Cost of living comparison

Liberia

compared to

Malawi

Lilongwe vs. Monrovia Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 21.6% cheaper than Monrovia.

Restaurants: pay 31.6% less in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 52.8% less in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 38.9% less in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 3.1% more in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.6% less in Lilongwe

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

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Lilongwe vs. Monrovia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Monrovia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.6% less for restaurants

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.50 LRD1,280.63	$5.00 MWK8,683.00	-33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.00 LRD1,878.26	$10.25 MWK17,800.16	-6.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 LRD341.50	$1.26 MWK2,182.36	-37.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 LRD341.50	$0.57 MWK984.76	-71.6%
Average			-31.6%

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.8% less for groceries

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.79 LRD305.86	$1.82 MWK3,155.26	+1.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.86 LRD658.77	$7.88 MWK13,683.33	+104.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.01 LRD1,367.97	$4.73 MWK8,212.45	-41.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.60 LRD614.70	$2.90 MWK5,041.67	-19.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.38 LRD917.79	$2.38 MWK4,131.01	-55.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 LRD126.76	$1.17 MWK2,026.12	+57.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.83 LRD654.55	$0.56 MWK979.47	-85.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$4.67 LRD796.84	$0.68 MWK1,181.56	-85.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$5.00 LRD853.76	$1.03 MWK1,786.72	-79.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 LRD170.75	$0.92 MWK1,593.81	-8.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$4.83 LRD825.30	$0.45 MWK787.71	-90.6%
Average			-52.8%

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.9% less for transportation

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.69 LRD801.39	$6.03 MWK10,463.30	+28.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.00 LRD3,415.02	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-78.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,000.00 LRD3M	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.91 LRD2,887.90	??
Average			-38.9%

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1% more for housing

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$180.00 LRD30,735.22	$61.21 MWK106K	-66.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 LRD42,687.81	$540.71 MWK939K	+116.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$95.00 LRD16,221.37	$85.13 MWK148K	-10.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.47 LRD19,716.75	$34.63 MWK60,134.34	-70.0%
Average			+3.1%

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$100.00 LRD17,075.12	$350.00 MWK608K	+250.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,000.00 LRD171K	??
Average			+250.0%

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.00 LRD683.00	$2.20 MWK3,823.26	-45.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 LRD512.25	$3.21 MWK5,580.44	+7.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.00 LRD853.76	$2.43 MWK4,223.25	-51.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.50 LRD10,671.95	$30.85 MWK53,568.54	-50.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 LRD853.76	??
Average			-37.6%

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Monrovia	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.00 LRD4,268.78	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.50 LRD5,549.42	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$55.00 LRD9,391.32	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.50 LRD15,794.49	??

Monrovia vs. Lilongwe - 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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