Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malawi vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 9.5% cheaper than Maldives overall.

Restaurants: pay 0.9% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 25.0% less in Malawi
Transportation: pay 1.8% more in Malawi
Housing: pay 9.9% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 28.2% more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.2% less in Malawi
Clothing: pay 8.5% less in Malawi

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

Malawi vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.9% less for restaurants

	Maldives	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MVR85.56	$4.94 MWK8,559.86	-11.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.80 MVR150.98	$9.59 MWK16,625.22	-2.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 MVR22.29	$0.88 MWK1,523.30	-39.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 MVR4.70	$0.45 MWK788.82	+49.1%
Average			-0.9%

Maldives vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.0% less for groceries

	Maldives	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.59 MVR24.49	$1.25 MWK2,173.99	-21.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.58 MVR70.46	$4.83 MWK8,375.64	+5.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MVR107.00	$3.70 MWK6,421.01	-46.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 MVR25.67	$2.18 MWK3,782.37	+30.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.82 MVR43.37	$2.00 MWK3,463.78	-29.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.84 MVR28.31	$1.09 MWK1,881.64	-41.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.73 MVR26.63	$0.81 MWK1,409.60	-53.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 MVR30.25	$0.90 MWK1,554.77	-54.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 MVR22.83	$0.59 MWK1,030.46	-59.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 MVR10.77	$0.61 MWK1,060.98	-12.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 MVR8.45	$0.59 MWK1,014.81	+6.7%
Average			-25.0%

Maldives vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.8% more for transportation

	Maldives	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.54 MVR54.53	$6.04 MWK10,468.08	+70.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.91 MVR445.28	$4.32 MWK7,494.24	-85.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,679.74 MVR503,267.97	$35,205.31 MWK61,045,878.62	+7.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.65 MVR271.76	$20.15 MWK34,943.87	+14.2%
Average			+1.8%

Maldives vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.9% less for housing

	Maldives	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.82 MVR952.02	$184.06 MWK319,155.40	+197.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,136.53 MVR17,502.54	$201.16 MWK348,818.64	-82.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$731.21 MVR11,260.62	$79.07 MWK137,101.90	-89.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$93.30 MVR1,436.78	$31.77 MWK55,095.53	-65.9%
Average			-9.9%

Maldives vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 28.2% more for childcare

	Maldives	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$164.38 MVR2,531.44	$354.19 MWK614,162.67	+115.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,587.42 MVR55,246.24	$1,471.60 MWK2,551,744.52	-59.0%
Average			+28.2%

Maldives vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Maldives	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.74 MVR72.97	$1.48 MWK2,563.89	-68.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 MVR50.96	$2.85 MWK4,942.54	-13.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.07 MVR201.31	$1.98 MWK3,434.50	-84.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.98 MVR1,123.97	$48.41 MWK83,943.35	-33.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.80 MVR150.98	$3.95 MWK6,850.26	-59.7%
Average			-52.2%

Maldives vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.5% less for clothing

	Maldives	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.03 MVR662.64	$44.72 MWK77,536.37	+3.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.86 MVR875.69	$34.73 MWK60,227.91	-38.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.20 MVR1,389.02	$58.69 MWK101,773.52	-34.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$51.74 MVR796.84	$70.38 MWK122,044.96	+36.0%
Average			-8.5%

Maldives vs. Malawi - 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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