Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Chisinau Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 11.4% more expensive than Chisinau.

Restaurants: pay 13.3% less in Managua
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Managua
Transportation: pay 14.2% less in Managua
Housing: pay 21.4% more in Managua
Childcare: pay 39.6% less in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.2% less in Managua
Clothing: pay 13.6% more in Managua

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

Managua vs. Chisinau Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 13.3% less for restaurants

	Chisinau	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.95 MDL154.46	$4.91 NIO179.52	-45.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.76 MDL133.87	$7.30 NIO267.14	-5.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 MDL15.07	$0.82 NIO29.94	-6.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 MDL10.75	$0.65 NIO23.77	+4.3%
Average			-13.3%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Chisinau	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$0.58 MDL10.00	$2.41 NIO88.27	+316.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.29 MDL91.17	$5.80 NIO211.99	+9.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.69 MDL80.96	$4.68 NIO171.28	-0.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.64 MDL45.50	$2.29 NIO83.79	-13.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.55 MDL43.94	$2.87 NIO104.97	+12.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.40 MDL6.96	$1.77 NIO64.73	+338.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 MDL14.62	$0.39 NIO14.39	-53.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.85 MDL14.72	$0.82 NIO29.86	-4.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 MDL16.39	$1.01 NIO37.04	+6.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 MDL6.18	$1.78 NIO64.95	+395.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 MDL4.54	$1.00 NIO36.59	+280.5%
Average			+117.1%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.2% less for transportation

	Chisinau	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.36 MDL92.51	$5.05 NIO184.79	-5.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.97 MDL240.96	$6.01 NIO219.70	-57.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,402.03 MDL542K	$22,973.64 NIO840K	-26.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.48 MDL77.23	$5.94 NIO217.35	+32.7%
Average			-14.2%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.4% more for housing

	Chisinau	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.50 MDL181.18	$36.87 NIO1,348.45	+251.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$675.28 MDL11,647.85	$256.67 NIO9,386.30	-62.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.96 MDL8,503.05	$190.00 NIO6,948.30	-61.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$130.19 MDL2,245.68	$75.42 NIO2,757.96	-42.1%
Average			+21.4%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 39.6% less for childcare

	Chisinau	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$407.06 MDL7,021.31	$124.17 NIO4,540.78	-69.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,644.14 MDL115K	$6,000.00 NIO219K	-9.7%
Average			-39.6%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Chisinau	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.79 MDL30.89	$1.36 NIO49.74	-24.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.85 MDL31.84	$2.31 NIO84.35	+25.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.34 MDL57.67	$2.66 NIO97.25	-20.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.44 MDL680.35	$35.79 NIO1,308.83	-9.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.76 MDL133.87	$8.00 NIO292.56	+3.1%
Average			-5.2%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.6% more for clothing

	Chisinau	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.56 MDL1,148.09	$77.43 NIO2,831.79	+16.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.80 MDL928.03	$72.50 NIO2,651.32	+34.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$115.49 MDL1,992.11	$132.64 NIO4,850.80	+14.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$122.07 MDL2,105.50	$108.16 NIO3,955.38	-11.4%
Average			+13.6%

Chisinau vs. Managua - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026

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