Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Riyadh Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 18.6% cheaper than Riyadh.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.8% more in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 6.7% less in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 38.0% more in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 55.4% less in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 50.1% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 49.9% less in Lilongwe
The cost of transportation and restaurants in Lilongwe are more expensive than in Riyadh. Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Riyadh Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Riyadh, you would:
pay 12.8% more for restaurants
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.00
SAR30.00
|
$5.00
MWK8,645.53
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.00
SAR30.00
|
$10.25
MWK17,723.33
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.75
SAR2.82
|
$0.94
MWK1,618.86
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.29
SAR1.10
|
$0.40
MWK686.79
|
|
Riyadh vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.7% less for groceries
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.31
SAR4.91
|
$1.22
MWK2,116.83
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.27
SAR16.00
|
$7.88
MWK13,624.28
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.23
SAR23.37
|
$3.70
MWK6,404.24
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.81
SAR10.53
|
$2.66
MWK4,590.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.67
SAR17.52
|
$1.45
MWK2,500.63
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.03
SAR3.85
|
$1.17
MWK2,017.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
SAR2.87
|
$0.56
MWK975.24
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.82
SAR3.07
|
$0.68
MWK1,176.47
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.70
SAR2.63
|
$0.70
MWK1,205.96
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
SAR2.17
|
$0.62
MWK1,075.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.66
SAR2.48
|
$0.56
MWK974.66
|
|
Riyadh vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 38.0% more for transportation
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.31
SAR8.65
|
$6.09
MWK10,538.15
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$37.33
SAR140.01
|
$4.32
MWK7,473.10
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,328.67
SAR125,009.97
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$18.40
SAR69.01
|
?? | |
Riyadh vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 55.4% less for housing
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$74.49
SAR279.42
|
$62.37
MWK107,840.24
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,119.84
SAR4,200.33
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$846.11
SAR3,173.60
|
$67.61
MWK116,907.40
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$82.07
SAR307.85
|
$34.63
MWK59,874.80
|
|
Riyadh vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 50.1% less for childcare
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$461.83
SAR1,732.23
|
$350.00
MWK605,187.00
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,810.75
SAR36,798.39
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,062,509.77
|
|
Riyadh vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 49.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.87
SAR7.00
|
$1.73
MWK2,998.64
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.10
SAR15.39
|
$3.04
MWK5,258.51
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.33
SAR27.50
|
$1.59
MWK2,743.29
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$104.43
SAR391.70
|
$37.45
MWK64,754.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$15.33
SAR57.50
|
$3.95
MWK6,830.93
|
|
Riyadh vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Riyadh
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.01
SAR221.34
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$64.27
SAR241.07
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$110.52
SAR414.53
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$98.25
SAR368.53
|
?? |
Riyadh 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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