Cost of living comparison

 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
compared to
 Lilongwe, Malawi
Lilongwe vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 6.4% more expensive than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants
pay 19.3% less in Lilongwe
Groceries
pay 13.9% more in Lilongwe
Transportation
pay 12.5% less in Lilongwe
Housing
pay 68.2% less in Lilongwe
Childcare
pay 2.2 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports
pay 6.9% more in Lilongwe

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

Lilongwe vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

pay 19.3% less for restaurants

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.00
ETB764.91
$3.46
MWK5,989.22
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.24
ETB794.90
??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.78
ETB100.08
$0.91
MWK1,583.98

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pay 13.9% more for groceries

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Bread
1 loaf
$1.20
ETB153.18
$1.41
MWK2,446.48
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.85
ETB618.74
$7.88
MWK13,640.39
Milk (1 gallon) $6.08
ETB774.93
$5.24
MWK9,063.40

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pay 12.5% less for transportation

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.88
ETB622.09
$6.43
MWK11,126.33
Monthly public transit pass $10.00
ETB1,274.84
$4.32
MWK7,481.94
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,000.00
ETB3,187,108.02
??

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pay 68.2% less for housing

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$171.17
ETB21,821.07
$62.37
MWK107,967.76
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $645.10
ETB82,240.14
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $422.74
ETB53,893.01
$67.61
MWK117,045.64

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $81.47
ETB10,386.56
$350.00
MWK605,902.67
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $43,916.67
ETB5,598,686.43
$2,349.49
MWK4,067,313.89

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pay 6.9% more for entertainment and sports

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.00
ETB127.48
$1.08
MWK1,869.96
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.15
ETB146.57
$3.21
MWK5,555.33
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.00
ETB509.94
$1.59
MWK2,746.53

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Addis Ababa
Lilongwe
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$48.33
ETB6,161.74
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$75.17
ETB9,582.57
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$108.84
ETB13,875.74
??

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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: January 2025
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