Cost of living comparison

Oman

compared to

Malawi

Lilongwe vs. Muscat Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 41.0% cheaper than Muscat.

Restaurants: pay 20.1% more in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 1.5% less in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 48.2% less in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 62.3% less in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 21.8% more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.7% less in Lilongwe

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

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Lilongwe vs. Muscat Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.1% more for restaurants

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.20 OMR1.990	$5.00 MWK8,683.00	-3.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 OMR2.980	$10.25 MWK17,800.16	+31.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 OMR0.340	$1.26 MWK2,182.36	+43.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.28 OMR0.110	$0.57 MWK984.76	+101.3%
Average			+20.1%

Muscat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.5% less for groceries

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.21 OMR0.460	$1.82 MWK3,155.26	+49.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.66 OMR1.400	$7.88 MWK13,683.33	+115.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.79 OMR3.360	$4.73 MWK8,212.45	-46.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.98 OMR1.140	$2.90 MWK5,041.67	-2.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.17 OMR1.210	$2.38 MWK4,131.01	-24.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.63 OMR0.620	$1.17 MWK2,026.12	-28.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.90 OMR0.340	$0.56 MWK979.47	-37.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 OMR0.410	$0.68 MWK1,181.56	-36.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 OMR0.220	$1.03 MWK1,786.72	+76.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.54 OMR0.210	$0.92 MWK1,593.81	+69.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 OMR0.220	$0.45 MWK787.71	-20.7%
Average			-1.5%

Muscat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 48.2% less for transportation

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 OMR0.900	$6.03 MWK10,463.30	+156.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$78.03 OMR29.840	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-94.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,485.84 OMR9,746.120	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.06 OMR9.200	??
Average			-48.2%

Muscat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.3% less for housing

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$70.55 OMR26.980	$61.21 MWK106K	-13.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$680.91 OMR260.390	$540.71 MWK939K	-20.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$453.13 OMR173.280	$85.13 MWK148K	-81.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$136.85 OMR52.330	$34.63 MWK60,134.34	-74.7%
Average			-62.3%

Muscat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 21.8% more for childcare

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$287.32 OMR109.880	$350.00 MWK608K	+21.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,536.61 OMR4,029.340	??
Average			+21.8%

Muscat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.00 OMR4.970	$2.20 MWK3,823.26	-83.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.07 OMR1.940	$3.21 MWK5,580.44	-36.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.50 OMR2.480	$2.43 MWK4,223.25	-62.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.02 OMR23.720	$30.85 MWK53,568.54	-50.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.40 OMR3.980	??
Average			-61.7%

Muscat vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Muscat	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$56.51 OMR21.610	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$43.24 OMR16.540	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.59 OMR34.260	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.56 OMR33.480	??

Muscat 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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