Cost of living comparison

 N'djamena, Chad
compared to
 Lilongwe, Malawi
Lilongwe vs. N'djamena Cost of Living Summary

Lilongwe is 64.4% more expensive than N'djamena.

Restaurants
pay 35.3% less in Lilongwe
Groceries
pay 52.6% more in Lilongwe
Transportation
pay 15.4% less in Lilongwe
Housing
pay 67.0% less in Lilongwe
Childcare
pay 5.6 times more in Lilongwe
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.2% less in Lilongwe

The cost of childcare and groceries in Lilongwe are more expensive than in N'djamena. Expenses including housing, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports are lower in Lilongwe. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Lilongwe.

Lilongwe vs. N'djamena Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Lilongwe instead of N'djamena, you would:

pay 35.3% less for restaurants

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.17
FCFA4,722
$3.46
MWK5,995.72
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.29
FCFA2,478
??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.90
FCFA521
$0.91
MWK1,585.70

Improve prices ·

pay 52.6% more for groceries

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Bread
1 loaf
$0.33
FCFA189
$1.41
MWK2,449.13
Local cheese (8 oz) $1.63
FCFA944
$7.88
MWK13,655.19
Milk (1 gallon) $11.03
FCFA6,376
$5.24
MWK9,073.23

Improve prices ·

pay 15.4% less for transportation

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.92
FCFA2,267
$6.43
MWK11,138.40
Monthly public transit pass $81.69
FCFA47,224
$4.32
MWK7,490.06
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $11,273.85
FCFA6,516,913
??

Improve prices ·

pay 67.0% less for housing

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$190.62
FCFA110,189
$62.37
MWK108,084.91
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,386.33
FCFA801,377
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $179.73
FCFA103,893
$67.61
MWK117,172.64

Improve prices ·

pay 5.6 times more for childcare

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $35.95
FCFA20,779
$350.00
MWK606,560.10
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,633.89
FCFA944,480
$2,349.49
MWK4,071,727.11

Improve prices ·

pay 7.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.23
FCFA708
$1.08
MWK1,871.99
Cappuccino in mid-range area ?? $3.21
MWK5,561.36
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$0.94
FCFA543
$1.59
MWK2,749.51

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
N'djamena
Lilongwe
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$32.68
FCFA18,890
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$61.27
FCFA35,418
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$53.10
FCFA30,696
??

Improve prices ·
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: June 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Chad vs. Malawi. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Chad and Malawi.

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

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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