Cost of living comparison

Dominican Republic

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Dominican Republic Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 2.8% more expensive than Dominican Republic overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.0% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 14.6% more in Malawi
Transportation: pay 8.3% less in Malawi
Housing: pay 64.8% more in Malawi
Childcare: pay 12.8% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.6% less in Malawi
Clothing: pay 18.4% less in Malawi

The cost of housing and groceries in Malawi are more expensive than in Dominican Republic. Expenses including clothing, restaurants, childcare, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Malawi.

Malawi vs. Dominican Republic Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Malawi instead of Dominican Republic, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.0% less for restaurants

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.20 DOP423.85	$4.32 MWK7,498.84	-39.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 DOP384.97	$9.04 MWK15,692.55	+38.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 DOP57.22	$0.87 MWK1,512.88	-10.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 DOP42.66	$0.43 MWK751.10	-40.2%
Average			-13.0%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.6% more for groceries

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.52 DOP89.42	$1.36 MWK2,368.11	-10.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.28 DOP193.31	$4.82 MWK8,360.77	+46.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.35 DOP256.20	$4.51 MWK7,831.71	+3.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 DOP99.61	$2.31 MWK4,002.08	+36.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 DOP130.48	$1.93 MWK3,341.34	-13.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 DOP63.19	$1.03 MWK1,795.49	-3.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 DOP20.70	$0.81 MWK1,404.89	+130.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 DOP56.99	$1.12 MWK1,941.16	+15.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 DOP38.85	$0.53 MWK914.64	-20.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 DOP38.62	$0.72 MWK1,248.76	+9.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 DOP53.06	$0.59 MWK1,017.29	-34.9%
Average			+14.6%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.3% less for transportation

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.64 DOP273.32	$6.19 MWK10,737.11	+33.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.13 DOP3,305.82	$4.32 MWK7,498.58	-92.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,137.07 DOP1,539,473.45	$35,669.17 MWK61,886,003.48	+36.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.92 DOP1,350.17	$20.40 MWK35,398.06	-11.0%
Average			-8.3%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 64.8% more for housing

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.09 DOP2,125.44	$186.12 MWK322,926.56	+415.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$624.27 DOP36,769.49	$202.19 MWK350,792.59	-67.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$355.68 DOP20,949.29	$98.76 MWK171,353.62	-72.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.67 DOP2,925.56	$41.29 MWK71,631.08	-16.9%
Average			+64.8%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 12.8% less for childcare

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 DOP14,772.00	$354.75 MWK615,497.99	+41.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,459.64 DOP262,672.70	$1,467.81 MWK2,546,650.33	-67.1%
Average			-12.8%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 DOP153.74	$1.12 MWK1,942.21	-57.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.03 DOP119.34	$2.91 MWK5,053.92	+43.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.25 DOP250.37	$1.59 MWK2,752.64	-62.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.73 DOP1,809.85	$51.33 MWK89,062.98	+67.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.58 DOP328.45	$3.95 MWK6,854.22	-29.2%
Average			-7.6%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.4% less for clothing

	Dominican Republic	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.15 DOP2,718.50	$45.22 MWK78,463.65	-2.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.61 DOP2,745.51	$34.94 MWK60,626.10	-25.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.84 DOP4,761.67	$59.17 MWK102,662.55	-26.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.22 DOP5,195.91	$70.71 MWK122,673.40	-19.8%
Average			-18.4%

Dominican Republic vs. Malawi - Cost of clothing

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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: May 2025

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