Cost of living comparison

 Lilongwe, Malawi
compared to
 Seoul, South Korea
Seoul vs. Lilongwe Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 3.4 times more expensive than Lilongwe.

Restaurants
pay 2.2 times more in Seoul
Groceries
pay 2.4 times more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 5.5 times more in Seoul
Housing
pay 3.4 times more in Seoul
Childcare
pay 5.0 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.1 times more in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Lilongwe Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.46
MWK5,995.73
$7.88
₩11,174
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $6.09
₩8,635
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.91
MWK1,585.70
$1.59
₩2,251

Improve prices ·

pay 2.4 times more for groceries

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$1.41
MWK2,449.14
$3.10
₩4,390
Local cheese (8 oz) $7.88
MWK13,655.23
$6.52
₩9,253
Milk (1 gallon) $5.24
MWK9,073.26
$8.06
₩11,430

Improve prices ·

pay 5.5 times more for transportation

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.43
MWK11,138.43
$4.59
₩6,508
Monthly public transit pass $4.32
MWK7,490.08
$44.40
₩62,983
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $27,023.07
₩38,329,246

Improve prices ·

pay 3.4 times more for housing

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$62.37
MWK108,085.21
$22.27
₩31,593
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $883.18
₩1,252,692
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $67.61
MWK117,172.97
$490.54
₩695,776

Improve prices ·

pay 5.0 times more for childcare

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $350.00
MWK606,561.79
$385.48
₩546,762
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $2,349.49
MWK4,071,738.45
$20,782.92
₩29,478,281

Improve prices ·

pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.08
MWK1,871.99
$3.58
₩5,079
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.21
MWK5,561.38
$3.60
₩5,109
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.59
MWK2,749.52
$3.22
₩4,571

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Lilongwe
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $59.13
₩83,866
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $46.64
₩66,160
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $86.69
₩122,965

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Malawi vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Malawi and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Seoul or Lilongwe. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.