Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Italy and Malawi

Name: Malawi
Address: MW

For one person, living is cheaper in Malawi: $682 a month against $1,843 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Malawi
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Malawi Living Index

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🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

🇲🇼 Malawi

$682

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Italy and in Malawi

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Italy and in Malawi actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,843 in Italy versus $682 in Malawi.

Italy $1,843
Malawi $682

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,816 in Italy versus $1,197 in Malawi.

Italy $2,816
Malawi $1,197

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,788 in Italy versus $1,713 in Malawi.

Italy $3,788
Malawi $1,713

Internal cost variation is higher in Italy: monthly costs span $1,038 to $2,555, compared to $275–$641 in Malawi. City choice carries more weight in Italy.

Living in Italy is roughly 170% more expensive than in Malawi on average.

Italy (35% above) and Malawi (50% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.46 €18.25

$4.93 MWK 8,464

315.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.5 €70.9

$29.60 MWK 50.8K

168.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 €9.95

$6.31 MWK 10.8K

76.70%

Cappuccino

$2.04 €1.82

$3.50 MWK 6,018

-41.71%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 €2.77

$1.11 MWK 1,901

179.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$0.46 MWK 783

204.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.51 €4.92

$1.77 MWK 3,043

211.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.74 €5.12

$3.43 MWK 5,895

67.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.23 MWK 2,119

27.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 €2.12

$1.40 MWK 2,410

70.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.90 €2.59

$1.64 MWK 2,820

76.83%

Eggs

$4.07 €3.63

$2.06 MWK 3,534

97.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.44 €15.56

$7.37 MWK 12.6K

136.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.56 €11.20

$4.32 MWK 7,421

190.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.17 €17.99

$5.59 MWK 9,599

260.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$2.49 MWK 4,274

3.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.82 MWK 3,122

20.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$2.26 MWK 3,881

18.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 €2.91

$1.26 MWK 2,157

159.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 €1.70

$1.37 MWK 2,344

38.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.52 MWK 2,603

19.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$0.33 MWK 568

375.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 €0.49

$1.26 MWK 2,163

-56.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.69 €5.97

$2.35 MWK 4,027

184.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 €7.13

$15.79 MWK 27.1K

-49.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 €1.58

$1.09 MWK 1,865

62.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.35 €2.10

$2.48 MWK 4,252

-5.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.70

$0.84 MWK 1,450

127.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.44 €38.75

$2.22 MWK 3,809

1856.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.62 €5.01

$0.57 MWK 984

885.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.71 €1.53

$2.47 MWK 4,248

-30.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.64 €30.01

$2.21 MWK 3,790

1422.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.59 MWK 2,737

27.67%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.3K €31.5K

$35.7K MWK 61.2M

-0.97%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$36.7K €32.8K

$39.3K MWK 67.6M

-6.59%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$227 €202

$39.40 MWK 67.6K

475.00%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$11.59 €10.34

$10.45 MWK 17.9K

10.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.38 €27.11

$70.0 MWK 120.1K

-56.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.8 €46.19

$37.02 MWK 63.6K

39.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.70 €21.14

$14.67 MWK 25.2K

61.55%

Cinema Ticket

$10.60 €9.46

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$568 €506

$372 MWK 638.5K

52.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K €10.3K

$595 MWK 1.0M

1836.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 €80.8

$42.85 MWK 73.6K

111.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.55 €34.40

$40.27 MWK 69.1K

-4.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.6

$47.95 MWK 82.3K

114.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 €117

$71.6 MWK 123.0K

82.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$826 €737

$308 MWK 528.9K

168.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$646 €577

$86.6 MWK 148.8K

645.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 €1,249

$542 MWK 930.6K

158.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,054 €941

$404 MWK 693.5K

161.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,662 €3,267

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,301 €2,053

$402 MWK 689.9K

472.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,886 €1,683

$311 MWK 533.6K

506.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Last update for Malawi: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Italy

$646 35.1%

Malawi

$87 12.7% 86.6% $560

Groceries & Markets

Italy

$348 18.9%

Malawi

$206 30.2% 40.8% $142

Eating Out

Italy

$279 15.1%

Malawi

$122 18% 56.1% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Italy

$269 14.6%

Malawi

$120 17.6% 55.4% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Italy

$163 8.9%

Malawi

$91 13.4% 44.1% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Italy

$73 4%

Malawi

$37 * 5.4% 49.3% $36

Getting Around

Italy

$65 3.5%

Malawi

$19 2.7% 71.6% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $729 in Italy, $384 in Malawi. Capital cities: $1,297 in Rome vs $545 in Lilongwe.

National salary averages: $1,890 in Italy, $347 in Malawi. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 90% higher in Italy.

Dining out costs 204% more in Italy.

Public transport is 975% more expensive in Italy.

Salaries are about 5.4 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Italy

🇲🇼 Malawi

🕒 Local time

21:32 9:32 PM

22:32 10:32 PM

1 h ahead of Italy

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

58,850,717

18,622,104

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MWK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,924 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.2 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Italy Malawi 6,590 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Italy
Malawi

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Italy vs Malawi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,843 per month in Italy and $682 in Malawi, Malawi comes out about 63% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Malawi: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $729 in Italy and $384 in Malawi. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In Malawi, $1,200 covers most cities easily; in Italy it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: Malawi wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.