Cost of living comparison
compared to
Lilongwe vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary
Lilongwe is 28.4% cheaper than Seoul.
- Restaurants
-
pay 17.6% less in Lilongwe
- Groceries
-
pay 51.9% less in Lilongwe
- Transportation
-
pay 26.5% less in Lilongwe
- Housing
-
pay 14.9% more in Lilongwe
- Childcare
-
pay 46.0% less in Lilongwe
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 43.1% less in Lilongwe
Expenses including groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Lilongwe.
Lilongwe vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Seoul, you would:
pay 17.6% less for restaurants
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.49
₩12,514
|
$5.00
MWK8,669.98
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.30
₩9,281
|
$10.25
MWK17,773.46
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.64
₩2,415
|
$0.94
MWK1,623.44
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.78
₩1,151
|
$0.40
MWK688.73
|
|
Seoul vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants
pay 51.9% less for groceries
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.24
₩4,772
|
$1.22
MWK2,122.82
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.79
₩10,011
|
$7.88
MWK13,662.81
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.85
₩11,566
|
$3.70
MWK6,422.36
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.93
₩4,321
|
$2.66
MWK4,603.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.67
₩6,880
|
$1.45
MWK2,507.70
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.45
₩5,078
|
$1.17
MWK2,023.08
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.52
₩2,246
|
$0.56
MWK978.00
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.35
₩3,466
|
$0.68
MWK1,179.79
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.77
₩4,086
|
$0.70
MWK1,209.37
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.62
₩2,386
|
$0.62
MWK1,078.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.30
₩1,912
|
$0.56
MWK977.42
|
|
Seoul vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries
pay 26.5% less for transportation
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.43
₩6,530
|
$6.09
MWK10,567.96
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.99
₩67,782
|
$4.32
MWK7,494.24
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$25,072.36
₩36,951,647
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.50
₩15,475
|
?? | |
Seoul vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation
pay 14.9% more for housing
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$20.56
₩30,296
|
$62.37
MWK108,145.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$925.55
₩1,364,083
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$559.33
₩824,340
|
$67.61
MWK117,238.07
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$118.88
₩175,208
|
$34.63
MWK60,044.15
|
|
Seoul vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing
pay 46.0% less for childcare
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$360.15
₩530,786
|
$350.00
MWK606,898.76
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$21,667.04
₩31,932,878
|
$2,349.49
MWK4,074,000.49
|
|
Seoul vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare
pay 43.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.54
₩5,214
|
$1.73
MWK3,007.12
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.70
₩5,450
|
$3.04
MWK5,273.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.18
₩4,693
|
$1.59
MWK2,751.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$56.34
₩83,028
|
$37.45
MWK64,937.85
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.61
₩15,642
|
$3.95
MWK6,850.26
|
|
Seoul vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Seoul
|
Lilongwe
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$49.77
₩73,344
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$39.49
₩58,201
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$74.94
₩110,450
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$99.06
₩145,992
|
?? |
Seoul 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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