Cost of living comparison

Malawi

compared to

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Sierra Leone is 65.6% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 25.8% more in Sierra Leone
Groceries: pay 59.4% more in Sierra Leone
Transportation: pay 45.2% less in Sierra Leone
Housing: pay 5.0 times more in Sierra Leone
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.0% more in Sierra Leone
Clothing: pay 62.6% less in Sierra Leone

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

Sierra Leone vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sierra Leone instead of Malawi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 25.8% more for restaurants

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.32 MWK7,494.74	$3.00 SLL62,908	-30.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.04 MWK15,683.98	$10.00 SLL209,695	+10.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MWK1,512.05	$1.03 SLL21,591	+18.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.43 MWK750.69	$0.89 SLL18,596	+104.9%
Average			+25.8%

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.4% more for groceries

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 MWK2,366.81	$0.50 SLL10,485	-63.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.82 MWK8,356.21	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.51 MWK7,827.43	$7.57 SLL158,756	+67.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MWK3,999.89	$1.95 SLL40,891	-15.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MWK3,339.52	$3.40 SLL71,337	+76.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.03 MWK1,794.51	$1.81 SLL38,046	+75.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,404.13	$0.91 SLL19,023	+12.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.12 MWK1,940.10	??
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MWK914.14	$2.27 SLL47,558	+330.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 MWK1,248.08	$0.91 SLL19,023	+26.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,016.74	$0.74 SLL15,488	+26.0%
Average			+59.4%

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.2% less for transportation

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.19 MWK10,731.25	$4.83 SLL101,357	-21.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,494.48	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,669.17 MWK61,852,226.56	$12,000.00 SLL251,634,000	-66.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.40 MWK35,378.74	$10.75 SLL225,422	-47.3%
Average			-45.2%

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.0 times more for housing

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$186.12 MWK322,750.31	$100.00 SLL2,096,950	-46.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$202.19 MWK350,601.13	$1,361.67 SLL28,553,469	+573.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$98.76 MWK171,260.10	$978.33 SLL20,515,161	+890.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.29 MWK71,591.98	$110.40 SLL2,314,990	+167.4%
Average			+396.3%

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.75 MWK615,162.05	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,467.81 MWK2,545,260.39	??

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 MWK1,941.15	$1.50 SLL31,454	+34.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 MWK5,051.17	$1.74 SLL36,435	-40.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 MWK2,751.14	$3.00 SLL62,908	+89.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$51.33 MWK89,014.37	$50.00 SLL1,048,475	-2.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.48	??
Average			+20.0%

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 62.6% less for clothing

	Malawi	Sierra Leone
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.22 MWK78,420.83	$10.00 SLL209,695	-77.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.94 MWK60,593.01	$8.00 SLL167,756	-77.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.17 MWK102,606.51	$20.00 SLL419,390	-66.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.71 MWK122,606.44	$50.00 SLL1,048,475	-29.3%
Average			-62.6%

Malawi vs. Sierra Leone - 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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