Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Port Vila Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 72.4% cheaper than Port Vila.
Lilongwe vs. Port Vila Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Port Vila, you would:
pay 52.2% less for restaurants
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$12.67
VUV1,500
|
$5.00
MWK8,683.00
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$14.35
VUV1,700
|
$10.25
MWK17,800.16
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.28
VUV270
|
$1.26
MWK2,182.36
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.36
VUV279
|
$0.57
MWK984.76
|
|
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 58.0% less for groceries
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.94
VUV230
|
$1.82
MWK3,155.26
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.86
VUV1,050
|
$7.88
MWK13,683.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$10.63
VUV1,259
|
$4.73
MWK8,212.45
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.23
VUV737
|
$2.90
MWK5,041.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$7.40
VUV877
|
$2.38
MWK4,131.01
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.24
VUV384
|
$1.17
MWK2,026.12
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.96
VUV113
|
$0.56
MWK979.47
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.78
VUV211
|
$0.68
MWK1,181.56
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$4.21
VUV499
|
$1.03
MWK1,786.72
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$4.02
VUV476
|
$0.92
MWK1,593.81
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.57
VUV186
|
$0.45
MWK787.71
|
|
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 70.3% less for transportation
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.78
VUV803
|
$6.03
MWK10,463.30
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$67.55
VUV8,000
|
$4.32
MWK7,505.49
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,220.47
VUV3M
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.29
VUV1,100
|
?? | |
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 85.7% less for housing
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$363.08
VUV43,000
|
$61.21
MWK106K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,579.90
VUV187K
|
$540.71
MWK939K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,131.05
VUV134K
|
$85.13
MWK148K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$484.28
VUV57,353
|
$34.63
MWK60,134.34
|
|
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 44.0% less for childcare
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$624.84
VUV74,000
|
$350.00
MWK608K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,873.26
VUV814K
|
?? | |
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 51.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.07
VUV600
|
$2.20
MWK3,823.26
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.08
VUV483
|
$3.21
MWK5,580.44
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.29
VUV1,100
|
$2.43
MWK4,223.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$68.29
VUV8,088
|
$30.85
MWK53,568.54
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? | ?? | |
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Port Vila
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$40.99
VUV4,854
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$67.55
VUV8,000
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$84.40
VUV9,995
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.28
VUV11,995
|
?? |
Port Vila vs. Lilongwe - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: Port Vila vs. Lilongwe
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Vanuatu vs. Malawi.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Vanuatu 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
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Lilongwe or Port Vila. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.