Cost of living comparison

compared to

Vietnam vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Vietnam is 37.2% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 48.9% less in Vietnam
Groceries: pay 15.2% less in Vietnam
Transportation: pay 17.4% less in Vietnam
Housing: pay 44.5% more in Vietnam
Childcare: pay 4.4 times more in Vietnam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.7% less in Vietnam
Clothing: pay 8.6% less in Vietnam

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

Vietnam vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.9% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Vietnam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.94 MWK8,559.86	$1.88 ₫49,690	-61.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.59 MWK16,625.22	$4.13 ₫108,859	-56.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 MWK1,523.30	$0.53 ₫13,959	-39.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 MWK788.82	$0.29 ₫7,516	-37.3%
Average			-48.9%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.2% less for groceries

	Malawi	Vietnam
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 MWK2,173.99	$0.86 ₫22,662	-31.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,375.64	$5.32 ₫140,178	+10.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.70 MWK6,421.01	$5.20 ₫137,182	+40.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 MWK3,782.37	$1.45 ₫38,162	-33.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MWK3,463.78	$1.56 ₫41,042	-22.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,881.64	$1.18 ₫31,219	+9.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,409.60	$0.47 ₫12,419	-42.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,554.77	$0.58 ₫15,168	-35.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,030.46	$0.49 ₫12,941	-17.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 MWK1,060.98	$0.46 ₫12,245	-24.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,014.81	$0.47 ₫12,299	-20.3%
Average			-15.2%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.4% less for transportation

	Malawi	Vietnam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.04 MWK10,468.08	$3.19 ₫84,145	-47.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.24	$6.64 ₫175,179	+53.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61,045,878.62	$33,225.24 ₫875,963,124	-5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.15 MWK34,943.87	$5.90 ₫155,628	-70.7%
Average			-17.4%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.5% more for housing

	Malawi	Vietnam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$184.06 MWK319,155.40	$8.68 ₫228,767	-95.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$201.16 MWK348,818.64	$310.38 ₫8,182,846	+54.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.07 MWK137,101.90	$223.57 ₫5,894,329	+182.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.77 MWK55,095.53	$43.27 ₫1,140,874	+36.2%
Average			+44.5%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - Cost of housing

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pay 4.4 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Vietnam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.19 MWK614,162.67	$199.23 ₫5,252,517	-43.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,471.60 MWK2,551,744.52	$12,262.04 ₫323,281,150	+733.2%
Average			+344.7%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Vietnam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.48 MWK2,563.89	$0.93 ₫24,544	-37.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 MWK4,942.54	$1.60 ₫42,135	-43.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.98 MWK3,434.50	$1.28 ₫33,702	-35.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.41 MWK83,943.35	$20.38 ₫537,276	-57.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.26	$3.19 ₫84,207	-19.2%
Average			-38.7%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.6% less for clothing

	Malawi	Vietnam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.72 MWK77,536.37	$31.66 ₫834,714	-29.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.73 MWK60,227.91	$21.29 ₫561,399	-38.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.69 MWK101,773.52	$72.72 ₫1,917,160	+23.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122,044.96	$77.26 ₫2,037,044	+9.8%
Average			-8.6%

Malawi vs. Vietnam - 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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