Cost of living comparison

Barbados

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Barbados Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 31.4% cheaper than Barbados overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.5% less in Panama
Groceries: pay 34.8% less in Panama
Transportation: pay 45.1% less in Panama
Housing: pay 23.3% less in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.4% less in Panama
Clothing: pay 0.7% more in Panama

Expenses including restaurants, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Panama.

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Panama vs. Barbados Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama instead of Barbados, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.5% less for restaurants

	Barbados	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.50 BBD45.00	$8.20 PAB8.20	-63.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.25 BBD22.50	$8.90 PAB8.90	-20.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 BBD4.57	$1.41 PAB1.41	-38.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.62 BBD3.25	$1.30 PAB1.30	-19.7%
Average			-45.5%

Barbados vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.8% less for groceries

	Barbados	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$3.24 BBD6.48	$2.28 PAB2.28	-29.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.91 BBD7.82	$6.18 PAB6.18	+58.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$14.47 BBD28.93	$7.09 PAB7.09	-51.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.13 BBD12.26	$2.56 PAB2.56	-58.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.50 BBD9.00	$3.42 PAB3.42	-23.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.38 BBD4.76	$1.86 PAB1.86	-22.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.70 BBD3.41	$0.59 PAB0.59	-65.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.44 BBD4.87	$1.76 PAB1.76	-27.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.46 BBD4.91	$1.67 PAB1.67	-31.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.96 BBD3.91	$1.09 PAB1.09	-44.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.62 BBD3.24	$1.14 PAB1.14	-29.5%
Average			-34.8%

Barbados vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.1% less for transportation

	Barbados	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.73 BBD15.46	$4.34 PAB4.34	-43.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$23.00 PAB23.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,750.00 BBD87,500.00	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-45.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.40 BBD64.80	$16.62 PAB16.62	-48.7%
Average			-45.1%

Barbados vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.3% less for housing

	Barbados	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$83.96 BBD167.92	$49.81 PAB49.81	-40.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$925.00 BBD1,850.00	$789.50 PAB789.50	-14.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$900.00 BBD1,800.00	$614.84 PAB614.84	-31.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$112.79 BBD225.59	$96.53 PAB96.53	-14.4%
Average			-23.3%

Barbados vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Barbados	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$543.33 PAB543.33
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83

Barbados vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Barbados	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.75 BBD5.50	$2.21 PAB2.21	-19.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.13 BBD10.27	$3.73 PAB3.73	-27.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.00 BBD14.00	$5.29 PAB5.29	-24.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.17 BBD138.33	$50.91 PAB50.91	-26.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.88 BBD23.75	$6.13 PAB6.13	-48.4%
Average			-31.4%

Barbados vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.7% more for clothing

	Barbados	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.38 BBD98.75	$45.56 PAB45.56	-7.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.88 BBD53.75	$36.71 PAB36.71	+36.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.12 BBD186.25	$69.81 PAB69.81	-25.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.25 BBD162.50	$88.33 PAB88.33	+8.7%
Average			+0.7%

Barbados vs. Panama - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Barbados vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

Make 30.2% less money in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Barbados is about 175 times smaller than Panama.

Moving from Barbados to Panama · UN DESA 2020

38 people born in Barbados live in Panama.

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