Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Panama

Panama City vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 87.3% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 27.3% more in Panama City
Groceries: pay 40.9% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 31.3% more in Panama City
Housing: pay 3.5 times more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 91.5% more in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.1% more in Panama City
Clothing: pay 16.2% less in Panama City

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

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Panama City vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama City instead of Managua, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.3% more for restaurants

	Managua	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 NIO368.06	$11.50 PAB11.50	+15.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.61 NIO280.09	$8.00 PAB8.00	+5.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 NIO32.49	$1.97 PAB1.97	+123.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 NIO26.18	$1.60 PAB1.60	+124.9%
Average			+27.3%

Managua vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.9% more for groceries

	Managua	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.37 NIO87.35	$2.52 PAB2.52	+6.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.80 NIO213.36	$6.18 PAB6.18	+6.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.68 NIO172.38	$7.09 PAB7.09	+51.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 NIO87.06	$2.75 PAB2.75	+16.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 NIO105.65	$3.07 PAB3.07	+6.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.82 NIO66.99	$1.87 PAB1.87	+2.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.27 NIO10.02	$0.82 PAB0.82	+202.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO30.05	$1.92 PAB1.92	+135.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 NIO40.99	$1.86 PAB1.86	+66.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.79 NIO65.82	$1.55 PAB1.55	-13.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.08	$1.96 PAB1.96	+94.3%
Average			+40.9%

Managua vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.3% more for transportation

	Managua	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.06 NIO186.13	$4.62 PAB4.62	-8.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO221.12	$21.00 PAB21.00	+249.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO846K	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	-7.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.69 NIO540.67	$16.98 PAB16.98	+15.6%
Average			+31.3%

Managua vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.5 times more for housing

	Managua	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.47 NIO1,194.98	$48.70 PAB48.70	+50.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$256.40 NIO9,436.98	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	+392.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$181.00 NIO6,661.83	$874.18 PAB874.18	+383.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.83 NIO4,263.08	$100.29 PAB100.29	-13.4%
Average			+254.7%

Managua vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 91.5% more for childcare

	Managua	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.82 NIO8,679.43	$543.33 PAB543.33	+130.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,060.00 NIO223K	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	+59.1%
Average			+91.5%

Managua vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 NIO55.21	$3.30 PAB3.30	+120.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 NIO95.69	$4.11 PAB4.11	+58.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.73 NIO100.37	$6.00 PAB6.00	+120.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.79 NIO1,280.46	$46.40 PAB46.40	+33.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 NIO331.25	$8.50 PAB8.50	-5.6%
Average			+47.1%

Managua vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.2% less for clothing

	Managua	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.88 NIO2,203.98	$66.67 PAB66.67	+11.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.00 NIO2,392.37	$48.43 PAB48.43	-25.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 NIO4,514.01	$94.62 PAB94.62	-22.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.83 NIO5,330.42	$111.67 PAB111.67	-22.9%
Average			-16.2%

Managua vs. Panama City - 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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