Cost of living comparison

compared to

Malawi vs. Oman Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 0.3% cheaper than Oman overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.1% more in Malawi
Groceries: pay 6.3% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 49.8% more in Malawi
Housing: pay 8.9% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 4.7% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 55.6% less in Malawi
Clothing: pay 9.9% less in Malawi

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

Malawi vs. Oman Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.1% more for restaurants

	Oman	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.20 OMR1.990	$4.94 MWK8,546.53	-5.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.15 OMR3.500	$9.59 MWK16,599.35	+4.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 OMR0.290	$0.88 MWK1,520.92	+16.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 OMR0.100	$0.45 MWK787.59	+68.5%
Average			+21.1%

Oman vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.3% more for groceries

	Oman	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 OMR0.420	$1.25 MWK2,170.61	+15.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.01 OMR1.150	$4.83 MWK8,362.60	+60.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 OMR2.660	$3.70 MWK6,411.01	-46.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.54 OMR0.970	$2.18 MWK3,776.48	-14.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.43 OMR0.930	$2.00 MWK3,458.39	-17.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.05 OMR0.400	$1.09 MWK1,878.71	+3.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 OMR0.280	$0.81 MWK1,407.41	+12.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 OMR0.300	$0.90 MWK1,552.35	+13.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 OMR0.200	$0.59 MWK1,028.86	+13.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 OMR0.200	$0.61 MWK1,059.32	+19.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 OMR0.200	$0.59 MWK1,013.23	+9.6%
Average			+6.3%

Oman vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 49.8% more for transportation

	Oman	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.34 OMR0.890	$6.04 MWK10,451.79	+158.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$57.22 OMR21.900	$4.32 MWK7,482.57	-92.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,546.38 OMR7,862.560	$35,205.31 MWK60,950,860.76	+71.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.42 OMR4.750	$20.15 MWK34,889.48	+62.3%
Average			+49.8%

Oman vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.9% less for housing

	Oman	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$77.18 OMR29.530	$184.06 MWK318,658.64	+138.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$371.40 OMR142.130	$201.16 MWK348,275.70	-45.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$285.37 OMR109.200	$79.07 MWK136,888.50	-72.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.57 OMR27.770	$31.77 MWK55,009.78	-56.2%
Average			-8.9%

Oman vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 4.7% less for childcare

	Oman	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$205.29 OMR78.560	$354.19 MWK613,206.73	+72.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,131.38 OMR3,111.670	$1,471.60 MWK2,547,772.73	-81.9%
Average			-4.7%

Oman vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 55.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Oman	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.66 OMR4.080	$1.48 MWK2,559.90	-86.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.37 OMR2.060	$2.85 MWK4,934.84	-46.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.01 OMR2.300	$1.98 MWK3,429.16	-67.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$60.23 OMR23.050	$48.41 MWK83,812.70	-19.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.49 OMR3.630	$3.95 MWK6,839.59	-58.4%
Average			-55.6%

Oman vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.9% less for clothing

	Oman	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.73 OMR19.030	$44.72 MWK77,415.69	-10.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.69 OMR15.570	$34.73 MWK60,134.17	-14.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.16 OMR29.530	$58.69 MWK101,615.11	-23.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$64.62 OMR24.730	$70.38 MWK121,855.00	+8.9%
Average			-9.9%

Oman 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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