Dar es Salaam vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Dar es Salaam Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person
$763
$591
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1979
$1409
🏠 One person rent
$357
$250
🏘️ Family rent
$606
$382
🍽️ Food expenses
$228
$241
🚐 Transport expenses
$121
$51.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$245
$121
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
22 km
🎓 Higher education
46
14
😀 Quality of life
58
30
🏙️ Population
4.72M
989K

The cost of living in Dar es Salaam is 29% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 6912th and 8027th ($763 vs $591) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Tanzania and Malawi, respectively. Check Tanzania vs Malawi comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Dar es Salaam compared to 0.2 months in Lilongwe. Dar es Salaam ranked 1st best city to live in Tanzania vs Lilongwe ranked 3rd in Malawi, while ranked 6157th and 8837th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Dar es Salaam vs Lilongwe

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

Dar es Salaam Lilongwe
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.09
$4.25
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$18.3
$24.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.63
$8.08
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.96
$1.54
☕ Cappuccino
$1.97
$2.31
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.38
$1.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$478
$373
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$220
$112
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$856
$601
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$401
$198
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$51.3
$34.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$80.1
$52.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$34.1
$50.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
18.26%
12.71%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1540
$9004
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1090
$506
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.25
$0.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$14.9
$11.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.8
$5.64
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.12
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.03
$1.05
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.79
$1.09
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.11
$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.98
$2.28
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.16
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.38
$3.28
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.07
$3.98
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.6
$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.95
$1.23
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.93
$1.49
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.9
$1.33
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.9
$1.25
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.3
$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.29
$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.25
$1.15
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.92
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.88
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.11
$1.74
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.09
$2.1
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.78
$4.11
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.21
$0.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.95
$0.66
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$75.3
$28.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.24
$4.53
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$16.9
$17.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$4.78
$3.64
👖 Brand Jeans
$19.2
$22.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$44.3
$48.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$496
$349
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15015
$2330

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Dar es Salaam

Distance City Cost of living
71 km or 44 mi Zanzibar
$588
71 km or 44 mi Stone Town
$551
179 km or 111 mi Morogoro
$408
194 km or 120 mi Tanga
$544
309 km or 192 mi Mombasa
$604
395 km or 246 mi Dodoma
$506
409 km or 254 mi Malindi
$553
441 km or 274 mi Moshi
$523
478 km or 297 mi Arusha
$602
629 km or 391 mi Machakos
$419
671 km or 417 mi Nairobi
$797
684 km or 425 mi Mbeya
$469
684 km or 425 mi Thika
$455
698 km or 434 mi Moroni
$1233
700 km or 435 mi Pemba
$1521
774 km or 481 mi Mzuzu
$527
783 km or 486 mi Meru
$542
808 km or 502 mi Nakuru
$508
836 km or 520 mi Domoni
$1237
843 km or 524 mi Mzimba
$530
853 km or 530 mi Mwanza
$623
864 km or 537 mi Nacala
$1181
899 km or 559 mi Kisumu
$533
925 km or 575 mi Nampula
$935
927 km or 576 mi Eldoret
$520
931 km or 578 mi Mamoudzou
$1652
938 km or 583 mi Monkey Bay
$521
955 km or 594 mi Mumias
$505
959 km or 596 mi Mangochi
$496
969 km or 602 mi Kasama
$1002
1000 km or 621 mi Lilongwe
$591
1007 km or 626 mi Tororo
$624
1026 km or 637 mi Ntcheu
$495
1044 km or 648 mi Mbale
$651
1047 km or 651 mi Zomba
$458
1049 km or 652 mi Jinja
$593
1067 km or 663 mi Ruyigi
$693
1074 km or 667 mi Entebbe
$563
1076 km or 668 mi Rutana
$691
1084 km or 674 mi Muyinga
$691

Cities near Lilongwe

Distance City Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi Monkey Bay
$521
134 km or 83 mi Ntcheu
$495
169 km or 105 mi Mangochi
$496
228 km or 142 mi Zomba
$458
233 km or 145 mi Mzimba
$530
240 km or 149 mi Blantyre
$505
243 km or 151 mi Tete
$828
283 km or 176 mi Mzuzu
$527
293 km or 182 mi Mulanje
$461
506 km or 314 mi Kasama
$1002
518 km or 322 mi Harare
$1024
524 km or 326 mi Marondera
$768
533 km or 331 mi Chitungwiza
$770
536 km or 333 mi Chinhoyi
$639
545 km or 339 mi Quelimane
$692
550 km or 342 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$815
566 km or 352 mi Mbeya
$469
567 km or 353 mi Mutare
$764
568 km or 353 mi Ndola
$613
572 km or 355 mi Chimoio
$924
603 km or 375 mi Nampula
$935
613 km or 381 mi Lusaka
$686
616 km or 383 mi Mansa
$1030
616 km or 383 mi Kitwe
$1189
618 km or 384 mi Mufulira
$1473
637 km or 396 mi Kadoma
$754
660 km or 410 mi Chingola
$1229
660 km or 410 mi Beira
$1000
682 km or 424 mi Kwekwe
$706
732 km or 455 mi Lubumbashi
$1133
740 km or 460 mi Pemba
$1521
741 km or 460 mi Gweru
$577
744 km or 462 mi Nacala
$1181
746 km or 464 mi Masvingo
$861
795 km or 494 mi Choma
$750
835 km or 519 mi Likasi
$1039
883 km or 549 mi Bulawayo
$630
886 km or 551 mi Dodoma
$506
902 km or 560 mi Morogoro
$408
949 km or 590 mi Livingstone
$718