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:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.3% less for restaurants

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 FCFA4,640	$3.46 MWK5,972.65	-57.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.29 FCFA2,435	??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.90 FCFA512	$0.91 MWK1,579.60	+1.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.68 FCFA384	$0.34 MWK586.87	-49.7%
Average			-35.3%

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.6% more for groceries

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Bread 1 loaf	$0.33 FCFA186	$1.41 MWK2,439.71	+332.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.63 FCFA928	$7.88 MWK13,602.67	+382.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.03 FCFA6,264	$5.24 MWK9,038.33	-52.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.16 FCFA1,229	$3.06 MWK5,274.19	+41.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.96 FCFA1,684	$1.30 MWK2,235.64	-56.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.22 FCFA1,263	$1.07 MWK1,838.83	-52.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 FCFA443	$0.59 MWK1,022.74	-24.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.73 FCFA982	??
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.06 FCFA603	$0.56 MWK973.25	-46.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 FCFA393	$0.84 MWK1,444.20	+20.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.69 FCFA393	$0.56 MWK973.12	-18.5%
Average			+52.6%

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.4% less for transportation

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.92 FCFA2,227	$6.43 MWK11,095.56	+63.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$81.69 FCFA46,399	$4.32 MWK7,461.25	-94.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,273.85 FCFA6,403,017	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.68 FCFA2,088	??
Average			-15.4%

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.0% less for housing

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$190.62 FCFA108,264	$62.37 MWK107,669.19	-67.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,386.33 FCFA787,371	??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$179.73 FCFA102,077	$67.61 MWK116,721.97	-62.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$187.42 FCFA106,444	$53.53 MWK92,411.21	-71.4%
Average			-67.0%

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - Cost of housing

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pay 5.6 times more for childcare

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$35.95 FCFA20,415	$350.00 MWK604,227.13	+873.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,633.89 FCFA927,973	$2,349.49 MWK4,056,066.30	+43.8%
Average			+458.8%

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.2% less for entertainment and sports

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.23 FCFA696	$1.08 MWK1,864.79	-11.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	??	$3.21 MWK5,539.97
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$0.94 FCFA534	$1.59 MWK2,738.94	+68.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$130.71 FCFA74,238	$44.05 MWK76,051.24	-66.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.90 FCFA2,784	$3.95 MWK6,820.10	-19.4%
Average			-7.2%

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	N'djamena	Lilongwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$32.68 FCFA18,559	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.27 FCFA34,799	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.10 FCFA30,159	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.20 FCFA60,318	??

N'djamena vs. Lilongwe - 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: June 2025

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