Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Aruba

Aruba vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Aruba is 2.9 times more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Aruba
Groceries: pay 2.4 times more in Aruba
Transportation: pay 3.4 times more in Aruba
Housing: pay 3.7 times more in Aruba
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Aruba
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.6 times more in Aruba
Clothing: pay 62.6% more in Aruba

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

Aruba vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Aruba instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Malawi	Aruba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,494.74	$16.00 AWG28.80	+270.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,683.98	$10.14 AWG18.24	+12.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,512.05	$1.80 AWG3.24	+106.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.69	$1.82 AWG3.28	+320.4%
Average			+177.3%

Malawi vs. Aruba - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

	Malawi	Aruba
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,366.81	$3.44 AWG6.20	+152.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,356.21	$11.00 AWG19.80	+128.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,827.43	$7.65 AWG13.77	+69.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,999.89	$5.24 AWG9.44	+127.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,339.52	$4.10 AWG7.38	+112.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,794.51	$2.25 AWG4.06	+117.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,404.13	$1.11 AWG1.99	+36.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,940.10	$2.49 AWG4.49	+123.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK914.14	$3.18 AWG5.72	+502.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,248.08	$1.44 AWG2.59	+99.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.74	$1.30 AWG2.35	+122.4%
Average			+144.7%

Malawi vs. Aruba - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.4 times more for transportation

	Malawi	Aruba
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,731.25	$5.48 AWG9.86	-11.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.48	$40.00 AWG72.00	+825.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,852,226.56	$35,000.00 AWG63,000.00	-1.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,378.74	$51.10 AWG91.97	+150.4%
Average			+240.6%

Malawi vs. Aruba - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.7 times more for housing

	Malawi	Aruba
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,750.31	$79.65 AWG143.37	-57.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,601.13	$705.36 AWG1,269.65	+248.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,260.10	$655.25 AWG1,179.45	+563.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,591.98	$182.10 AWG327.77	+341.1%
Average			+274.1%

Malawi vs. Aruba - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Aruba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK615,162.05	$225.00 AWG405.00	-36.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,260.39	$7,404.07 AWG13,327.32	+404.4%
Average			+183.9%

Malawi vs. Aruba - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.6 times more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Aruba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,941.15	$3.62 AWG6.53	+223.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,051.17	$4.24 AWG7.64	+45.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,751.14	$13.75 AWG24.75	+766.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,014.37	$95.72 AWG172.30	+86.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.48	$11.50 AWG20.70	+191.1%
Average			+262.7%

Malawi vs. Aruba - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 62.6% more for clothing

	Malawi	Aruba
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,420.83	$65.00 AWG117.00	+43.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,593.01	$57.37 AWG103.27	+64.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,606.51	$116.59 AWG209.86	+97.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,606.44	$102.90 AWG185.22	+45.5%
Average			+62.6%

Malawi vs. Aruba - 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: April 2025

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