Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Peru Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 9.5% more expensive than Peru overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 20.0% more in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 22.9% more in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 30.2% less in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 21.3% more in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 40.1% more in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.2% less in Lilongwe
The cost of childcare, groceries, housing, and restaurants in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Peru. Expenses including transportation and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Peru Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Peru, you would:
pay 20.0% more for restaurants
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.28
PEN11.06
|
$5.00
MWK8,678.50
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.98
PEN20.13
|
$10.25
MWK17,790.92
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.08
PEN3.62
|
$0.94
MWK1,625.03
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.57
PEN1.94
|
$0.40
MWK689.41
|
|
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 22.9% more for groceries
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.24
PEN7.56
|
$1.22
MWK2,124.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.64
PEN12.26
|
$7.88
MWK13,676.24
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.06
PEN17.03
|
$3.70
MWK6,428.67
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.93
PEN9.87
|
$2.66
MWK4,608.43
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.75
PEN9.26
|
$1.45
MWK2,510.17
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.79
PEN2.66
|
$1.17
MWK2,025.07
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.41
PEN1.39
|
$0.56
MWK978.96
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.48
PEN1.60
|
$0.68
MWK1,180.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.47
PEN1.59
|
$0.70
MWK1,210.56
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.44
PEN1.47
|
$0.62
MWK1,079.17
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.38
PEN1.29
|
$0.56
MWK978.38
|
|
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 30.2% less for transportation
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
PEN18.17
|
$6.09
MWK10,578.34
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$16.18
PEN54.48
|
$4.32
MWK7,501.60
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$19,692.85
PEN66,305.42
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.93
PEN60.35
|
?? | |
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 21.3% more for housing
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$25.62
PEN86.26
|
$62.37
MWK108,251.51
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$371.91
PEN1,252.22
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$256.23
PEN862.71
|
$67.61
MWK117,353.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$36.79
PEN123.88
|
$34.63
MWK60,103.14
|
|
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 40.1% more for childcare
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$148.49
PEN499.96
|
$350.00
MWK607,495.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,269.80
PEN17,743.30
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,078,002.94
|
|
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 17.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.21
PEN7.45
|
$1.73
MWK3,010.08
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.70
PEN9.09
|
$3.04
MWK5,278.56
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.12
PEN20.60
|
$1.59
MWK2,753.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.24
PEN101.83
|
$37.45
MWK65,001.65
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.38
PEN18.13
|
$3.95
MWK6,856.99
|
|
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Peru
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.15
PEN168.85
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$26.05
PEN87.71
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$66.76
PEN224.77
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$68.85
PEN231.82
|
?? |
Peru vs. Lilongwe - Cost of clothing
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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