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 2.7% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 36.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Malawi is 19% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 29.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.00 MWK 8,725

$8.70 R 145

-42.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.53 MWK 37.5K

$38.91 R 646

-44.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.49 MWK 14.8K

$5.17 R 85.9

64.22%

Cappuccino

$2.88 MWK 5,029

$2.05 R 34.08

40.49%

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

$0.89 MWK 1,546

$1.02 R 17.00

-12.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.47 MWK 821

$0.76 R 12.60

-38.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.33 MWK 2,311

$2.26 R 37.49

-41.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.90 MWK 5,064

$2.53 R 42.10

14.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 MWK 1,765

$1.10 R 18.35

-8.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 MWK 2,203

$0.94 R 15.63

34.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 MWK 2,826

$1.62 R 26.97

Eggs

$2.25 MWK 3,928

$2.22 R 36.90

1.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.51 MWK 13.1K

$7.52 R 125

-0.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.31 MWK 5,772

$4.48 R 74.4

-26.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.34 MWK 9,306

$6.61 R 110

-19.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.45 MWK 4,281

$1.50 R 24.94

63.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 MWK 3,071

$1.42 R 23.60

23.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.19 MWK 3,812

$1.46 R 24.27

50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 MWK 2,091

$1.51 R 25.10

-20.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 MWK 2,354

$1.26 R 20.86

7.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 MWK 2,397

$1.29 R 21.51

6.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.30 MWK 531

$1.03 R 17.08

-70.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 MWK 1,936

$0.97 R 16.05

14.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.32 MWK 4,049

$2.87 R 47.67

-19.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.40 MWK 21.6K

$4.90 R 81.4

153.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 MWK 1,715

$1.31 R 21.82

-25.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 MWK 3,509

$1.73 R 28.82

16.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.00 MWK 1,741

$1.65 R 27.38

-39.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$2.10 MWK 3,667

$44.20 R 734

-95.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 MWK 997

$1.14 R 18.93

-50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.46 MWK 4,298

$1.09 R 18.12

125.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.00 MWK 10.5K

$4.70 R 78.2

27.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.62 MWK 2,816

$1.30 R 21.52

24.62%

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

$35.6K MWK 62.1M

$20.8K R 345.4K

71.22%

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

$38.4K MWK 67.0M

$23.5K R 390.5K

63.43%

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

$48.58 MWK 84.7K

$111 R 1,849

-56.37%

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

$10.35 MWK 18.0K

$32.36 R 537

-68.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.7 MWK 123.3K

$40.49 R 673

74.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.28 MWK 77.2K

$31.96 R 531

38.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.10 MWK 26.3K

$9.72 R 161

55.35%

Cinema Ticket

$3.89 MWK 6,787

$6.80 R 113

-42.79%

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

$378 MWK 659.1K

$189 R 3,131

100.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,501 MWK 2.6M

$4,400 R 73.1K

-65.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.48 MWK 74.1K

$50.2 R 833

-15.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$34.30 MWK 59.8K

$30.53 R 507

12.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$58.5 MWK 102.0K

$94.5 R 1,570

-38.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.0 MWK 123.8K

$81.3 R 1,350

-12.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$204 MWK 355.0K

$453 R 7,520

-55.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$81.7 MWK 142.5K

$372 R 6,181

-78.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$438 MWK 764.2K

$906 R 15.0K

-51.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$345 MWK 601.3K

$703 R 11.7K

-50.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,150 R 19.1K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$390 MWK 680.4K

$836 R 13.9K

-53.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$306 MWK 533.2K

$1,471 R 24.4K

-79.22%

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: March 1, 2026

Last update for South Africa: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated January 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated January 2026)

Malawi

South Africa

Malawi

South Africa

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