Cape Town vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1231
$592
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2814
$1419
🏠 One person rent
$681
$250
🏘️ Family rent
$1180
$390
🍽️ Food expenses
$322
$241
🚐 Transport expenses
$124
$51.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$352
$105
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
22 km
🎓 Higher education
56
12
😀 Quality of life
55
25
🏙️ Population
3.78M
989K

The cost of living in Cape Town is 108% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 4637th and 7884th ($1231 vs $592) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in South Africa and Malawi, respectively. Check South Africa vs Malawi comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Cape Town compared to 0.2 months in Lilongwe. Cape Town ranked 5th best city to live in South Africa vs Lilongwe ranked 7th in Malawi, while ranked 6312th and 8966th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs Lilongwe infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs Lilongwe

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

Cape Town Lilongwe
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$11.5
$4.27
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$46.4
$24.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.16
$8.09
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.9
$1.55
☕ Cappuccino
$2.15
$2.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.24
$1.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$761
$374
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$513
$114
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1355
$603
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$937
$207
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$75
$34.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$116
$53.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$43.4
$50.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.58%
12.87%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1957
$10587
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1290
$593
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.15
$0.92
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$28.5
$11.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.7
$5.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.26
$1.34
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.18
$1.06
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.14
$1.07
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2
$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.53
$2.27
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.62
$13.4
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.36
$3.25
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.75
$4.01
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.73
$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.73
$1.24
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$1.34
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.32
$1.26
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.71
$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.67
$1.13
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.78
$12
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.35
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.18
$1.57
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.15
$2.12
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.66
$4.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.2
$0.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.56
$0.66
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$43.3
$29.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.86
$4.17
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$37.1
$17
💇 Haircut, simple
$9.69
$3.59
👖 Brand Jeans
$56
$23
👟 Brand Sneakers
$120
$49.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$228
$353
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4978
$2356

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$1243
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$666
371 km or 231 mi George
$857
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$946
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$1005
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$746
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$814
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$988
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$861
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1304
882 km or 548 mi East London
$784
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$698
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$598
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$650
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$901
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$762
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$948
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$570
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$808
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$762
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$833
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$731
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$904
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$637
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$637
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$799
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$706
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$705
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$984
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$940
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$668
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$607
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1082
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$890
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$985
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$984
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$892
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$927
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$857

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