Cape Town vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1386
$587
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3160
$1406
🏠 One person rent
$775
$251
🏘️ Family rent
$1348
$391
🍽️ Food expenses
$359
$236
🚐 Transport expenses
$139
$51.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$405
$107
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
22 km
🎓 Higher education
55
14
😀 Quality of life
58
29
🏙️ Population
3.78M
989K

The cost of living in Cape Town is 136% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 4336th and 8094th ($1386 vs $587) 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 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Lilongwe ranked 2nd in Malawi, while ranked 6134th and 8818th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$12.2
$4.43
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$48.7
$24.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.19
$7.88
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.03
$1.55
☕ Cappuccino
$2.47
$2.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.39
$1.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$942
$373
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$591
$114
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1671
$608
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1075
$207
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.4
$34.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$112
$53.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.7
$50.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.35%
12.88%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2325
$7658
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1508
$432
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.33
$0.93
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$37.4
$11.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11
$5.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.33
$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.36
$0.95
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.2
$0.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$1.32
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.97
$2.32
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.53
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.77
$3.08
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.45
$3.97
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.94
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.88
$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.82
$1.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$1.29
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$1.09
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.78
$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.77
$1.07
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.22
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.47
$0.88
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.38
$1.71
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.05
$2.11
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.91
$4.1
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.41
$0.76
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.62
$0.67
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.1
$28.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$9.14
$4.53
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$37.2
$16.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.1
$3.62
👖 Brand Jeans
$58.7
$23.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$124
$49.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$272
$350
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6197
$2337

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
$1421
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$763
371 km or 231 mi George
$877
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$968
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$1020
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$796
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$863
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$1033
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$904
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1390
882 km or 548 mi East London
$773
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$742
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$611
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$660
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$953
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$558
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$811
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$991
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$589
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$872
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$860
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$903
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$789
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$945
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$691
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$691
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$867
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$742
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$725
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$1031
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$994
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$723
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$663
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1204
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$912
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$1040
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$1104
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$938
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$998
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$893

Cities near Lilongwe

Distance City Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi Monkey Bay
$516
134 km or 83 mi Ntcheu
$489
169 km or 105 mi Mangochi
$494
228 km or 142 mi Zomba
$452
233 km or 145 mi Mzimba
$559
240 km or 149 mi Blantyre
$495
243 km or 151 mi Tete
$792
283 km or 176 mi Mzuzu
$522
293 km or 182 mi Mulanje
$456
506 km or 314 mi Kasama
$1132
518 km or 322 mi Harare
$1015
524 km or 326 mi Marondera
$755
533 km or 331 mi Chitungwiza
$780
536 km or 333 mi Chinhoyi
$629
545 km or 339 mi Quelimane
$691
550 km or 342 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$925
566 km or 352 mi Mbeya
$463
567 km or 353 mi Mutare
$754
568 km or 353 mi Ndola
$692
572 km or 355 mi Chimoio
$875
603 km or 375 mi Nampula
$933
613 km or 381 mi Lusaka
$777
616 km or 383 mi Mansa
$1166
616 km or 383 mi Kitwe
$1304
618 km or 384 mi Mufulira
$1602
637 km or 396 mi Kadoma
$727
660 km or 410 mi Chingola
$1378
660 km or 410 mi Beira
$952
682 km or 424 mi Kwekwe
$677
732 km or 455 mi Lubumbashi
$1125
740 km or 460 mi Pemba
$1511
741 km or 460 mi Gweru
$565
744 km or 462 mi Nacala
$1167
746 km or 464 mi Masvingo
$840
795 km or 494 mi Choma
$849
835 km or 519 mi Likasi
$1029
883 km or 549 mi Bulawayo
$632
886 km or 551 mi Dodoma
$495
902 km or 560 mi Morogoro
$417
949 km or 590 mi Livingstone
$813