Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Lilongwe

For one person, living is cheaper in Lilongwe: $641 a month against $2,202 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Lilongwe
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Lilongwe Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,202

/mo nomad

Lilongwe

🇲🇼 Malawi

$641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Lilongwe

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,202 in Lisbon versus $641 in Lilongwe.

Lisbon $2,202
Lilongwe $641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,274 in Lisbon versus $1,277 in Lilongwe.

Lisbon $3,274
Lilongwe $1,277

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,346 in Lisbon versus $1,913 in Lilongwe.

Lisbon $4,346
Lilongwe $1,913

Living in Lisbon is roughly 243% more expensive than in Lilongwe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Lilongwe is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.04 €15.15

$4.98 MWK 8,555

242.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.3 €55.4

$34.36 MWK 59.0K

81.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 €9.80

$10.11 MWK 17.4K

9.00%

Cappuccino

$3.12 €2.78

$3.29 MWK 5,654

-5.17%

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

$2.27 €2.02

$1.23 MWK 2,109

84.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.60 MWK 1,026

190.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.42 €3.04

$2.24 MWK 3,850

52.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.74 €3.33

$4.00 MWK 6,875

-6.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 €1.04

$1.28 MWK 2,204

-8.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.83 MWK 3,145

1.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 €1.37

$1.75 MWK 3,005

-12.00%

Eggs

$4.06 €3.61

$2.88 MWK 4,952

40.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.91 €11.49

$16.02 MWK 27.5K

-19.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.90 €7.03

$5.09 MWK 8,746

55.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.64 €15.69

$3.92 MWK 6,735

350.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.55 MWK 4,370

-11.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 €1.55

$1.21 MWK 2,083

44.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.46 MWK 2,501

29.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 €2.27

$2.22 MWK 3,809

15.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.85 €1.64

$2.07 MWK 3,546

-10.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$0.99 MWK 1,700

98.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 €1.29

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 €0.69

$1.03 MWK 1,763

-25.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.71 €5.97

$2.37 MWK 4,072

183.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.04

$23.72 MWK 40.7K

-76.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.19 MWK 2,042

15.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 €1.88

$2.57 MWK 4,412

-17.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.90 MWK 1,551

157.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.43 €39.52

$4.28 MWK 7,341

938.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 €3.51

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.93

$2.54 MWK 4,355

-58.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.15 €15.26

$2.20 MWK 3,776

679.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.19 €1.95

$1.56 MWK 2,679

40.38%

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

$33.8K €30.0K

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

$38.3K €34.0K

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

$164 €146

$45.36 MWK 77.9K

261.13%

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

$18.48 €16.43

$11.62 MWK 20.0K

59.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.96 €29.32

$60.3 MWK 103.6K

-45.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.87 €40.80

$30.44 MWK 52.3K

50.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.68 €16.61

Cinema Ticket

$9.75 €8.67

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

$684 €608

$350 MWK 601.5K

95.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 €92.3

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.20 €41.09

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.7 €88.7

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$125 €111

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,589 €1,414

$544 MWK 933.2K

192.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,169 €1,040

$85.6 MWK 147.0K

1265.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,851 €2,536

$578 MWK 992.6K

393.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,993 €1,773

$694 MWK 1.2M

187.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,793 €6,932

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,418 €3,930

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,600 €1,423

$370 MWK 635.2K

332.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

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

Last update for Lisbon: October 19, 2026

Last update for Lilongwe: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.1%

Lilongwe

$86 13.4% 92.7% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$273 12.4%

Lilongwe

$251 * 39.1% 8.1% $22

Eating Out

Lisbon

$247 11.2%

Lilongwe

$136 21.3% 45% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$215 9.8%

Lilongwe

$117 18.3% 45.5% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$168 7.7%

Lilongwe

- * 0% 100%

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$65 3%

Lilongwe

$30 * 4.8% 53.4% $35

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Lilongwe

$21 * 3.2% 67.3% $42

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 $1,589 in Lisbon and $544 in Lilongwe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 332% 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: $62.0 in Lisbon vs $34.00 in Lilongwe for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $273 vs $251 per month, with Lilongwe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇲🇼 Lilongwe

🕒 Local time

17:57 5:57 PM

18:57 6:57 PM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

781,538 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MWK, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

Lisbon Lilongwe 7,360 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

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Lisbon
Lilongwe

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

Lisbon vs Lilongwe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lilongwe is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 243% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 332% higher in Lisbon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,589 in Lisbon versus $544 in Lilongwe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 9% higher in Lisbon. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Lilongwe – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $62.0 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $641 in Lilongwe versus $2,202 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lilongwe but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Lilongwe the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lilongwe is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Lisbon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lisbon and Lilongwe are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Lilongwe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 243% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.