Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Madagascar

Madagascar vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Madagascar is 23.0% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 7.4% less in Madagascar
Groceries: pay 29.0% less in Madagascar
Transportation: pay 45.5% less in Madagascar
Housing: pay 24.0% less in Madagascar
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Madagascar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.2% less in Madagascar
Clothing: pay 30.2% less in Madagascar

Expenses including transportation, clothing, groceries, housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Madagascar. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Madagascar.

Madagascar vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.4% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Madagascar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,490.34	$2.90 MGA13,207	-32.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,674.76	$4.30 MGA19,566	-52.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,511.17	$0.92 MGA4,190	+5.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.25	$0.65 MGA2,962	+50.3%
Average			-7.4%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.0% less for groceries

	Malawi	Madagascar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,365.42	$0.92 MGA4,184	-32.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,351.30	$5.17 MGA23,537	+7.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,822.83	$3.71 MGA16,890	-17.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,997.54	$1.80 MGA8,218	-21.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,337.56	$2.51 MGA11,426	+30.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,793.45	$0.64 MGA2,921	-38.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,403.30	$0.32 MGA1,447	-60.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,938.96	$0.55 MGA2,496	-51.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK913.60	$0.34 MGA1,535	-36.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,247.34	$0.28 MGA1,287	-60.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.14	$0.37 MGA1,675	-37.2%
Average			-29.0%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.5% less for transportation

	Malawi	Madagascar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,724.94	$4.28 MGA19,488	-30.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,490.08	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,815,866.34	$11,817.99 MGA53,806,170	-66.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,357.94	$12.46 MGA56,741	-38.9%
Average			-45.5%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - Cost of transportation

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pay 24.0% less for housing

	Malawi	Madagascar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,560.57	$58.38 MGA265,816	-68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,395.03	$241.73 MGA1,100,581	+19.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,159.42	$65.00 MGA295,959	-34.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,549.90	$35.96 MGA163,736	-12.9%
Average			-24.0%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Malawi	Madagascar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK614,800.43	$89.71 MGA408,438	-74.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,543,764.14	$11,292.35 MGA51,412,977	+669.3%
Average			+297.3%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Madagascar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,940.01	$0.91 MGA4,158	-18.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,048.20	$1.13 MGA5,152	-61.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,749.52	$2.46 MGA11,201	+55.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK88,962.04	$30.89 MGA140,630	-39.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,846.45	$6.45 MGA29,349	+63.2%
Average			-0.2%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.2% less for clothing

	Malawi	Madagascar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,374.73	$14.15 MGA64,435	-68.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,557.39	$15.67 MGA71,334	-55.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,546.20	$71.98 MGA327,728	+21.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,534.37	$57.39 MGA261,286	-18.8%
Average			-30.2%

Malawi vs. Madagascar - 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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