Lilongwe vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Lilongwe Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person
$591
$1057
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1409
$1932
🏠 One person rent
$250
$620
🏘️ Family rent
$382
$639
🍽️ Food expenses
$241
$268
🚐 Transport expenses
$51.6
$99.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$121
$1631
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
22 km
29 km
🎓 Higher education
14
63
😀 Quality of life
30
48
🏙️ Population
989K
1.27M

The cost of living in Lilongwe is 44% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 8027th and 5251st ($591 vs $1057) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 6th 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 1.5 months in Soweto. Lilongwe ranked 3rd best city to live in Malawi vs Soweto ranked 8th in South Africa, while ranked 8837th and 6890th 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
$4.25
$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$24.2
$30.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$8.08
$4.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.54
$2.17
☕ Cappuccino
$2.31
$2.37
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.43
$1.15
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$373
$942
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$112
$394
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$601
$587
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$198
$452
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$34.7
$79.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$52.7
$124
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$50.7
$36.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
12.71%
11.11%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$9004
$933
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$506
$779
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.91
$2.16
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$11.5
$35.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.64
$9.53
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.35
$1.29
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.05
$1.19
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.09
$1.06
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.42
$1.52
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.28
$2.77
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.2
$8.88
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.28
$4.58
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.98
$7.57
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.38
$1.88
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.23
$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.79
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$1.68
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.25
$1.38
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$1.39
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.42
$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.15
$1.34
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.2
$7.95
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.9
$1.81
🚬 Cigarette pack
$1.74
$3.08
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$2.1
$3.28
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.11
$2.8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.75
$1.33
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.66
$0.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$28.9
$15.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.53
$5.97
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$17.1
$23.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.64
$3.44
👖 Brand Jeans
$22.9
$52.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$48.6
$76.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$349
$229
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2330
$4370

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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
$521
134 km or 83 mi Ntcheu
$495
169 km or 105 mi Mangochi
$496
228 km or 142 mi Zomba
$458
233 km or 145 mi Mzimba
$530
240 km or 149 mi Blantyre
$505
243 km or 151 mi Tete
$828
283 km or 176 mi Mzuzu
$527
293 km or 182 mi Mulanje
$461
506 km or 314 mi Kasama
$1002
518 km or 322 mi Harare
$1024
524 km or 326 mi Marondera
$768
533 km or 331 mi Chitungwiza
$770
536 km or 333 mi Chinhoyi
$639
545 km or 339 mi Quelimane
$692
550 km or 342 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$815
566 km or 352 mi Mbeya
$469
567 km or 353 mi Mutare
$764
568 km or 353 mi Ndola
$613
572 km or 355 mi Chimoio
$924
603 km or 375 mi Nampula
$935
613 km or 381 mi Lusaka
$686
616 km or 383 mi Mansa
$1030
616 km or 383 mi Kitwe
$1189
618 km or 384 mi Mufulira
$1473
637 km or 396 mi Kadoma
$754
660 km or 410 mi Chingola
$1229
660 km or 410 mi Beira
$1000
682 km or 424 mi Kwekwe
$706
732 km or 455 mi Lubumbashi
$1133
740 km or 460 mi Pemba
$1521
741 km or 460 mi Gweru
$577
744 km or 462 mi Nacala
$1181
746 km or 464 mi Masvingo
$861
795 km or 494 mi Choma
$750
835 km or 519 mi Likasi
$1039
883 km or 549 mi Bulawayo
$630
886 km or 551 mi Dodoma
$506
902 km or 560 mi Morogoro
$408
949 km or 590 mi Livingstone
$718

Cities near Soweto

Distance City Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi Johannesburg
$1171
24 km or 15 mi Randburg
$958
26 km or 16 mi Sandton
$1089
46 km or 28 mi Vereeniging
$765
46 km or 29 mi Benoni
$892
48 km or 30 mi Vanderbijlpark
$865
56 km or 34 mi Centurion
$967
58 km or 36 mi Springs
$792
66 km or 41 mi Pretoria
$1049
73 km or 45 mi Brits
$950
91 km or 56 mi Potchefstroom
$791
92 km or 57 mi Rustenburg
$1017
137 km or 85 mi Klerksdorp
$826
159 km or 99 mi Bethal
$910
166 km or 103 mi Kroonstad
$875
170 km or 106 mi Middelburg
$899
222 km or 138 mi Welkom
$826
228 km or 142 mi Mmabatho
$901
249 km or 155 mi Lobatse
$697
266 km or 165 mi Gaborone
$731
282 km or 175 mi Butha-Buthe
$604
290 km or 180 mi Kanye
$694
315 km or 196 mi Molepolole
$662
321 km or 199 mi Teyateyaneng
$573
329 km or 204 mi Mbabane
$652
335 km or 208 mi Vryheid
$912
341 km or 212 mi Maseru
$681
350 km or 217 mi Manzini
$511
354 km or 220 mi Bloemfontein
$763
367 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$628
399 km or 248 mi Mafeteng
$630
412 km or 256 mi Kimberley
$927
420 km or 261 mi Palapye
$551
446 km or 277 mi Pietermaritzburg
$716
447 km or 278 mi Serowe
$583
461 km or 286 mi Matola
$916
472 km or 293 mi Maputo
$966
506 km or 314 mi Durban
$948
567 km or 353 mi Francistown
$633
595 km or 370 mi Xai-Xai
$950