Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

Malawi

Malawi vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

Malawi is 55.0% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 75.5% less in Malawi
Groceries: pay 49.6% less in Malawi
Transportation: pay 43.0% less in Malawi
Housing: pay 2.4% less in Malawi
Childcare: pay 90.8% less in Malawi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 67.9% less in Malawi
Clothing: pay 55.6% less in Malawi

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and transportation are lower in Malawi.

Malawi vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 75.5% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	Malawi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.66 CHF23.01	$4.32 MWK7,517.36	-84.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.97 CHF14.11	$9.04 MWK15,731.32	-46.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$4.67 CHF3.89	$0.87 MWK1,516.62	-81.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.13 CHF3.43	$0.43 MWK752.95	-89.5%
Average			-75.5%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.6% less for groceries

	Switzerland	Malawi
Bread 1 loaf	$3.64 CHF3.03	$1.36 MWK2,373.96	-62.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.22 CHF10.99	$4.82 MWK8,381.43	-63.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.31 CHF6.08	$4.51 MWK7,851.06	-38.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.80 CHF5.65	$2.31 MWK4,011.97	-66.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.89 CHF10.72	$1.93 MWK3,349.60	-85.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 CHF1.26	$1.03 MWK1,799.92	-31.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 CHF0.86	$0.81 MWK1,408.36	-21.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.31 CHF1.09	$1.12 MWK1,945.96	-14.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.85 CHF2.37	$0.53 MWK916.90	-81.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.12 CHF0.93	$0.72 MWK1,251.84	-35.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.07 CHF0.89	$0.59 MWK1,019.80	-45.1%
Average			-49.6%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - Cost of groceries

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pay 43.0% less for transportation

	Switzerland	Malawi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.83 CHF6.52	$6.19 MWK10,763.64	-21.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$114.11 CHF94.90	$4.32 MWK7,517.10	-96.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,806.66 CHF30,609.52	$35,669.17 MWK62,038,896.33	-3.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$42.03 CHF34.96	$20.40 MWK35,485.51	-51.5%
Average			-43.0%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4% less for housing

	Switzerland	Malawi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$53.46 CHF44.46	$186.12 MWK323,724.36	+248.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,622.75 CHF1,349.53	$202.19 MWK351,659.25	-87.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,411.84 CHF1,174.13	$98.76 MWK171,776.96	-93.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$180.02 CHF149.71	$41.29 MWK71,808.05	-77.1%
Average			-2.4%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - Cost of housing

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pay 90.8% less for childcare

	Switzerland	Malawi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,587.05 CHF2,151.47	$354.75 MWK617,018.61	-86.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,321.56 CHF25,216.32	$1,467.81 MWK2,552,941.97	-95.2%
Average			-90.8%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - Cost of childcare

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pay 67.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	Malawi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.82 CHF6.51	$1.12 MWK1,947.01	-85.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.42 CHF4.51	$2.91 MWK5,066.41	-46.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.09 CHF8.39	$1.59 MWK2,759.44	-84.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$88.49 CHF73.59	$51.33 MWK89,283.01	-42.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$21.15 CHF17.59	$3.95 MWK6,871.15	-81.3%
Average			-67.9%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 55.6% less for clothing

	Switzerland	Malawi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$121.70 CHF101.21	$45.22 MWK78,657.50	-62.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.65 CHF51.27	$34.94 MWK60,775.88	-43.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$136.06 CHF113.15	$59.17 MWK102,916.18	-56.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$176.75 CHF146.99	$70.71 MWK122,976.47	-60.0%
Average			-55.6%

Switzerland vs. Malawi - 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: May 2025

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