Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lilongwe and Odesa

For one person, living is cheaper in Lilongwe: $641 a month against $810 in Odesa, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Lilongwe
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Lilongwe Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Odesa
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Odesa Living Index

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Lilongwe

🇲🇼 Malawi

$641

/mo nomad

Odesa

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$810

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lilongwe and in Odesa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $641 in Lilongwe versus $810 in Odesa.

Lilongwe $641
Odesa $810

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,277 in Lilongwe versus $1,306 in Odesa.

Lilongwe $1,277
Odesa $1,306

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,913 in Lilongwe versus $1,801 in Odesa.

Lilongwe $1,913
Odesa $1,801

Living in Lilongwe costs roughly 21% less than in Odesa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Lilongwe 53% lower, Odesa 40% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.98 MWK 8,555

$7.83 ₴352

-36.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.36 MWK 59.0K

$35.07 ₴1,574

-2.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.11 MWK 17.4K

$5.61 ₴252

80.21%

Cappuccino

$3.29 MWK 5,654

$1.55 ₴69.5

112.26%

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

$1.23 MWK 2,109

$0.85 ₴38.13

44.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 MWK 1,026

$0.79 ₴35.38

-24.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 MWK 3,850

$1.75 ₴78.5

28.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.00 MWK 6,875

$2.14 ₴96.1

86.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.28 MWK 2,204

$1.31 ₴58.6

-2.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 MWK 3,145

$0.73 ₴32.89

150.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 MWK 3,005

$1.76 ₴78.8

-0.57%

Eggs

$2.88 MWK 4,952

$2.09 ₴93.7

37.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.02 MWK 27.5K

$9.70 ₴436

65.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.09 MWK 8,746

$5.30 ₴238

-3.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.92 MWK 6,735

$7.06 ₴317

-44.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 MWK 4,370

$1.24 ₴55.9

105.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 MWK 2,083

$1.50 ₴67.2

-19.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 MWK 2,501

$2.02 ₴90.6

-27.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.22 MWK 3,809

$3.05 ₴137

-27.21%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 MWK 3,546

$0.73 ₴32.84

183.56%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 MWK 1,700

$0.47 ₴20.98

110.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 ₴69.7

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 MWK 1,763

$0.53 ₴23.66

94.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.37 MWK 4,072

$2.99 ₴134

-20.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$23.72 MWK 40.7K

$5.58 ₴251

325.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 MWK 2,042

$0.88 ₴39.36

35.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 MWK 4,412

$1.51 ₴68.0

70.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 MWK 1,551

$0.42 ₴18.87

114.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$4.28 MWK 7,341

$20.19 ₴906

-78.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.80 ₴80.8

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.54 MWK 4,355

$0.35 ₴15.54

625.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.20 MWK 3,776

$4.40 ₴198

-50.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 MWK 2,679

$1.80 ₴80.7

-13.33%

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

$29.5K ₴1.3M

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

$24.9K ₴1.1M

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

$45.36 MWK 77.9K

$112 ₴5,011

-59.37%

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

$11.62 MWK 20.0K

$6.91 ₴310

68.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.3 MWK 103.6K

$6.48 ₴291

831.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.44 MWK 52.3K

$22.15 ₴994

37.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.80 ₴575

Cinema Ticket

$5.64 ₴253

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

$350 MWK 601.5K

$257 ₴11.5K

36.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,745 ₴168.1K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.0 ₴2,962

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.68 ₴1,961

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 ₴3,906

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 ₴4,665

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$544 MWK 933.2K

$344 ₴15.4K

58.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$85.6 MWK 147.0K

$188 ₴8,426

-54.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$578 MWK 992.6K

$594 ₴26.7K

-2.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$694 MWK 1.2M

$394 ₴17.7K

76.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,603 ₴72.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$901 ₴40.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$370 MWK 635.2K

$487 ₴21.8K

-23.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.17

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

Last update for Lilongwe: October 18, 2026

Last update for Odesa: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lilongwe

$251 * 39.1%

Odesa

$185 22.9% 26.1% $66

Eating Out

Lilongwe

$136 21.3%

Odesa

$118 14.5% 13.6% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lilongwe

$117 18.3%

Odesa

$125 15.4% 6.6% $7.7

Accommodation & Living

Lilongwe

$86 13.4%

Odesa

$188 23.2% 119% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Lilongwe

$30 * 4.8%

Odesa

$33 4.1% 9.8% $3

Getting Around

Lilongwe

$21 * 3.2%

Odesa

$25 3.1% 23.5% $4.8

Clothing & Footwear

Lilongwe

- * 0%

Odesa

$135 16.7%

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $544 in Lilongwe and $344 in Odesa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Odesa pays 32% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $34.00 in Lilongwe vs $35.00 in Odesa. Groceries flip the comparison at $251 vs $185, with Odesa cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇼 Lilongwe

🇺🇦 Odesa

🕒 Local time

17:15 5:15 PM

18:15 6:15 PM

1 h ahead of Lilongwe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

781,538 Capital

1,008,852

💱 Currency

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UAH, USD, EUR to MWK – Malawian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇼 Malawian Kwacha (MK)

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,930 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 44.89 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.46 UAH (100 UAH = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MWK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Lilongwe Odesa 6,730 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Lilongwe
Odesa

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

Lilongwe vs Odesa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lilongwe is cheaper overall, especially in leisure, transport, and clothing. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 32% lower in Odesa. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $544 in Lilongwe versus $344 in Odesa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Odesa pay roughly 35% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Lilongwe – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $35.00 in Odesa. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $641 in Lilongwe versus $810 in Odesa, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lilongwe but tight or insufficient in Odesa. The gap between the two cities makes Lilongwe the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Lilongwe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Odesa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.