Malawi vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 32.9% more expensive than Thailand overall.

Restaurants
pay 43.3% more in Malawi
Groceries
pay 5.1% more in Malawi
Transportation
pay 20.1% more in Malawi
Housing
pay 3.1 times more in Malawi
Childcare
pay 41.0% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports
pay 15.3% less in Malawi
Clothing
pay 3.9% more in Malawi

The cost of housing, restaurants, transportation, groceries, and clothing in Malawi are more expensive than in Thailand. Expenses including childcare and entertainment and sports are lower in Malawi. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Malawi.

Malawi vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Thailand, you would:

pay 43.3% more for restaurants

 
Thailand
Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.33
THB78.88
$4.32
MWK7,504.30
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.02
THB203.53
$9.04
MWK15,703.99
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.70
THB23.82
$0.87
MWK1,513.98

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pay 5.1% more for groceries

 
Thailand
Malawi
Bread
1 loaf
$1.40
THB47.30
$1.36
MWK2,369.83
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.16
THB275.95
$4.82
MWK8,366.87
Milk (1 gallon) $6.68
THB225.99
$4.51
MWK7,837.42

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pay 20.1% more for transportation

 
Thailand
Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.47
THB151.03
$6.19
MWK10,744.94
Monthly public transit pass $25.43
THB859.84
$4.32
MWK7,504.04
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,362.48
THB1,060,302.17
$35,669.17
MWK61,931,141.99

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

 
Thailand
Malawi
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$17.13
THB579.28
$186.12
MWK323,162.09
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $389.22
THB13,158.74
$202.19
MWK351,048.46
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $225.23
THB7,614.72
$98.76
MWK171,478.60

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pay 41.0% less for childcare

 
Thailand
Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $341.66
THB11,550.78
$354.75
MWK615,946.92
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,344.18
THB349,715.79
$1,467.81
MWK2,548,507.81

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Thailand
Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.20
THB74.37
$1.12
MWK1,943.63
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.90
THB64.22
$2.91
MWK5,057.61
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.85
THB130.07
$1.59
MWK2,754.65

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pay 3.9% more for clothing

 
Thailand
Malawi
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$38.62
THB1,305.59
$45.22
MWK78,520.88
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$29.36
THB992.62
$34.94
MWK60,670.32
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$82.78
THB2,798.68
$59.17
MWK102,737.43

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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: February 2025
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