Lilongwe vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Lilongwe Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$587
$1031
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1406
$1903
🏠 One person rent
$251
$604
🏘️ Family rent
$391
$628
🍽️ Food expenses
$236
$268
🚐 Transport expenses
$51.5
$90.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$107
$382
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
14
63
😀 Quality of life
29
43
🏙️ Population
989K
1.27M

The cost of living in Lilongwe is 43% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 8094th and 5331st ($587 vs $1031) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 7th in Malawi and South Africa, respectively. Check Malawi vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Lilongwe compared to 0.4 months in Soweto. Lilongwe ranked 2nd best city to live in Malawi vs Soweto ranked 10th in South Africa, while ranked 8818th and 7513th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$4.43
$6.93
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$24.5
$29.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.88
$4.63
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.55
$2.12
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$2.31
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.43
$1.08
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$373
$911
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$114
$382
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$608
$566
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$207
$444
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.3
$81.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$53.2
$125
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$50.5
$34.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
12.88%
11.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7658
$980
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$432
$760
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.93
$2
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.6
$34
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.7
$8.05
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.31
$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.95
$1.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.98
$1.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.32
$1.46
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.32
$2.74
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13
$8.54
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.08
$4.62
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.97
$7.66
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$1.89
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.25
$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.5
$1.82
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.29
$1.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$1.39
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.42
$0.87
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.07
$1.29
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$11.2
$8.13
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.88
$1.69
🚬 Cigarette pack
$1.71
$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$2.11
$3.15
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.1
$2.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.76
$1.3
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.67
$0.54
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$28.9
$14.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.53
$5.86
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$16.9
$23
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.62
$3.31
👖 Brand Jeans
$23.2
$53.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$49.4
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$350
$243
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2337
$5012

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
$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 Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$1204
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$912
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$1104
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$742
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$851
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$867
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$997
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$784
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$1015
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$950
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$789
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$994
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$860
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$902
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$872
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$875
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$811
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$903
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$691
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$723
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$589
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$691
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$663
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$558
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$607
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$882
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$660
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$494
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$742
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$615
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$611
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$904
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$549
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$725
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$590
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$912
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$1014
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$938
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$632
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$965