Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Malawi

Lilongwe vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 56.1% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 35.4% less in Lilongwe
Groceries: pay 37.4% less in Lilongwe
Transportation: pay 39.6% less in Lilongwe
Housing: pay 75.8% less in Lilongwe
Childcare: pay 35.6% less in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.0% less in Lilongwe

Expenses including housing, transportation, groceries, childcare, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe.

Planning a move to Malawi? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Lilongwe vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.4% less for restaurants

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.50 PAB11.50	$5.00 MWK8,683.00	-56.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$10.25 MWK17,800.16	+28.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 PAB1.97	$1.26 MWK2,182.36	-36.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.60 PAB1.60	$0.57 MWK984.76	-64.6%
Average			-35.4%

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.4% less for groceries

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 PAB2.52	$1.82 MWK3,155.26	-27.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$7.88 MWK13,683.33	+27.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$4.73 MWK8,212.45	-33.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 PAB2.75	$2.90 MWK5,041.67	+5.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.07 PAB3.07	$2.38 MWK4,131.01	-22.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 PAB1.87	$1.17 MWK2,026.12	-37.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 PAB0.82	$0.56 MWK979.47	-31.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.92 PAB1.92	$0.68 MWK1,181.56	-64.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.03 MWK1,786.72	-44.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 PAB1.55	$0.92 MWK1,593.81	-40.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.96 PAB1.96	$0.45 MWK787.71	-76.8%
Average			-37.4%

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.6% less for transportation

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.62 PAB4.62	$6.03 MWK10,463.30	+30.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.00 PAB21.00	$4.32 MWK7,505.49	-79.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.98 PAB16.98	??
Average			-39.6%

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.8% less for housing

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.70 PAB48.70	$61.21 MWK106K	+25.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	$540.71 MWK939K	-57.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$874.18 PAB874.18	$85.13 MWK148K	-90.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.29 PAB100.29	$34.63 MWK60,134.34	-65.5%
Average			-75.8%

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.6% less for childcare

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$350.00 MWK608K	-35.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	??
Average			-35.6%

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 PAB3.30	$2.20 MWK3,823.26	-33.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.11 PAB4.11	$3.21 MWK5,580.44	-21.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.00 PAB6.00	$2.43 MWK4,223.25	-59.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.40 PAB46.40	$30.85 MWK53,568.54	-33.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 PAB8.50	??
Average			-35.0%

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Panama City	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.67 PAB66.67	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.43 PAB48.43	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.62 PAB94.62	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67 PAB111.67	??

Panama City vs. Lilongwe - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Panama City vs. Lilongwe

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Lilongwe?

More cost comparisons

Panama City vs.

Berlin

Panama City vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Panama City vs.

Moscow

Panama City vs.

Cairo

Panama City vs.

Sydney

Panama City vs.

Reykjavik

Panama City vs.

Vienna

Panama City vs.

New York City

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Panama vs. Malawi. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Panama and Malawi.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Panama City

Add prices for Lilongwe

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lilongwe or Panama City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.