Cost of living comparison

compared to

Indonesia vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Indonesia is 14.4% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.8% less in Indonesia
Groceries: pay 5.0% less in Indonesia
Transportation: pay 4.3% more in Indonesia
Housing: pay 8.6% more in Indonesia
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Indonesia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.6% more in Indonesia
Clothing: pay 4.8% less in Indonesia

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and transportation in Indonesia are more expensive than in Malawi. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Indonesia. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Indonesia.

Indonesia vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.8% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Indonesia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,472.10	$1.78 IDR28,872.60	-58.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,636.60	$3.24 IDR52,375.58	-64.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,507.49	$0.63 IDR10,187.36	-27.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK748.42	$0.41 IDR6,684.57	-4.6%
Average			-38.8%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.0% less for groceries

	Malawi	Indonesia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,359.67	$1.24 IDR20,102.80	-9.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,330.97	$4.54 IDR73,442.36	-5.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,803.79	$5.19 IDR84,022.83	+15.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,987.81	$1.62 IDR26,240.94	-29.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,329.43	$1.41 IDR22,776.32	-26.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,789.08	$1.17 IDR18,974.08	+13.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,399.88	$0.62 IDR10,028.27	-23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,934.24	$0.81 IDR13,138.67	-27.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK911.37	$0.54 IDR8,791.76	+3.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,244.31	$0.56 IDR9,093.87	-21.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,013.66	$0.92 IDR14,948.64	+57.6%
Average			-5.0%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.3% more for transportation

	Malawi	Indonesia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,698.83	$3.10 IDR50,159.05	-49.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,471.84	$12.11 IDR195,909.88	+180.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,665,381.09	$24,176.29 IDR391,168,734.19	-32.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,271.86	$3.88 IDR62,846.76	-81.0%
Average			+4.3%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.6% more for housing

	Malawi	Indonesia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK321,775.33	$26.66 IDR431,429.53	-85.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK349,542.03	$279.33 IDR4,519,484.06	+38.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK170,742.75	$164.17 IDR2,656,296.06	+66.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,375.72	$47.78 IDR773,143.96	+15.7%
Average			+8.6%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Indonesia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK613,303.75	$112.28 IDR1,816,616.33	-68.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,537,571.57	$6,061.21 IDR98,069,486.69	+312.9%
Average			+122.2%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Indonesia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,935.29	$2.74 IDR44,387.60	+145.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,035.91	$1.71 IDR27,715.25	-41.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,742.83	$2.18 IDR35,203.49	+37.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK88,745.47	$26.72 IDR432,359.06	-47.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,829.78	$3.16 IDR51,076.87	-20.1%
Average			+14.6%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.8% less for clothing

	Malawi	Indonesia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,183.93	$41.98 IDR679,260.02	-7.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,409.97	$27.98 IDR452,778.53	-19.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,296.56	$68.38 IDR1,106,449.29	+15.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,236.07	$65.14 IDR1,053,882.19	-7.9%
Average			-4.8%

Malawi vs. Indonesia - 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: February 2025

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