Cost of living comparison

Bulgaria

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Bulgaria Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 42.8% more expensive than Bulgaria overall.

Restaurants: pay 9.5% less in Panama
Groceries: pay 53.6% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 9.6% less in Panama
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Panama
Childcare: pay 25.8% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.1% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 4.5% more in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Bulgaria Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.5% less for restaurants

	Bulgaria	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.15 BGN17.66	$8.20 PAB8.20	-19.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.64 BGN16.77	$8.90 PAB8.90	-7.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.44 BGN2.50	$1.41 PAB1.41	-2.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 BGN1.75	$1.30 PAB1.30	+29.8%
Average			-9.5%

Bulgaria vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.6% more for groceries

	Bulgaria	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 BGN1.65	$2.28 PAB2.28	+140.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.69 BGN8.16	$6.18 PAB6.18	+31.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.44 BGN11.21	$7.09 PAB7.09	+10.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.03 BGN5.28	$2.56 PAB2.56	-15.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 BGN5.70	$3.42 PAB3.42	+4.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.70 BGN1.22	$1.86 PAB1.86	+165.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 BGN1.47	$0.59 PAB0.59	-30.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 BGN1.39	$1.76 PAB1.76	+120.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 BGN1.82	$1.67 PAB1.67	+59.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 BGN0.89	$1.09 PAB1.09	+114.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.44 BGN0.77	$1.14 PAB1.14	+159.7%
Average			+53.6%

Bulgaria vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.6% less for transportation

	Bulgaria	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.06 BGN10.54	$4.34 PAB4.34	-28.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.17 BGN40.33	$23.00 PAB23.00	-0.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,114.16 BGN52,407.07	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-20.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.01 BGN12.19	$16.62 PAB16.62	+137.2%
Average			-9.6%

Bulgaria vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Bulgaria	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.39 BGN23.30	$49.81 PAB49.81	+272.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$353.09 BGN614.48	$789.50 PAB789.50	+123.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$263.80 BGN459.09	$614.84 PAB614.84	+133.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.79 BGN144.08	$96.53 PAB96.53	+16.6%
Average			+111.5%

Bulgaria vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 25.8% more for childcare

	Bulgaria	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$384.45 BGN669.05	$543.33 PAB543.33	+41.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,445.67 BGN11,217.27	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+11.9%
Average			+25.8%

Bulgaria vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Bulgaria	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.06 BGN3.59	$2.21 PAB2.21	+7.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.17 BGN3.77	$3.73 PAB3.73	+72.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.64 BGN6.33	$5.29 PAB5.29	+45.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.52 BGN54.86	$50.91 PAB50.91	+61.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.19 BGN12.52	$6.13 PAB6.13	-14.7%
Average			+27.1%

Bulgaria vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.5% more for clothing

	Bulgaria	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.90 BGN86.85	$45.56 PAB45.56	-8.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.26 BGN50.92	$36.71 PAB36.71	+25.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.75 BGN135.31	$69.81 PAB69.81	-10.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$76.05 BGN132.34	$88.33 PAB88.33	+16.2%
Average			+4.5%

Bulgaria 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: Bulgaria vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Be 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Bulgaria is about 1.5 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Bulgaria to Panama · UN DESA 2020

87 people born in Bulgaria live in Panama.

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