Cost of living comparison

compared to

Uganda vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Uganda is 33.6% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 32.0% less in Uganda
Groceries: pay 2.9% less in Uganda
Transportation: pay 2.8 times more in Uganda
Housing: pay 50.1% more in Uganda
Childcare: pay 50.9% more in Uganda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.7% more in Uganda
Clothing: pay 42.7% less in Uganda

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

Uganda vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.0% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Uganda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.94 MWK8,558.96	$2.86 UGX10,754	-42.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.59 MWK16,623.49	$8.80 UGX33,084	-8.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 MWK1,523.14	$0.49 UGX1,837	-44.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 MWK788.74	$0.30 UGX1,139	-33.4%
Average			-32.0%

Malawi vs. Uganda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.9% less for groceries

	Malawi	Uganda
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 MWK2,173.76	$1.17 UGX4,381	-7.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,374.77	$2.18 UGX8,210	-54.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.70 MWK6,420.34	$2.80 UGX10,531	-24.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 MWK3,781.97	$1.82 UGX6,848	-16.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MWK3,463.42	$2.24 UGX8,407	+11.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,881.44	$1.29 UGX4,868	+19.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,409.46	$0.65 UGX2,439	-20.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,554.61	$0.77 UGX2,895	-14.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,030.36	$0.73 UGX2,738	+22.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 MWK1,060.87	$0.73 UGX2,732	+18.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,014.70	$0.78 UGX2,927	+33.0%
Average			-2.9%

Malawi vs. Uganda - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.8 times more for transportation

	Malawi	Uganda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.04 MWK10,466.99	$5.73 UGX21,542	-5.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,493.46	$42.91 UGX161K	+892.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61M	$10,011.73 UGX38M	-71.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.15 MWK34,940.22	$4.00 UGX15,056	-80.1%
Average			+184.0%

Malawi vs. Uganda - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.1% more for housing

	Malawi	Uganda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$184.06 MWK319K	$46.09 UGX173K	-75.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$201.16 MWK349K	$411.55 UGX2M	+104.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.07 MWK137K	$206.19 UGX775K	+160.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.77 MWK55,089.79	$35.00 UGX132K	+10.2%
Average			+50.1%

Malawi vs. Uganda - Cost of housing

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pay 50.9% more for childcare

	Malawi	Uganda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.19 MWK614K	$173.88 UGX654K	-50.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,471.60 MWK3M	$3,718.64 UGX14M	+152.7%
Average			+50.9%

Malawi vs. Uganda - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Uganda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.48 MWK2,563.62	$1.43 UGX5,377	-3.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 MWK4,942.02	$2.86 UGX10,754	+0.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.98 MWK3,434.14	$3.65 UGX13,712	+84.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.41 MWK83,934.60	$45.77 UGX172K	-5.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,849.54	$6.44 UGX24,197	+62.9%
Average			+27.7%

Malawi vs. Uganda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.7% less for clothing

	Malawi	Uganda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.72 MWK77,528.29	$16.81 UGX63,180	-62.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.73 MWK60,221.63	$15.94 UGX59,916	-54.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.69 MWK102K	$43.26 UGX163K	-26.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122K	$50.77 UGX191K	-27.9%
Average			-42.7%

Malawi vs. Uganda - 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. Uganda

Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics

Be 3.4 times more likely to have access to electricity in Uganda

Size Comparison · See true size

Malawi is about 2 times smaller than Uganda.

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