Cost of Living Comparison Between Lilongwe and Chiang Mai Cost of Living Comparison Between Lilongwe and Chiang Mai

🙂 Solo nomad: Lilongwe is 10.1% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 31.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Lilongwe is 17.5% cheaper than Chiang Mai without rent, and 6.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.94 MWK 8,620

$1.97 ฿62.0

150.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.06 MWK 56.0K

$18.68 ฿587

71.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.19 MWK 17.8K

$7.92 ฿249

28.66%

Cappuccino

$2.95 MWK 5,149

$2.02 ฿63.7

46.04%

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

$0.92 MWK 1,601

$0.84 ฿26.45

9.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 MWK 732

$0.35 ฿11.07

20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.77 MWK 3,088

$2.22 ฿69.9

-20.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 MWK 6,888

$3.59 ฿113

10.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 MWK 1,766

$1.67 ฿52.4

-39.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 MWK 2,149

$1.62 ฿51.1

-24.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 MWK 2,944

$1.20 ฿37.83

40.83%

Eggs

$2.64 MWK 4,602

$1.93 ฿60.8

36.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.54 MWK 27.1K

$16.00 ฿503

-2.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.23 MWK 5,644

$3.16 ฿99.2

2.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.06 MWK 7,082

$10.93 ฿344

-62.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 MWK 4,552

$2.67 ฿83.8

-2.25%

Banana (1kg)

$0.97 MWK 1,694

$1.18 ฿36.99

-17.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 MWK 2,556

$1.64 ฿51.5

-10.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 MWK 2,736

$1.59 ฿49.83

-1.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 MWK 2,374

$1.32 ฿41.64

3.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 MWK 2,114

$1.19 ฿37.49

1.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 ฿22.20

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.65 MWK 1,136

$0.56 ฿17.75

16.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.61 MWK 2,813

$4.64 ฿146

-65.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.66 MWK 25.6K

$18.96 ฿596

-22.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 MWK 1,891

$1.77 ฿55.7

-38.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 MWK 3,235

$3.20 ฿101

-42.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.88 MWK 1,541

$0.90 ฿28.32

-2.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$4.28 MWK 7,467

$19.24 ฿605

-77.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 ฿42.78

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.52 MWK 4,398

$1.35 ฿42.37

86.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 MWK 3,742

$8.15 ฿256

-73.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 MWK 2,788

$1.22 ฿38.43

31.15%

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

$21.4K ฿671.8K

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

$21.7K ฿683.8K

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

$45.13 MWK 78.8K

$70.3 ฿2,210

-35.80%

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

$11.87 MWK 20.7K

$13.91 ฿437

-14.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.6 MWK 111.0K

$18.00 ฿566

253.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.00 MWK 64.6K

$41.78 ฿1,314

-11.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.80 ฿214

Cinema Ticket

$3.91 MWK 6,828

$5.72 ฿180

-31.64%

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

$351 MWK 613.1K

$308 ฿9,693

13.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,375 MWK 4.1M

$14.8K ฿465.7K

-83.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.9 ฿1,756

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.71 ฿840

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.5 ฿2,658

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.8 ฿2,227

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$431 ฿13.5K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$68.1 MWK 118.8K

$237 ฿7,439

-71.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 MWK 463.9K

$811 ฿25.5K

-67.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 MWK 967.2K

$501 ฿15.7K

10.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.2K MWK 28.4M

$2,202 ฿69.2K

637.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,600 ฿50.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$279 MWK 487.7K

$684 ฿21.5K

-59.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

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

Last update for Lilongwe: January 11, 2026

Last update for Chiang Mai: January 13, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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