Cost of living comparison

 Lilongwe, Malawi
compared to
 N'djamena, Chad
N'djamena vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary

N'djamena is 3.0 times more expensive than Lilongwe.

Restaurants
pay 77.9% more in N'djamena
Groceries
pay 28.8% more in N'djamena
Transportation
pay 9.8 times more in N'djamena
Housing
pay 3.1 times more in N'djamena
Childcare
pay 60.1% less in N'djamena
Entertainment and Sports
pay 48.4% more in N'djamena

The cost of transportation, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in N'djamena are more expensive than in Lilongwe. Notably, transportation, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in N'djamena.

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown

If you lived in N'djamena instead of Lilongwe, you would:

pay 77.9% more for restaurants

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.46
MWK5,986.55
$8.17
FCFA4,718
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $4.29
FCFA2,476
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.91
MWK1,583.27
$0.90
FCFA521

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pay 28.8% more for groceries

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Bread
1 loaf
$1.41
MWK2,445.39
$0.33
FCFA189
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.88
MWK13,634.33
$1.63
FCFA944
Milk (1 gallon) $5.24
MWK9,059.37
$11.03
FCFA6,370

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pay 9.8 times more for transportation

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.43
MWK11,121.38
$3.92
FCFA2,265
Monthly public transit pass $4.32
MWK7,478.61
$81.69
FCFA47,181
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $11,273.85
FCFA6,510,974

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.37
MWK107,919.78
$190.62
FCFA110,089
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $1,386.33
FCFA800,646
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $67.61
MWK116,993.62
$179.73
FCFA103,798

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pay 60.1% less for childcare

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $350.00
MWK605,633.36
$35.95
FCFA20,760
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $2,349.49
MWK4,065,506.09
$1,633.89
FCFA943,619

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pay 48.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.08
MWK1,869.13
$1.23
FCFA708
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.21
MWK5,552.86
??
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.59
MWK2,745.31
$0.94
FCFA543

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Lilongwe
N'djamena
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $32.68
FCFA18,872
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $61.27
FCFA35,386
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $53.10
FCFA30,668

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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: April 2025
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See the cost of living in Malawi vs. Chad. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Malawi and Chad.

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