,239.08	$22.70 ₱1,430.17	-43.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$48.90 MWK84,923.42	$68.85 ₱4,337.27	+40.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122K	$57.10 ₱3,597.19	-18.9%
Average			-13.3%

Malawi vs. Philippines - Cost of clothing

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

Compare further: Malawi vs. Philippines

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Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Be 6.3 times more likely to have access to electricity in Philippines

Size Comparison · See true size

Malawi is about 2.5 times smaller than Philippines.

Moving from Malawi to Philippines · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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