Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Malawi

Name: Malawi
Address: MW

For one person, living is cheaper in Malawi: $666 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $41,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Malawi
Learn more

Malawi Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

🇲🇼 Malawi

$666

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: London is 160.3% more expensive than Malawi without rent, and 513.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: London is 201.1% more expensive than Malawi without rent, and 364.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$5.09 MWK 8,739

422.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$26.28 MWK 45.1K

309.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$6.55 MWK 11.2K

58.63%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.22 MWK 5,531

79.81%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.87 MWK 1,490

245.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.46 MWK 792

367.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.46 MWK 2,506

540.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.92 MWK 5,017

168.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.14 MWK 1,961

57.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.31 MWK 2,253

57.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.72 MWK 2,951

34.30%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.15 MWK 3,693

134.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$7.61 MWK 13.1K

65.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$3.75 MWK 6,446

184.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$5.71 MWK 9,806

200.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.49 MWK 4,280

21.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.79 MWK 3,074

-21.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$2.26 MWK 3,875

34.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.11 MWK 1,913

204.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.35 MWK 2,321

23.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.46 MWK 2,506

18.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.31 MWK 527

354.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.29 MWK 2,214

38.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$2.34 MWK 4,023

892.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$14.48 MWK 24.9K

-10.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.09 MWK 1,865

191.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.10 MWK 3,614

110.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.83 MWK 1,432

366.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$2.17 MWK 3,734

11423.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.61 MWK 1,055

836.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$2.42 MWK 4,153

37.60%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$2.14 MWK 3,675

2606.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.52 MWK 2,605

34.21%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$35.5K MWK 60.9M

5.85%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$39.7K MWK 68.2M

2.96%

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

$376 £284

$38.60 MWK 66.3K

874.33%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$10.11 MWK 17.4K

76.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$76.9 MWK 132.0K

-47.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$36.17 MWK 62.1K

69.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$15.02 MWK 25.8K

40.28%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

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

$2,865 £2,165

$378 MWK 648.6K

658.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$594 MWK 1.0M

5846.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$43.70 MWK 75.0K

165.45%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$39.41 MWK 67.7K

37.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$48.86 MWK 83.9K

159.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$69.1 MWK 118.6K

130.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$230 MWK 394.6K

1141.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$79.0 MWK 135.7K

2812.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$557 MWK 955.6K

834.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$380 MWK 652.1K

880.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$390 MWK 670.2K

1918.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$282 MWK 484.0K

1609.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for Malawi: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Malawi

$79 11.9% 96.6% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Malawi

$126 18.9% 71.1% $308

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Malawi

$117 17.7% 70.4% $279

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Malawi

$199 29.9% 43.1% $151

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Malawi

$18 2.7% 93.7% $270

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Malawi

$90 13.6% 55.9% $115

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Malawi

$36 * 5.4% 62.7% $61

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

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇲🇼 Malawi

🕒 Local time

06:28 6:28 AM

07:28 7:28 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

18,622,104

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MWK, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,926 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.19 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Malawi 7,990 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

London vs other spots: cost of living compared

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