Cost of living comparison

 Lilongwe, Malawi
compared to
 Kigali, Rwanda
Kigali vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 66.0% more expensive than Lilongwe.

Restaurants
pay 10.3% more in Kigali
Groceries
pay 23.8% less in Kigali
Transportation
pay 3.2 times more in Kigali
Housing
pay 66.8% more in Kigali
Childcare
pay 2.3 times more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports
pay 3.5% less in Kigali

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

Kigali vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown

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

pay 10.3% more for restaurants

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.46
MWK5,997.60
$3.26
RWF4,680
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $6.16
RWF8,840
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.91
MWK1,586.20
$0.89
RWF1,283

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pay 23.8% less for groceries

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Bread
1 loaf
$1.41
MWK2,449.90
$1.01
RWF1,446
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.88
MWK13,659.48
$2.26
RWF3,238
Milk (1 gallon) $5.24
MWK9,076.08
$2.66
RWF3,809

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pay 3.2 times more for transportation

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.43
MWK11,141.90
$4.48
RWF6,424
Monthly public transit pass $4.32
MWK7,492.41
$24.66
RWF35,358
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $20,668.41
RWF29,638,506

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pay 66.8% more for housing

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.37
MWK108,118.89
$26.20
RWF37,568
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $489.52
RWF701,965
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $67.61
MWK117,209.48
$271.95
RWF389,980

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $350.00
MWK606,750.80
$149.39
RWF214,229
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $2,349.49
MWK4,073,007.23
$9,609.00
RWF13,779,305

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pay 3.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.08
MWK1,872.57
$1.09
RWF1,560
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.21
MWK5,563.11
$2.22
RWF3,178
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.59
MWK2,750.38
$2.36
RWF3,380

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Lilongwe
Kigali
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $16.68
RWF23,919
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $21.76
RWF31,198
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $26.59
RWF38,131

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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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