Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Moldova

Chisinau vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Chisinau is 34.5% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 22.8% more in Chisinau
Groceries: pay 18.0% less in Chisinau
Transportation: pay 37.6% more in Chisinau
Housing: pay 80.9% more in Chisinau
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Chisinau
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.9% more in Chisinau
Clothing: pay 9.9% less in Chisinau

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

Chisinau vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.8% more for restaurants

	Managua	Chisinau
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.91 NIO179.52	$8.95 MDL154.46	+82.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.30 NIO267.14	$7.76 MDL133.87	+6.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 NIO29.94	$0.87 MDL15.07	+6.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 NIO23.77	$0.62 MDL10.75	-4.1%
Average			+22.8%

Managua vs. Chisinau - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.0% less for groceries

	Managua	Chisinau
Bread 1 loaf	$2.41 NIO88.27	$0.58 MDL10.00	-76.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.80 NIO211.99	$5.29 MDL91.17	-8.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.68 NIO171.28	$4.69 MDL80.96	+0.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.29 NIO83.79	$2.64 MDL45.50	+15.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 NIO104.97	$2.55 MDL43.94	-11.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 NIO64.73	$0.40 MDL6.96	-77.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.39 NIO14.39	$0.85 MDL14.62	+115.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO29.86	$0.85 MDL14.72	+4.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.04	$0.95 MDL16.39	-6.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 NIO64.95	$0.36 MDL6.18	-79.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 NIO36.59	$0.26 MDL4.54	-73.7%
Average			-18.0%

Managua vs. Chisinau - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.6% more for transportation

	Managua	Chisinau
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.05 NIO184.79	$5.36 MDL92.51	+6.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO219.70	$13.97 MDL240.96	+132.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO840K	$31,402.03 MDL542K	+36.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.94 NIO217.35	$4.48 MDL77.23	-24.7%
Average			+37.6%

Managua vs. Chisinau - Cost of transportation

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pay 80.9% more for housing

	Managua	Chisinau
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.87 NIO1,348.45	$10.50 MDL181.18	-71.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$256.67 NIO9,386.30	$675.28 MDL11,647.85	+163.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$190.00 NIO6,948.30	$492.96 MDL8,503.05	+159.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$75.42 NIO2,757.96	$130.19 MDL2,245.68	+72.6%
Average			+80.9%

Managua vs. Chisinau - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Managua	Chisinau
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$124.17 NIO4,540.78	$407.06 MDL7,021.31	+227.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,000.00 NIO219K	$6,644.14 MDL115K	+10.7%
Average			+119.2%

Managua vs. Chisinau - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Chisinau
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 NIO49.74	$1.79 MDL30.89	+31.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.31 NIO84.35	$1.85 MDL31.84	-20.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.66 NIO97.25	$3.34 MDL57.67	+25.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.79 NIO1,308.83	$39.44 MDL680.35	+10.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.00 NIO292.56	$7.76 MDL133.87	-3.0%
Average			+8.9%

Managua vs. Chisinau - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.9% less for clothing

	Managua	Chisinau
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$77.43 NIO2,831.79	$66.56 MDL1,148.09	-14.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$72.50 NIO2,651.32	$53.80 MDL928.03	-25.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$132.64 NIO4,850.80	$115.49 MDL1,992.11	-12.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.16 NIO3,955.38	$122.07 MDL2,105.50	+12.9%
Average			-9.9%

Managua vs. Chisinau - 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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