Cost of living comparison

Cuba

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Cuba Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 68.2% more expensive than Cuba overall.

Restaurants: pay 76.3% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 2.0% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 18.9% less in Panama
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Panama
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.1 times more in Panama
Clothing: pay 18.3% more in Panama

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in Panama are more expensive than in Cuba. Notably, entertainment and sports, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Panama.

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Panama vs. Cuba Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 76.3% more for restaurants

	Cuba	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.71 CUC3.71	$8.20 PAB8.20	+121.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 CUC5.00	$8.90 PAB8.90	+78.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 CUC1.70	$1.41 PAB1.41	-17.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 CUC1.00	$1.30 PAB1.30	+30.5%
Average			+76.3%

Cuba vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0% more for groceries

	Cuba	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 CUC1.49	$2.28 PAB2.28	+53.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.22 CUC2.22	$6.18 PAB6.18	+178.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$14.20 CUC14.20	$7.09 PAB7.09	-50.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.71 CUC3.71	$2.56 PAB2.56	-31.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 CUC2.07	$3.42 PAB3.42	+65.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.75 CUC2.75	$1.86 PAB1.86	-32.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 CUC0.48	$0.59 PAB0.59	+22.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.79 CUC1.79	$1.76 PAB1.76	-1.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 CUC1.04	$1.67 PAB1.67	+60.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CUC1.73	$1.09 PAB1.09	-36.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.85 CUC1.85	$1.14 PAB1.14	-38.2%
Average			+2.0%

Cuba vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.9% less for transportation

	Cuba	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.83 CUC4.83	$4.34 PAB4.34	-10.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 CUC22.50	$23.00 PAB23.00	+2.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-60.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.20 CUC6.20	$16.62 PAB16.62	+168.1%
Average			-18.9%

Cuba vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Cuba	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$90.21 CUC90.21	$49.81 PAB49.81	-44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$254.03 CUC254.03	$789.50 PAB789.50	+210.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$214.40 CUC214.40	$614.84 PAB614.84	+186.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.20 CUC36.20	$96.53 PAB96.53	+166.7%
Average			+169.8%

Cuba vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Cuba	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.00 CUC112.00	$543.33 PAB543.33	+385.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,000.00 CUC7,000.00	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+3.1%
Average			+123.6%

Cuba vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Cuba	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.60 CUC1.60	$2.21 PAB2.21	+37.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.11 CUC1.11	$3.73 PAB3.73	+235.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 CUC2.00	$5.29 PAB5.29	+164.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$19.00 CUC19.00	$50.91 PAB50.91	+167.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$0.85 CUC0.85	$6.13 PAB6.13	+621.6%
Average			+214.1%

Cuba vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.3% more for clothing

	Cuba	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.00 CUC37.00	$45.56 PAB45.56	+23.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.00 CUC37.00	$36.71 PAB36.71	-0.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.67 CUC68.67	$69.81 PAB69.81	+1.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.00 CUC56.00	$88.33 PAB88.33	+57.7%
Average			+18.3%

Cuba 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: Cuba vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Be 4.8 times more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Cuba is about 1.5 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Cuba to Panama · UN DESA 2020

2,194 people born in Cuba live in Panama.

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