Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malawi vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 38.3% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 21.4% more in Malawi
Groceries: pay 25.3% less in Malawi
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in Malawi
Housing: pay 95.3% more in Malawi
Childcare: pay 32.1% more in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.1% less in Malawi
Clothing: pay 5.5% more in Malawi

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

Malawi vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.4% more for restaurants

	Manila	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$4.94 MWK8,546.53	-18.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$9.59 MWK16,599.35	+122.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.88 MWK1,520.92	-9.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.45 MWK787.59	-9.7%
Average			+21.4%

Manila vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.3% less for groceries

	Manila	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$1.25 MWK2,170.61	-6.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$4.83 MWK8,362.60	+13.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$3.70 MWK6,411.01	-49.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$2.18 MWK3,776.48	-1.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$2.00 MWK3,458.39	-12.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$1.09 MWK1,878.71	-28.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.81 MWK1,407.41	-1.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$0.90 MWK1,552.35	-45.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$0.59 MWK1,028.86	-41.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.61 MWK1,059.32	-47.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.59 MWK1,013.23	-57.4%
Average			-25.3%

Manila vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Manila	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$6.04 MWK10,451.79	+44.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$4.32 MWK7,482.57	-68.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$35,205.31 MWK60,950,860.76	+39.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$20.15 MWK34,889.48	+589.1%
Average			+151.0%

Manila vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 95.3% more for housing

	Manila	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$184.06 MWK318,658.64	+579.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$201.16 MWK348,275.70	-60.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$79.07 MWK136,888.50	-68.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$31.77 MWK55,009.78	-68.4%
Average			+95.3%

Manila vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 32.1% more for childcare

	Manila	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$354.19 MWK613,206.73	+155.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$1,471.60 MWK2,547,772.73	-91.4%
Average			+32.1%

Manila vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$1.48 MWK2,559.90	+1.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$2.85 MWK4,934.84	+10.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$1.98 MWK3,429.16	-39.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$48.41 MWK83,812.70	+14.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$3.95 MWK6,839.59	-47.2%
Average			-12.1%

Manila vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.5% more for clothing

	Manila	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$44.72 MWK77,415.69	-9.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$34.73 MWK60,134.17	+17.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$58.69 MWK101,615.11	-27.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$70.38 MWK121,855.00	+41.6%
Average			+5.5%

Manila 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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