Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Pretoria Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 9.2% cheaper than Pretoria.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.4% less in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 8.0% more in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 37.8% less in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 26.1% less in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 17.0% more in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 14.6% less in Lilongwe
The cost of childcare and groceries in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Pretoria. Expenses including transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Pretoria Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Pretoria, you would:
pay 1.4% less for restaurants
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.64
ZAR147.89
|
$5.00
MWK8,645.53
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.04
ZAR86.27
|
$10.25
MWK17,723.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.08
ZAR18.50
|
$0.94
MWK1,618.86
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.85
ZAR14.58
|
$0.40
MWK686.79
|
|
Pretoria vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.0% more for groceries
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.06
ZAR18.16
|
$1.22
MWK2,116.83
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.04
ZAR69.13
|
$7.88
MWK13,624.28
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.70
ZAR80.48
|
$3.70
MWK6,404.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.48
ZAR42.36
|
$2.66
MWK4,590.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.11
ZAR36.15
|
$1.45
MWK2,500.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.76
ZAR13.02
|
$1.17
MWK2,017.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR12.19
|
$0.56
MWK975.24
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.75
ZAR12.83
|
$0.68
MWK1,176.47
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
ZAR13.02
|
$0.70
MWK1,205.96
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.20
|
$0.62
MWK1,075.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.55
ZAR9.34
|
$0.56
MWK974.66
|
|
Pretoria vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 37.8% less for transportation
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.00
ZAR85.49
|
$6.09
MWK10,538.15
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$170.26
ZAR2,913.51
|
$4.32
MWK7,473.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,166.39
ZAR345,085.73
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$12.96
ZAR221.84
|
?? | |
Pretoria vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 26.1% less for housing
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$36.76
ZAR629.04
|
$62.37
MWK107,840.24
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$407.94
ZAR6,980.59
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$411.01
ZAR7,033.18
|
$67.61
MWK116,907.40
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$97.62
ZAR1,670.51
|
$34.63
MWK59,874.80
|
|
Pretoria vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 17.0% more for childcare
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$202.82
ZAR3,470.58
|
$350.00
MWK605,187.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,822.97
ZAR65,418.40
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,062,509.77
|
|
Pretoria vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 14.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.30
ZAR39.44
|
$1.73
MWK2,998.64
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.15
ZAR36.72
|
$3.04
MWK5,258.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.88
ZAR49.30
|
$1.59
MWK2,743.29
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$35.87
ZAR613.80
|
$37.45
MWK64,754.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.78
ZAR133.10
|
$3.95
MWK6,830.93
|
|
Pretoria vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Pretoria
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.50
ZAR864.09
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.12
ZAR566.83
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$89.07
ZAR1,524.13
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$86.43
ZAR1,478.94
|
?? |
Pretoria 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in South Africa vs. Malawi.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa 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 Pretoria. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.