Lilongwe vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Lilongwe Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$367
$646
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$904
$1766
🏠 One person rent
$147
$239
🏘️ Family rent
$237
$565
🍽️ Food expenses
$141
$224
🚐 Transport expenses
$42.4
$131
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$306
$399
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
13
67
😀 Quality of life
26
59
🏙️ Population
989K
5.55M

The cost of living in Lilongwe is 43% less expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 9038th and 7242nd ($367 vs $646) 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 0.8 months in Lilongwe compared to 0.6 months in Nairobi. Lilongwe ranked 2nd best city to live in Malawi vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 8741st and 5517th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Lilongwe vs Nairobi infographic

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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
$2
$3.87
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$17.3
$22
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$2.2
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.78
$1.91
 Cappuccino
$1.74
$2.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.62
$0.49
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$228
$301
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$75.5
$147
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$277
$848
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$168
$401
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$10.4
$24.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$16.1
$37.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$31.1
$36.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.98%
13.2%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9504
$1086
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$356
$641
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.59
$0.67
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$8.6
$29.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.44
$10.1
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.99
$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.83
$0.8
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.69
$0.46
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.8
$1.24
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.77
$1.61
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.91
$9.99
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.92
$5.54
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.26
$4.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$2
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.93
$0.83
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$1.53
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.76
$0.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$0.82
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.9
$0.86
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.18
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.58
$1.3
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.1
$10.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.68
$1.68
🚬 Cigarette pack
$0.88
$2.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.73
$3.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.33
$4.52
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.52
$1.08
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.71
$0.93
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$21.9
$37.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.06
$5.43
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$12.1
$18.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$1.78
$4.48
👖 Brand Jeans
$25
$16.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$32.7
$46.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$217
$138
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1424
$6839

Cost of living in other countries

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Cities near Lilongwe

Distance City Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi Monkey Bay
$335
134 km or 83 mi Ntcheu
$332
169 km or 105 mi Mangochi
$332
228 km or 142 mi Zomba
$326
233 km or 145 mi Mzimba
$337
240 km or 149 mi Blantyre
$363
243 km or 151 mi Tete
$970
283 km or 176 mi Mzuzu
$338
293 km or 182 mi Mulanje
$327
506 km or 314 mi Kasama
$1176
518 km or 322 mi Harare
$957
524 km or 326 mi Marondera
$761
533 km or 331 mi Chitungwiza
$852
536 km or 333 mi Chinhoyi
$784
545 km or 339 mi Quelimane
$992
550 km or 342 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$968
566 km or 352 mi Mbeya
$457
567 km or 353 mi Mutare
$645
568 km or 353 mi Ndola
$1210
572 km or 355 mi Chimoio
$993
603 km or 375 mi Nampula
$1165
613 km or 381 mi Lusaka
$777
616 km or 383 mi Mansa
$1121
616 km or 383 mi Kitwe
$1238
618 km or 384 mi Mufulira
$1236
637 km or 396 mi Kadoma
$689
660 km or 410 mi Chingola
$1107
660 km or 410 mi Beira
$1014
682 km or 424 mi Kwekwe
$691
732 km or 455 mi Lubumbashi
$1025
740 km or 460 mi Pemba
$1144
741 km or 460 mi Gweru
$722
744 km or 462 mi Nacala
$1127
746 km or 464 mi Masvingo
$837
795 km or 494 mi Choma
$795
835 km or 519 mi Likasi
$953
883 km or 549 mi Bulawayo
$777
886 km or 551 mi Dodoma
$581
902 km or 560 mi Morogoro
$600
949 km or 590 mi Livingstone
$734

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$530
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$524
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$439
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$486
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$571
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$536
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$405
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$441
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$424
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$557
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$557
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$452
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$493
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$542
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$493
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$622
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$600
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$654
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$547
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$581
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$706
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$762
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$600
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$720
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$556
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$449
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$599
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$677
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$446
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$543
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$539
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$748
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$575
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$448
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$458
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$445
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$448
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$553
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$566
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$747