Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Tbilisi and Lilongwe

For one person, living is cheaper in Lilongwe: $641 a month against $1,270 in Tbilisi, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Tbilisi
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Tbilisi Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Lilongwe
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Lilongwe Living Index

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Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$1,270

/mo nomad

Lilongwe

🇲🇼 Malawi

$641

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Tbilisi 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 Tbilisi and in Lilongwe actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,270 in Tbilisi versus $641 in Lilongwe.

Tbilisi $1,270
Lilongwe $641

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,008 in Tbilisi versus $1,277 in Lilongwe.

Tbilisi $2,008
Lilongwe $1,277

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,745 in Tbilisi versus $1,913 in Lilongwe.

Tbilisi $2,745
Lilongwe $1,913

Living in Tbilisi is roughly 98% more expensive than in Lilongwe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Tbilisi 6% lower, Lilongwe 53% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.51 ₾29.79

$4.98 MWK 8,555

131.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.27 ₾99.1

$34.36 MWK 59.0K

11.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.80 ₾25.36

$10.11 MWK 17.4K

-3.07%

Cappuccino

$3.55 ₾9.19

$3.29 MWK 5,654

7.90%

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

$1.06 ₾2.74

$1.23 MWK 2,109

-13.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.62 ₾1.60

$0.60 MWK 1,026

3.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.76 ₾7.16

$2.24 MWK 3,850

23.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₾7.77

$4.00 MWK 6,875

-25.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 ₾5.59

$1.28 MWK 2,204

68.75%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 ₾1.96

$1.83 MWK 3,145

-58.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 ₾4.51

$1.75 MWK 3,005

-0.57%

Eggs

$2.79 ₾7.21

$2.88 MWK 4,952

-3.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.20 ₾23.83

$16.02 MWK 27.5K

-42.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.53 ₾16.89

$5.09 MWK 8,746

28.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 ₾33.17

$3.92 MWK 6,735

226.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.67 ₾4.31

$2.55 MWK 4,370

-34.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 ₾4.79

$1.21 MWK 2,083

52.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.98 ₾5.13

$1.46 MWK 2,501

35.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ₾6.49

$2.22 MWK 3,809

13.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.87 ₾2.26

$2.07 MWK 3,546

-57.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.73 ₾1.89

$0.99 MWK 1,700

-26.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.42 ₾3.67

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 ₾1.88

$1.03 MWK 1,763

-30.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 ₾8.74

$2.37 MWK 4,072

42.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.84 ₾20.31

$23.72 MWK 40.7K

-66.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 ₾4.19

$1.19 MWK 2,042

36.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 ₾6.15

$2.57 MWK 4,412

-7.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 ₾0.96

$0.90 MWK 1,551

-58.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.52 ₾40.16

$4.28 MWK 7,341

262.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 ₾2.94

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 ₾2.05

$2.54 MWK 4,355

-68.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.57 ₾29.96

$2.20 MWK 3,776

425.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₾3.87

$1.56 MWK 2,679

-3.85%

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

$24.6K ₾63.7K

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

$22.4K ₾57.9K

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

$88.3 ₾228

$45.36 MWK 77.9K

94.55%

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

$13.08 ₾33.86

$11.62 MWK 20.0K

12.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.53 ₾50.6

$60.3 MWK 103.6K

-67.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.2 ₾166

$30.44 MWK 52.3K

110.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.18 ₾49.66

Cinema Ticket

$6.99 ₾18.10

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

$373 ₾966

$350 MWK 601.5K

6.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.7K ₾27.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$103 ₾266

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.48 ₾105

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ₾301

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 ₾316

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$677 ₾1,753

$544 MWK 933.2K

24.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$454 ₾1,176

$85.6 MWK 147.0K

430.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 ₾3,305

$578 MWK 992.6K

120.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$890 ₾2,304

$694 MWK 1.2M

28.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 ₾6,238

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,418 ₾3,670

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$703 ₾1,819

$370 MWK 635.2K

89.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.62

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

Last update for Tbilisi: October 17, 2026

Last update for Lilongwe: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Tbilisi

$454 35.8%

Lilongwe

$86 13.4% 81.2% $369

Groceries & Markets

Tbilisi

$233 18.3%

Lilongwe

$251 * 39.1% 7.8% $18

Eating Out

Tbilisi

$191 15%

Lilongwe

$136 21.3% 28.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Tbilisi

$172 13.5%

Lilongwe

- * 0% 100%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Tbilisi

$121 9.5%

Lilongwe

$117 18.3% 2.9% $3.5

Sport & Entertainment

Tbilisi

$78 6.2%

Lilongwe

$30 * 4.8% 61.1% $48

Getting Around

Tbilisi

$22 1.7%

Lilongwe

$21 * 3.2% 6.9% $1.5

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 $677 in Tbilisi and $544 in Lilongwe. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Tbilisi pays 90% 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: $38.00 in Tbilisi vs $34.00 in Lilongwe. Groceries flip the comparison at $233 vs $251, with Tbilisi cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇪 Tbilisi

🇲🇼 Lilongwe

🕒 Local time

19:15 7:15 PM

17:15 5:15 PM

2 h behind Tbilisi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,241,700 Capital

781,538 Capital

💱 Currency

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

📈 Exchange rate

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MWK, USD, EUR to GEL – Georgian Lari Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇪 Georgian Lari (₾)

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

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 GEL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Tbilisi Lilongwe 6,290 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

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Tbilisi
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

Tbilisi vs Lilongwe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lilongwe is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 98% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 90% higher in Tbilisi, 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: $677 in Tbilisi versus $544 in Lilongwe. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Tbilisi pay roughly 8% 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 $38.00 in Tbilisi. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $641 in Lilongwe versus $1,270 in Tbilisi, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lilongwe but tight or insufficient in Tbilisi. 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 Tbilisi, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Tbilisi 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 98% less than in Tbilisi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.