Cost of living comparison

compared to

Managua vs. Mexico City Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 17.0% cheaper than Mexico City.

Restaurants
pay 43.7% less in Managua
Groceries
pay 0.2% more in Managua
Transportation
pay 5.5% less in Managua
Housing
pay 6.8% less in Managua
Childcare
pay 58.0% less in Managua
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.5% less in Managua
Clothing
pay 25.2% more in Managua

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

Managua vs. Mexico City Cost Breakdown

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

pay 43.7% less for restaurants

 
Mexico City
Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.86
MX$198.62
$4.91
NIO180.13
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.82
MX$161.38
$7.30
NIO268.05
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.73
MX$31.68
$0.82
NIO30.05

Improve prices ·

pay 0.2% more for groceries

 
Mexico City
Managua
Bread
1 loaf
$2.63
MX$48.03
$2.41
NIO88.57
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.04
MX$92.21
$5.80
NIO212.71
Milk (1 gallon) $6.54
MX$119.62
$4.68
NIO171.86

Improve prices ·

pay 5.5% less for transportation

 
Mexico City
Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.14
MX$93.99
$5.05
NIO185.42
Monthly public transit pass $19.54
MX$357.52
$6.01
NIO220.45
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,030.45
MX$366,457.13
$22,973.64
NIO843,003.80

Improve prices ·

pay 6.8% less for housing

 
Mexico City
Managua
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$30.93
MX$565.92
$36.87
NIO1,353.03
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,079.15
MX$19,743.00
$256.67
NIO9,418.23
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $677.25
MX$12,390.21
$190.00
NIO6,971.94

Improve prices ·

pay 58.0% less for childcare

 
Mexico City
Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $430.39
MX$7,873.93
$124.17
NIO4,556.22
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,897.53
MX$199,370.32
$6,000.00
NIO220,166.41

Improve prices ·

pay 30.5% less for entertainment and sports

 
Mexico City
Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.26
MX$59.59
$1.36
NIO49.90
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.81
MX$69.77
$2.31
NIO84.64
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.34
MX$79.45
$2.66
NIO97.58

Improve prices ·

pay 25.2% more for clothing

 
Mexico City
Managua
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.95
MX$1,114.99
$77.43
NIO2,841.42
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$48.08
MX$879.56
$72.50
NIO2,660.34
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.72
MX$1,934.15
$132.64
NIO4,867.30

Improve prices ·
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
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Mexico vs. Nicaragua. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Mexico and Nicaragua.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Managua or Mexico City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.