Cost of living comparison

Peru

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 15.1% cheaper than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 48.7% more in Managua
Groceries: pay 31.6% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 37.6% less in Managua
Housing: pay 42.4% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 21.9% less in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.7% less in Managua
Clothing: pay 54.4% more in Managua

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

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Managua vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 48.7% more for restaurants

	Lima	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.36 PEN15.00	$10.00 NIO368.55	+129.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.94 PEN23.91	$7.61 NIO280.46	+9.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 PEN3.75	$0.88 NIO32.54	-18.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$0.71 NIO26.22	+12.4%
Average			+48.7%

Lima vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.6% more for groceries

	Lima	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$2.57 PEN8.87	$2.37 NIO87.46	-7.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.53 PEN15.62	$5.80 NIO213.64	+27.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.09 PEN20.97	$4.68 NIO172.61	-23.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.91 PEN10.03	$2.37 NIO87.18	-18.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.68 PEN9.25	$2.87 NIO105.79	+6.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 PEN3.14	$1.82 NIO67.08	+99.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.64	$0.27 NIO10.03	-42.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.63 PEN2.18	$0.82 NIO30.09	+29.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 PEN2.33	$1.11 NIO41.05	+64.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 PEN1.44	$1.79 NIO65.90	+327.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 PEN1.38	$1.01 NIO37.13	+151.6%
Average			+31.6%

Lima vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.6% less for transportation

	Lima	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.39 PEN22.00	$5.06 NIO186.38	-20.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.51 PEN91.33	$6.01 NIO221.41	-77.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 PEN75,751.70	$22,973.64 NIO847K	+4.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.18 PEN69.52	$14.69 NIO541.39	-27.2%
Average			-37.6%

Lima vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.4% less for housing

	Lima	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.55 PEN94.90	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	+17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$734.53 PEN2,530.34	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-65.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$337.21 PEN1,161.65	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	-46.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.42 PEN190.93	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+109.0%
Average			-42.4%

Lima vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 21.9% less for childcare

	Lima	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$179.06 PEN616.82	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	+31.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,095.48 PEN45,111.65	$6,060.00 NIO223K	-53.7%
Average			-21.9%

Lima vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.61 PEN9.00	$1.50 NIO55.28	-42.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.24 PEN11.16	$2.60 NIO95.82	-19.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.76 PEN19.85	$2.73 NIO100.51	-52.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.49 PEN111.92	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	+7.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.26 PEN25.01	$9.00 NIO331.69	+24.0%
Average			-14.7%

Lima vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 54.4% more for clothing

	Lima	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.80 PEN181.88	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+13.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.89 PEN120.20	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+86.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.72 PEN288.40	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+46.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.93 PEN271.88	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+83.5%
Average			+54.4%

Lima vs. Managua - 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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