Lilongwe vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Lilongwe Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$367
$875
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$904
$1598
🏠 One person rent
$147
$511
🏘️ Family rent
$237
$523
🍽️ Food expenses
$141
$215
🚐 Transport expenses
$42.4
$89.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$306
$1509
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
13
62
😀 Quality of life
26
44
🏙️ Population
989K
1.27M

The cost of living in Lilongwe is 58% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 9038th and 6110th ($367 vs $875) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 4th in Malawi and South Africa, respectively. Check Malawi vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.8 months in Lilongwe compared to 1.7 months in Soweto. Lilongwe ranked 2nd best city to live in Malawi vs Soweto ranked 9th in South Africa, while ranked 8741st and 6750th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Lilongwe vs Soweto infographic

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Prices in Lilongwe vs Soweto

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

Lilongwe Soweto
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$2
$5.93
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$17.3
$25.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$2.2
$3.62
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.78
$1.84
 Cappuccino
$1.74
$1.81
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.62
$0.87
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$228
$793
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$75.5
$327
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$277
$488
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$168
$379
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$10.4
$57.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$16.1
$88.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$31.1
$34
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.98%
11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9504
$731
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$356
$624
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.59
$1.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$8.6
$28.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.44
$9.38
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.99
$1.11
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.83
$0.98
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.69
$0.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.8
$1.09
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.77
$2.19
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.91
$7.01
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.92
$3.79
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.26
$5.78
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.46
$1.41
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.93
$1.3
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.09
$1.27
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.76
$1.32
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$1.14
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.9
$1.14
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.18
$0.55
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.58
$1.11
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.1
$7.15
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.68
$1.25
🚬 Cigarette pack
$0.88
$2.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.73
$2.71
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.33
$2.33
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.52
$1.12
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.71
$0.47
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$21.9
$12.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.06
$5.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$12.1
$20
💇 Haircut, simple
$1.78
$2.84
👖 Brand Jeans
$25
$43.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$32.7
$67.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$217
$202
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1424
$2867

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$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 Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$908
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$776
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$889
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$637
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$741
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$755
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$631
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$783
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$751
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$625
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$845
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$621
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$746
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$701
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$866
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$682
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$719
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$631
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$656
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$633
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$603
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$558
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$739
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$535
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$447
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$601
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$605
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$511
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$753
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$511
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$554
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$978
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1084
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$780
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$550
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$952