Cost of Living Comparison Between Malawi and South Africa Cost of Living Comparison Between Malawi and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

😐 Solo nomad: Malawi is 0.4% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 36.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Malawi is 2.7% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 28.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.91 MWK 8,439

$9.05 R 161

-45.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.68 MWK 37.2K

$38.84 R 691

-44.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.75 MWK 15K

$4.9 R 87.1

78.57%

Cappuccino

$2.81 MWK 4,828

$1.98 R 35.28

41.92%

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

$0.86 MWK 1,480

$0.96 R 17.06

-10.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.43 MWK 734

$0.75 R 13.31

-42.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 MWK 2,266

$2.18 R 38.72

-39.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 MWK 5,109

$2.54 R 45.1

17.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 MWK 1,736

$1.1 R 19.58

-8.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 MWK 2,182

$1.03 R 18.32

23.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 MWK 2,649

$1.56 R 27.71

-1.28%

Eggs

$2.26 MWK 3,888

$2.25 R 39.93

0.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.4 MWK 12.7K

$7.67 R 136

-3.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.35 MWK 5,748

$4.62 R 82.2

-27.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.52 MWK 9,471

$6.86 R 122

-19.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 MWK 4,207

$1.58 R 28.02

55.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.74 MWK 2,986

$1.42 R 25.3

22.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.26 MWK 3,884

$1.44 R 25.58

56.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.24 MWK 2,122

$1.49 R 26.5

-16.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 MWK 2,379

$1.25 R 22.16

11.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.39 MWK 2,378

$1.34 R 23.81

3.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 MWK 577

$1.09 R 19.31

-68.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 MWK 1,932

$0.96 R 17.15

17.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.42 MWK 4,158

$2.9 R 51.6

-16.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.42 MWK 21.3K

$5.07 R 90.3

144.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 MWK 1,612

$1.38 R 24.49

-31.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 MWK 3,347

$1.68 R 29.79

16.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 MWK 1,744

$1.71 R 30.47

-40.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$2.13 MWK 3,661

$45.01 R 801

-95.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 MWK 977

$1.1 R 19.61

-48.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 MWK 4,234

$1.09 R 19.41

126.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.94 MWK 10.2K

$4.8 R 85.3

23.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.63 MWK 2,806

$1.31 R 23.23

24.43%

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

$35.2K MWK 60.5M

$21K R 374.2K

67.46%

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

$38.4K MWK 66M

$23.7K R 421.3K

62.20%

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

$47.9 MWK 82.2K

$113 R 2,009

-57.59%

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

$10.39 MWK 17.8K

$33.11 R 589

-68.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.4 MWK 122.6K

$41.49 R 738

72.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.82 MWK 77K

$31.69 R 564

41.43%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.77 MWK 25.4K

$9.45 R 168

56.30%

Cinema Ticket

$3.99 MWK 6,859

$6.7 R 119

-40.45%

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

$380 MWK 652.9K

$186 R 3,303

104.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,471 MWK 2.5M

$4,336 R 77.1K

-66.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.07 MWK 72.2K

$48.56 R 864

-13.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.19 MWK 58.7K

$30.74 R 547

11.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$59.5 MWK 102.2K

$92 R 1,636

-35.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$70.3 MWK 120.7K

$79.6 R 1,415

-11.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$205 MWK 352.1K

$442 R 7,860

-53.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$81.6 MWK 140.1K

$370 R 6,579

-77.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 MWK 755.3K

$880 R 15.7K

-50.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$356 MWK 610.9K

$724 R 12.9K

-50.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.1K MWK 27.6M

$1,021 R 18.2K

1473.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$397 MWK 681.1K

$803 R 14.3K

-50.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$311 MWK 533.4K

$1,406 R 25K

-77.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.55

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

Last update for Malawi: October 27, 2025

Last update for South Africa: October 29, 2025

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