Cost of living comparison
compared to
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador Cost of Living Summary
Nicaragua is 5.9% more expensive than Ecuador overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.1% more in Nicaragua
- Groceries
-
pay 40.0% more in Nicaragua
- Transportation
-
pay 8.4% less in Nicaragua
- Housing
-
pay 15.8% more in Nicaragua
- Childcare
-
pay 15.8% less in Nicaragua
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.4% less in Nicaragua
- Clothing
-
pay 21.7% more in Nicaragua
The cost of groceries, clothing, housing, and restaurants in Nicaragua are more expensive than in Ecuador. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Ecuador, you would:
pay 3.1% more for restaurants
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.56
|
$4.57
NIO167.77
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.93
|
$6.80
NIO250.06
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.91
|
$0.82
NIO30.09
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.63
|
$0.60
NIO22.04
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of restaurants
pay 40.0% more for groceries
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.62
|
$1.74
NIO64.08
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.11
|
$3.29
NIO121.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.00
|
$4.55
NIO167.14
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.28
|
$1.98
NIO72.69
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.55
|
$2.48
NIO90.95
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.83
|
$1.77
NIO65.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.49
|
$0.39
NIO14.46
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.52
|
$0.82
NIO30.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.51
|
$0.87
NIO32.08
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.57
|
$1.24
NIO45.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.46
|
$0.88
NIO32.16
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of groceries
pay 8.4% less for transportation
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.52
|
$4.95
NIO181.89
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$26.64
|
$5.00
NIO183.87
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$23,000.00
|
$22,973.64
NIO844,188.92
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.89
|
$5.56
NIO204.46
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of transportation
pay 15.8% more for housing
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$29.34
|
$36.35
NIO1,335.83
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$360.30
|
$326.67
NIO12,003.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$278.34
|
$283.96
NIO10,434.33
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$38.16
|
$55.87
NIO2,052.99
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of housing
pay 15.8% less for childcare
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$233.05
|
$118.12
NIO4,340.62
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,103.33
|
$6,000.00
NIO220,475.92
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of childcare
pay 15.4% less for entertainment and sports
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.01
|
$1.31
NIO47.99
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.43
|
$2.16
NIO79.41
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$5.75
|
$2.66
NIO97.72
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$32.69
|
$33.69
NIO1,238.14
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.67
|
$8.00
NIO293.97
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 21.7% more for clothing
|
Ecuador
|
Nicaragua
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.39
|
$61.83
NIO2,271.86
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$42.48
|
$61.88
NIO2,273.66
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.41
|
$108.23
NIO3,977.13
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$76.05
|
$89.99
NIO3,306.93
|
|
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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