Cost of living comparison

 Lilongwe, Malawi
compared to
 Bamako, Mali
Bamako vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary

Bamako is 20.5% more expensive than Lilongwe.

Restaurants
pay 49.6% more in Bamako
Groceries
pay 74.2% more in Bamako
Transportation
pay 14.7% less in Bamako
Housing
pay 33.8% less in Bamako
Entertainment and Sports
pay 27.0% more in Bamako

The cost of groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Bamako are more expensive than in Lilongwe. Expenses including housing and transportation are lower in Bamako.

Bamako vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bamako instead of Lilongwe, you would:

pay 49.6% more for restaurants

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.46
MWK5,997.60
$6.70
F CFA3,762
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $6.42
F CFA3,605
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.91
MWK1,586.20
$0.77
F CFA433

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pay 74.2% more for groceries

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Bread
1 loaf
$1.41
MWK2,449.90
$1.10
F CFA619
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.88
MWK13,659.48
??
Milk (1 gallon) $5.24
MWK9,076.08
$9.46
F CFA5,311

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pay 14.7% less for transportation

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.43
MWK11,141.90
$5.48
F CFA3,077
Monthly public transit pass $4.32
MWK7,492.41
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? ??

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pay 33.8% less for housing

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.37
MWK108,118.89
$41.27
F CFA23,158
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? ??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $67.61
MWK117,209.48
??

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $350.00
MWK606,750.80
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $2,349.49
MWK4,073,007.23
??

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pay 27.0% more for entertainment and sports

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.08
MWK1,872.57
$2.39
F CFA1,339
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.21
MWK5,563.11
$1.89
F CFA1,060
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.59
MWK2,750.38
$0.93
F CFA524

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Lilongwe
Bamako
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? ??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? ??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? ??

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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: July 2025
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