Bangkok vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Bangkok	Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person	$958	$592
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2465	$1419
🏠 One person rent	$424	$250
🏘️ Family rent	$741	$390
🍽️ Food expenses	$278	$241
🚐 Transport expenses	$152	$51.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$707	$105
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	21 km	22 km
🎓 Higher education	89	12
😀 Quality of life	75	25
🏙️ Population	5.68M	989K

The cost of living in Bangkok is 62% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 5912th and 7884th ($958 vs $592) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in Thailand and Malawi, respectively. Check Thailand vs Malawi comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Bangkok compared to 0.2 months in Lilongwe. Bangkok ranked 1st best city to live in Thailand vs Lilongwe ranked 7th in Malawi, while ranked 1890th and 8966th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Bangkok vs Lilongwe infographic

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Prices in Bangkok vs Lilongwe

Prices for goods and services in Bangkok and Lilongwe are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Bangkok	Lilongwe
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.1	$4.27
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30.9	$24.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.12	$8.09
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.79	$1.55
☕ Cappuccino	$2.59	$2.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.77	$1.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$611	$374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$285	$114
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1104	$603
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$519	$207
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$57.2	$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$87.6	$53.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$16.9	$50.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	5.78%	12.87%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$5905	$10587
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$2775	$593
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.23	$0.92
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$36.5	$11.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.6	$5.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.24	$1.34
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.88	$1.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.45	$1.07
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.46	$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.31	$2.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$15.5	$13.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.07	$3.25
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10.2	$4.01
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.45	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$1.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.26	$1.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.84	$1.34
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$1.26
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.36	$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.27	$1.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$16.9	$12
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.8	$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.39	$1.57
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.53	$2.12
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.19	$4.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.95	$0.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.97	$0.66
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$55.9	$29.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.03	$4.17
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$37.8	$17
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.83	$3.59
👖 Brand Jeans	$57.4	$23
👟 Brand Sneakers	$103	$49.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$561	$353
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$13469	$2356

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bangkok

Distance	City	Cost of living
13 km or 8.1 mi	Nonthaburi	$737
13 km or 8.4 mi	Lat Luang	$774
14 km or 8.4 mi	Pu Chao Saming Phrai	$774
18 km or 11 mi	Pak Kret	$736
28 km or 18 mi	Rangsit	$635
39 km or 25 mi	Tha Khlong	$675
50 km or 31 mi	Nakhon Pathom	$623
86 km or 53 mi	Laem Chabang	$779
87 km or 54 mi	Chaophraya Surasak	$770
98 km or 61 mi	Pattaya	$812
103 km or 64 mi	Nong Prue	$787
145 km or 90 mi	Hua Hin	$724
164 km or 102 mi	Klaeng	$718
217 km or 135 mi	Nakhon Ratchasima	$588
222 km or 138 mi	Nakhon Sawan	$680
254 km or 158 mi	Myeik	$553
267 km or 166 mi	Serei Saophoan	$623
270 km or 168 mi	Ko Chang	$708
299 km or 186 mi	Battambang	$571
342 km or 212 mi	Phitsanulok	$558
364 km or 226 mi	Siem Reap	$650
388 km or 241 mi	Khon Kaen	$590
416 km or 258 mi	Ko Tao	$812
434 km or 270 mi	Mawlamyine	$567
452 km or 281 mi	Ko Pha-ngan	$765
466 km or 290 mi	Hpa-an	$581
473 km or 294 mi	Udon Thani	$578
475 km or 295 mi	Sihanoukville	$763
475 km or 295 mi	Ko Samui	$741
496 km or 308 mi	Ubon Ratchathani	$558
519 km or 323 mi	Vientiane	$1152
529 km or 329 mi	Surat Thani	$593
529 km or 329 mi	Kampot	$622
536 km or 333 mi	Phnom Penh	$829
542 km or 337 mi	Phu Quoc	$511
569 km or 354 mi	Kampong Cham	$504
578 km or 359 mi	Yangon	$614
579 km or 360 mi	Prey Veng	$727
584 km or 363 mi	Chiang Mai	$727
587 km or 365 mi	Bago	$571

Cities near Lilongwe

Distance	City	Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi	Monkey Bay	$519
134 km or 83 mi	Ntcheu	$493
169 km or 105 mi	Mangochi	$496
228 km or 142 mi	Zomba	$458
233 km or 145 mi	Mzimba	$565
240 km or 149 mi	Blantyre	$506
243 km or 151 mi	Tete	$820
283 km or 176 mi	Mzuzu	$527
293 km or 182 mi	Mulanje	$461
506 km or 314 mi	Kasama	$888
518 km or 322 mi	Harare	$1021
524 km or 326 mi	Marondera	$779
533 km or 331 mi	Chitungwiza	$751
536 km or 333 mi	Chinhoyi	$650
545 km or 339 mi	Quelimane	$692
550 km or 342 mi	Kapiri Mposhi	$748
566 km or 352 mi	Mbeya	$495
567 km or 353 mi	Mutare	$755
568 km or 353 mi	Ndola	$577
572 km or 355 mi	Chimoio	$916
603 km or 375 mi	Nampula	$935
613 km or 381 mi	Lusaka	$655
616 km or 383 mi	Mansa	$912
616 km or 383 mi	Kitwe	$1062
618 km or 384 mi	Mufulira	$1278
637 km or 396 mi	Kadoma	$761
660 km or 410 mi	Chingola	$1069
660 km or 410 mi	Beira	$996
682 km or 424 mi	Kwekwe	$716
732 km or 455 mi	Lubumbashi	$1124
740 km or 460 mi	Pemba	$1511
741 km or 460 mi	Gweru	$587
744 km or 462 mi	Nacala	$1168
746 km or 464 mi	Masvingo	$873
795 km or 494 mi	Choma	$687
835 km or 519 mi	Likasi	$1032
883 km or 549 mi	Bulawayo	$658
886 km or 551 mi	Dodoma	$526
902 km or 560 mi	Morogoro	$421
949 km or 590 mi	Livingstone	$653