Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Quito Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 0.4% cheaper than Quito.
- Restaurants
-
pay 8.1% less in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 9.9% more in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 24.1% more in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 26.2% more in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 25.7% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 28.8% less in Lilongwe
The cost of housing, transportation, and groceries in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Quito. Expenses including entertainment and sports, childcare, and restaurants are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Quito Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Quito, you would:
pay 8.1% less for restaurants
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.00
|
$5.00
MWK8,669.98
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.38
|
$10.25
MWK17,773.46
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.13
|
$0.94
MWK1,623.44
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
|
$0.40
MWK688.73
|
|
Quito vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.9% more for groceries
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.62
|
$1.22
MWK2,122.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.18
|
$7.88
MWK13,662.81
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.06
|
$3.70
MWK6,422.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.43
|
$2.66
MWK4,603.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.52
|
$1.45
MWK2,507.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.17
MWK2,023.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.51
|
$0.56
MWK978.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.48
|
$0.68
MWK1,179.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
|
$0.70
MWK1,209.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
|
$0.62
MWK1,078.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.47
|
$0.56
MWK977.42
|
|
Quito vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 24.1% more for transportation
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.63
|
$6.09
MWK10,567.96
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$27.00
|
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,000.00
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.50
|
?? | |
Quito vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 26.2% more for housing
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$28.44
|
$62.37
MWK108,145.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$448.12
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$317.19
|
$67.61
MWK117,238.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$25.07
|
$34.63
MWK60,044.15
|
|
Quito vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 25.7% less for childcare
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$283.25
|
$350.00
MWK606,898.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,360.00
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,000.49
|
|
Quito vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 28.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.38
|
$1.73
MWK3,007.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.96
|
$3.04
MWK5,273.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.00
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.55
|
$37.45
MWK64,937.85
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.00
|
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
|
Quito vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Quito
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.15
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.83
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.42
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.78
|
?? |
Quito 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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