Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

El Salvador

El Salvador vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

El Salvador is 75.3% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 35.0% more in El Salvador
Groceries: pay 37.3% more in El Salvador
Transportation: pay 87.2% more in El Salvador
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in El Salvador
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in El Salvador
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.3% more in El Salvador
Clothing: pay 59.8% more in El Salvador

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

El Salvador vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in El Salvador instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.0% more for restaurants

	Malawi	El Salvador
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,494.74	$7.50 SVC65.62	+73.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,683.98	$6.33 SVC55.38	-30.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,512.05	$0.96 SVC8.39	+9.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.69	$0.81 SVC7.07	+86.7%
Average			+35.0%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.3% more for groceries

	Malawi	El Salvador
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,366.81	$2.12 SVC18.55	+55.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,356.21	$3.24 SVC28.32	-32.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,827.43	$6.95 SVC60.83	+54.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,999.89	$2.80 SVC24.47	+21.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,339.52	$2.68 SVC23.48	+39.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,794.51	$1.44 SVC12.62	+39.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,404.13	$0.77 SVC6.72	-5.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,940.10	$1.17 SVC10.19	+4.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK914.14	$1.22 SVC10.64	+130.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,248.08	$0.99 SVC8.69	+38.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.74	$0.98 SVC8.53	+66.4%
Average			+37.3%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 87.2% more for transportation

	Malawi	El Salvador
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,731.25	$3.80 SVC33.22	-38.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.48	$20.00 SVC174.98	+362.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,852,226.56	$24,333.33 SVC212,890.56	-31.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,378.74	$31.95 SVC279.54	+56.6%
Average			+87.2%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Malawi	El Salvador
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,750.31	$42.14 SVC368.70	-77.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,601.13	$652.78 SVC5,711.11	+222.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,260.10	$463.89 SVC4,058.53	+369.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,591.98	$69.00 SVC603.70	+67.1%
Average			+145.6%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Malawi	El Salvador
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK615,162.05	$160.29 SVC1,402.33	-54.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,260.39	$5,740.67 SVC50,224.67	+291.1%
Average			+118.2%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	El Salvador
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,941.15	$2.00 SVC17.50	+78.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,051.17	$2.82 SVC24.69	-3.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,751.14	$4.00 SVC35.00	+152.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,014.37	$30.22 SVC264.41	-41.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.48	$5.33 SVC46.66	+35.0%
Average			+44.3%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.8% more for clothing

	Malawi	El Salvador
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,420.83	$72.14 SVC631.17	+59.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,593.01	$47.86 SVC418.70	+37.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,606.51	$112.14 SVC981.13	+89.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,606.44	$108.33 SVC947.80	+53.2%
Average			+59.8%

Malawi vs. El Salvador - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Malawi vs.

Thailand

Malawi vs.

United Kingdom

Malawi vs.

Canada

Malawi vs.

Germany

Malawi vs.

Vietnam

Malawi vs.

Russia

Malawi vs.

Iceland

Malawi vs.

China

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Lilongwe vs. San Salvador

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

Add prices for Malawi

Add prices for El Salvador

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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

Ask a question about Malawi

Ask a question about El Salvador