Lilongwe vs Lusaka - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Lilongwe	Lusaka
🚶 Cost of living one person	$587	$738
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1571	$2249
🏠 One person rent	$251	$312
🏘️ Family rent	$555	$948
🍽️ Food expenses	$237	$239
🚐 Transport expenses	$51.8	$127
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$275	$333
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	22 km	5 km
🎓 Higher education	13	37
😀 Quality of life	20	49
🏙️ Population	989K	2.47M

The cost of living in Lilongwe is 20% less expensive than in Lusaka. Cities ranked 7807th and 6726th ($587 vs $738) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th in Malawi and Zambia, respectively. Check Malawi vs Zambia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Lilongwe compared to 0.5 months in Lusaka. Lilongwe ranked 4th best city to live in Malawi vs Lusaka ranked 1st in Zambia, while ranked 8847th and 6269th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Lilongwe vs Lusaka infographic

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Prices in Lilongwe vs Lusaka

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

	Lilongwe	Lusaka
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.27	$6.95
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$24.2	$27
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$8.14	$3.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.37	$0.91
☕ Cappuccino	$2.32	$2.02
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.93	$0.64
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$373	$194
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$114	$109
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$362	$1082
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$474	$641
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$34.6	$60.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$53.6	$94.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$50.1	$125
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.4%	21.29%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$10555	$2003
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$588	$4875
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.91	$1.23
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$11.7	$36.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$5.67	$12
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.35	$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.95	$1.34
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.95	$0.75
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$1.7
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.29	$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$13.2	$7.27
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.29	$3.63
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4	$4.83
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.36	$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1	$1.42
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$2.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.32	$1.15
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.26	$1.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.24	$1.41
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.42	$0.34
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.15	$0.97
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$12.1	$6.86
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.91	$1.09
🚬 Cigarette pack	$1.57	$2.37
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.11	$4.66
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.11	$2.39
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.75	$1.17
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.68	$1.07
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$28.8	$44.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.17	$4.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$17	$12.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.6	$4.45
👖 Brand Jeans	$23.1	$18.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$49.4	$89.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$349	$176
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$2351	$9642

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Lilongwe

Distance	City	Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi	Monkey Bay	$518
134 km or 83 mi	Ntcheu	$492
169 km or 105 mi	Mangochi	$493
228 km or 142 mi	Zomba	$457
233 km or 145 mi	Mzimba	$566
240 km or 149 mi	Blantyre	$507
243 km or 151 mi	Tete	$825
283 km or 176 mi	Mzuzu	$525
293 km or 182 mi	Mulanje	$461
506 km or 314 mi	Kasama	$748
518 km or 322 mi	Harare	$992
524 km or 326 mi	Marondera	$794
533 km or 331 mi	Chitungwiza	$873
536 km or 333 mi	Chinhoyi	$646
545 km or 339 mi	Quelimane	$675
550 km or 342 mi	Kapiri Mposhi	$687
566 km or 352 mi	Mbeya	$461
567 km or 353 mi	Mutare	$752
568 km or 353 mi	Ndola	$541
572 km or 355 mi	Chimoio	$947
603 km or 375 mi	Nampula	$872
613 km or 381 mi	Lusaka	$738
616 km or 383 mi	Mansa	$776
616 km or 383 mi	Kitwe	$917
618 km or 384 mi	Mufulira	$1018
637 km or 396 mi	Kadoma	$723
660 km or 410 mi	Chingola	$875
660 km or 410 mi	Beira	$1003
682 km or 424 mi	Kwekwe	$730
732 km or 455 mi	Lubumbashi	$1050
740 km or 460 mi	Pemba	$1506
741 km or 460 mi	Gweru	$597
744 km or 462 mi	Nacala	$1150
746 km or 464 mi	Masvingo	$854
795 km or 494 mi	Choma	$700
835 km or 519 mi	Likasi	$961
883 km or 549 mi	Bulawayo	$766
886 km or 551 mi	Dodoma	$502
902 km or 560 mi	Morogoro	$486
949 km or 590 mi	Livingstone	$688

Cities near Lusaka

Distance	City	Cost of living
166 km or 103 mi	Kapiri Mposhi	$687
209 km or 130 mi	Choma	$700
275 km or 171 mi	Ndola	$541
289 km or 179 mi	Kitwe	$917
297 km or 184 mi	Chinhoyi	$646
318 km or 198 mi	Mufulira	$1018
322 km or 200 mi	Chingola	$875
370 km or 230 mi	Kadoma	$723
373 km or 232 mi	Livingstone	$688
399 km or 248 mi	Harare	$992
411 km or 255 mi	Chitungwiza	$873
426 km or 265 mi	Lubumbashi	$1050
429 km or 267 mi	Kwekwe	$730
464 km or 288 mi	Marondera	$794
475 km or 295 mi	Mansa	$776
478 km or 297 mi	Gweru	$597
521 km or 324 mi	Likasi	$961
529 km or 329 mi	Bulawayo	$766
574 km or 356 mi	Tete	$825
584 km or 363 mi	Masvingo	$854
605 km or 376 mi	Kolwezi	$975
611 km or 380 mi	Mutare	$752
613 km or 381 mi	Lilongwe	$587
645 km or 401 mi	Francistown	$624
658 km or 409 mi	Kasama	$748
686 km or 426 mi	Chimoio	$947
688 km or 428 mi	Ntcheu	$492
694 km or 431 mi	Mzimba	$566
721 km or 448 mi	Blantyre	$507
729 km or 453 mi	Monkey Bay	$518
756 km or 470 mi	Zomba	$457
757 km or 471 mi	Mangochi	$493
762 km or 474 mi	Mzuzu	$525
775 km or 482 mi	Mulanje	$461
792 km or 492 mi	Serowe	$583
802 km or 499 mi	Palapye	$540
852 km or 529 mi	Beira	$1003
869 km or 540 mi	Mahalapye	$631
917 km or 570 mi	Mbeya	$461
956 km or 594 mi	Quelimane	$675