Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Moldova Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 22.7% cheaper than Moldova overall.

Restaurants: pay 30.1% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 38.8% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 19.8% less in Malawi
Housing: pay 46.4% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 57.1% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.5% more in Malawi
Clothing: pay 16.7% less in Malawi

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

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Malawi vs. Moldova Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.1% less for restaurants

	Moldova	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.35 MDL167.15	$4.50 MWK7,791.68	-51.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.74 MDL156.28	$8.57 MWK14,836.96	-2.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.02 MDL18.23	$1.06 MWK1,839.97	+4.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 MDL11.99	$0.52 MWK900.25	-22.5%
Average			-30.1%

Moldova vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 38.8% more for groceries

	Moldova	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.51 MDL9.08	$1.58 MWK2,730.42	+210.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.87 MDL69.24	$4.83 MWK8,363.50	+24.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.41 MDL78.82	$4.31 MWK7,470.61	-2.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MDL41.28	$2.31 MWK3,991.68	-0.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 MDL39.31	$2.46 MWK4,266.15	+12.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.45 MDL8.07	$1.09 MWK1,878.91	+140.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.93 MDL16.57	$0.81 MWK1,407.56	-12.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.59	$0.90 MWK1,552.52	+2.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 MDL18.56	$0.76 MWK1,315.88	-26.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.61	$0.76 MWK1,315.72	+142.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.23 MDL4.20	$0.53 MWK918.03	+125.9%
Average			+38.8%

Moldova vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.8% less for transportation

	Moldova	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.15 MDL109.96	$5.95 MWK10,304.22	-3.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.07 MDL305.22	$4.32 MWK7,483.38	-74.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,274.90 MDL577K	$35,205.31 MWK61M	+9.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.30 MDL76.89	$12.75 MWK22,072.60	+196.4%
Average			-19.8%

Moldova vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.4% less for housing

	Moldova	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.64 MDL190.16	$61.21 MWK106K	+475.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$414.42 MDL7,408.91	$384.08 MWK665K	-7.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$301.91 MDL5,397.46	$99.97 MWK173K	-66.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$134.34 MDL2,401.73	$27.53 MWK47,666.15	-79.5%
Average			-46.4%

Moldova vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 57.1% less for childcare

	Moldova	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$219.48 MDL3,923.84	$370.40 MWK641K	+68.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,438.11 MDL97,220.90	$593.71 MWK1M	-89.1%
Average			-57.1%

Moldova vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Moldova	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 MDL26.74	$1.64 MWK2,837.97	+9.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.77 MDL31.61	$2.97 MWK5,138.90	+67.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.38 MDL60.51	$2.40 MWK4,161.40	-29.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.66 MDL565.92	$45.11 MWK78,105.17	+42.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.45 MDL115.33	??
Average			+26.5%

Moldova vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.7% less for clothing

	Moldova	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.78 MDL943.56	$43.37 MWK75,094.72	-17.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.13 MDL681.64	$39.87 MWK69,035.05	+4.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.27 MDL1,649.64	$48.90 MWK84,673.17	-47.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$66.57 MDL1,190.11	$70.38 MWK122K	+5.7%
Average			-16.7%

Moldova vs. Malawi - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Moldova vs. Malawi

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 3.4 times more likely to be unemployed in Malawi

Size Comparison · See true size

Moldova is about 3.5 times smaller than Malawi.

Moving from Moldova to Malawi · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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