Lilongwe vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Lilongwe Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$587
$807
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1406
$2035
🏠 One person rent
$251
$305
🏘️ Family rent
$391
$518
🍽️ Food expenses
$236
$276
🚐 Transport expenses
$51.5
$165
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$107
$228
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
14
67
😀 Quality of life
29
59
🏙️ Population
989K
5.55M

The cost of living in Lilongwe is 27% less expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 8094th and 6736th ($587 vs $807) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Malawi and Kenya, respectively. Check Malawi vs Kenya comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Lilongwe compared to 0.3 months in Nairobi. Lilongwe ranked 2nd best city to live in Malawi vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 8818th and 6034th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Lilongwe vs Nairobi

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

Lilongwe Nairobi
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.43
$5.36
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$24.5
$34.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.88
$6.22
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.55
$2.32
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$2.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.43
$0.6
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$373
$383
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$114
$205
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$608
$704
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$207
$371
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.3
$29.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$53.2
$45.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$50.5
$35.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
12.88%
14.79%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7658
$1533
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$432
$900
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.93
$0.77
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.6
$35.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.7
$13.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.31
$1.48
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.95
$0.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.98
$0.55
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.32
$2
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.32
$1.64
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13
$10.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$6.19
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.97
$6.14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$3.14
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.25
$0.98
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.5
$1.94
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.29
$0.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$0.92
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.42
$0.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.07
$1.48
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.2
$11.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.88
$2.27
🚬 Cigarette pack
$1.71
$3.48
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$2.11
$3
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.1
$4.22
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.76
$1.32
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.67
$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$28.9
$47.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.53
$7.69
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$16.9
$15.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.62
$4.82
👖 Brand Jeans
$23.2
$22.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$49.4
$54.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$350
$255
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2337
$10471

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$448
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$415
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$532
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$543
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$618
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$540
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$513
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$549
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$524
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$603
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$624
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$563
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$611
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$573
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$613
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$533
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$635
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$697
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$531
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$495
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$546
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$586
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$417
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$735
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$591
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$688
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$671
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$872
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$688
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$541
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$583
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$810
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$553
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$689
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$447
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$691
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$690
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$577
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$533
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$795