Cost of living comparison

Mozambique

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Maputo Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 12.1% more expensive than Maputo.

Restaurants: pay 18.8% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 8.2% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 15.4% less in Chisinau
Housing: pay 25.4% more in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 96.1% more in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.9% more in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 30.0% more in Chisinau

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

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Chisinau vs. Maputo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Chisinau instead of Maputo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.8% more for restaurants

	Maputo	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.17 MZN649.90	$11.22 MDL201.58	+10.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.13 MZN455.34	$8.70 MDL156.22	+22.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 MZN54.07	$1.21 MDL21.71	+42.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 MZN45.36	$0.89 MDL16.00	+25.4%
Average			+18.8%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.2% less for groceries

	Maputo	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 MZN64.68	$0.71 MDL12.77	-29.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.43 MZN666.56	$4.89 MDL87.82	-53.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 MZN378.48	$4.73 MDL85.03	-20.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.46 MZN156.98	$2.79 MDL50.06	+13.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.60 MZN166.10	$2.36 MDL42.34	-9.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 MZN58.39	$0.44 MDL7.87	-52.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 MZN22.68	$0.87 MDL15.68	+145.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.75 MZN48.19	$0.94 MDL16.87	+24.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 MZN30.61	$1.01 MDL18.06	+109.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 MZN29.48	$0.31 MDL5.61	-32.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 MZN22.68	$0.25 MDL4.42	-30.7%
Average			-8.2%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.4% less for transportation

	Maputo	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.24 MZN334.69	$6.44 MDL115.64	+22.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.47 MZN1,499.77	$13.52 MDL242.90	-42.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,685.19 MZN2M	$29,507.41 MDL530K	-6.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.95 MZN699.89	$4.94 MDL88.69	-54.9%
Average			-15.4%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.4% more for housing

	Maputo	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$87.62 MZN5,599.12	$10.59 MDL190.33	-87.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$543.78 MZN34,747.44	$679.74 MDL12,212.58	+25.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$378.02 MZN24,155.78	$435.34 MDL7,821.60	+15.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.69 MZN3,431.08	$185.85 MDL3,339.13	+246.1%
Average			+25.4%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 96.1% more for childcare

	Maputo	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$128.31 MZN8,198.72	$434.06 MDL7,798.47	+238.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,140.04 MZN328K	$5,841.67 MDL105K	+13.7%
Average			+96.1%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Maputo	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.56 MZN99.98	$2.24 MDL40.32	+43.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.22 MZN141.85	$2.16 MDL38.87	-2.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.82 MZN179.97	$3.42 MDL61.48	+21.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.91 MZN2,678.15	$41.67 MDL748.71	-0.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.82 MZN499.92	$8.41 MDL151.18	+7.6%
Average			+10.9%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.0% more for clothing

	Maputo	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.07 MZN3,199.50	$79.80 MDL1,433.71	+59.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.07 MZN3,582.77	$47.07 MDL845.61	-16.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.24 MZN4,999.22	$114.14 MDL2,050.64	+45.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.02 MZN5,049.21	$115.56 MDL2,076.23	+46.2%
Average			+30.0%

Maputo vs. Chisinau - 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

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