Cost of living comparison

Samoa

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 60.8% more expensive than Apia.

Restaurants: pay 65.4% less in Managua
Groceries: pay 20.5% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 10.4% less in Managua
Housing: pay 4.8 times more in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.8% less in Managua

The cost of housing and groceries in Managua are more expensive than in Apia. Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Managua. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Managua.

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Managua vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Managua instead of Apia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 65.4% less for restaurants

	Apia	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$47.26 WST130.00	$10.00 NIO368.77	-78.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.54 WST40.00	$7.61 NIO280.64	-47.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.82 WST5.00	$0.88 NIO32.56	-51.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.36 WST3.75	$0.71 NIO26.24	-47.8%
Average			-65.4%

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.5% more for groceries

	Apia	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$0.82 WST2.25	$2.37 NIO87.52	+190.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$0.45 WST1.25	$5.80 NIO213.77	+1175.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 WST18.93	$4.68 NIO172.72	-31.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.27 WST11.76	$2.37 NIO87.23	-44.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.65 WST4.54	$2.87 NIO105.85	+74.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.31 WST6.35	$1.82 NIO67.12	-21.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 WST2.27	$0.27 NIO10.04	-67.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 WST2.27	$0.82 NIO30.11	-1.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.98 WST5.44	$1.11 NIO41.07	-43.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.65 WST4.54	$1.79 NIO65.94	+8.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 WST1.36	$1.01 NIO37.15	+103.7%
Average			+20.5%

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.4% less for transportation

	Apia	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.13 WST11.36	$5.06 NIO186.50	+22.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$6.01 NIO221.55
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$22,973.64 NIO847K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$49.07 WST135.00	$14.69 NIO541.72	-70.1%
Average			-10.4%

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.8 times more for housing

	Apia	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.35 WST100.00	$32.47 NIO1,197.31	-10.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	??	$256.40 NIO9,455.33
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$181.00 NIO6,674.79
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$13.90 WST38.24	$115.83 NIO4,271.37	+733.3%
Average			+376.8%

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Apia	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$235.82 NIO8,696.30
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$6,060.00 NIO223K

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Apia	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.45 WST9.50	$1.50 NIO55.32	-56.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 WST8.00	$2.60 NIO95.88	-10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.18 WST17.00	$2.73 NIO100.57	-55.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$34.79 NIO1,282.95
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$9.00 NIO331.90
Average			-41.8%

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Apia	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$59.88 NIO2,208.26
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$65.00 NIO2,397.02
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$122.64 NIO4,522.78
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$144.83 NIO5,340.78

Apia vs. Managua - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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