Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

Panama

Panama City vs. Bucharest Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 30.9% more expensive than Bucharest.

Restaurants: pay 12.4% less in Panama City
Groceries: pay 86.4% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 13.4% less in Panama City
Housing: pay 71.3% more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 23.8% less in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.2% less in Panama City
Clothing: pay 8.8% more in Panama City

The cost of groceries, housing, and clothing in Panama City are more expensive than in Bucharest. Expenses including childcare, transportation, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Panama City. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Panama City.

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Panama City vs. Bucharest Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Bucharest, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 12.4% less for restaurants

	Bucharest	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.64 RON69.25	$11.50 PAB11.50	-21.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.32 RON34.63	$8.00 PAB8.00	+9.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.42 RON11.44	$1.97 PAB1.97	-18.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.25 RON10.65	$1.60 PAB1.60	-28.9%
Average			-12.4%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 86.4% more for groceries

	Bucharest	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.32 RON6.24	$2.52 PAB2.52	+90.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.36 RON20.63	$6.18 PAB6.18	+41.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.22 RON29.40	$7.09 PAB7.09	+14.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.67 RON17.35	$2.75 PAB2.75	-25.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.05 RON14.45	$3.07 PAB3.07	+0.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.57 RON2.70	$1.87 PAB1.87	+227.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 RON3.43	$0.82 PAB0.82	+13.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RON3.25	$1.92 PAB1.92	+179.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.15 RON5.42	$1.86 PAB1.86	+62.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 RON1.73	$1.55 PAB1.55	+323.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RON1.62	$1.96 PAB1.96	+471.8%
Average			+86.4%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.4% less for transportation

	Bucharest	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.45 RON35.25	$4.62 PAB4.62	-38.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.91 RON98.93	$21.00 PAB21.00	+0.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,531.98 RON135K	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	-25.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.65 RON26.71	$16.98 PAB16.98	+200.7%
Average			-13.4%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 71.3% more for housing

	Bucharest	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$9.27 RON43.83	$48.70 PAB48.70	+425.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$677.15 RON3,203.34	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	+86.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.32 RON2,135.02	$874.18 PAB874.18	+93.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$147.83 RON699.33	$100.29 PAB100.29	-32.2%
Average			+71.3%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 23.8% less for childcare

	Bucharest	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$627.11 RON2,966.59	$543.33 PAB543.33	-13.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	-32.9%
Average			-23.8%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Bucharest	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.76 RON17.81	$3.30 PAB3.30	-12.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.51 RON16.59	$4.11 PAB4.11	+17.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.43 RON30.42	$6.00 PAB6.00	-6.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.22 RON232.83	$46.40 PAB46.40	-5.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.37 RON39.57	$8.50 PAB8.50	+1.6%
Average			-1.2%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.8% more for clothing

	Bucharest	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$88.76 RON419.90	$66.67 PAB66.67	-24.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.43 RON181.80	$48.43 PAB48.43	+26.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.83 RON368.20	$94.62 PAB94.62	+21.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$91.69 RON433.74	$111.67 PAB111.67	+21.8%
Average			+8.8%

Bucharest vs. Panama City - 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

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