Cost of living comparison

Moldova

compared to

Nicaragua

Nicaragua vs. Moldova Cost of Living Summary

Nicaragua is 3.1% cheaper than Moldova overall.

Restaurants: pay 20.6% less in Nicaragua
Groceries: pay 53.0% more in Nicaragua
Transportation: pay 27.2% less in Nicaragua
Housing: pay 22.9% less in Nicaragua
Childcare: pay 9.4% more in Nicaragua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.2% more in Nicaragua
Clothing: pay 53.8% more in Nicaragua

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

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Nicaragua vs. Moldova Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Moldova, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.6% less for restaurants

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.35 MDL167.15	$7.07 NIO259.82	-24.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.74 MDL156.28	$6.94 NIO255.20	-20.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.02 MDL18.23	$0.86 NIO31.68	-15.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 MDL11.99	$0.62 NIO22.82	-7.4%
Average			-20.6%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.0% more for groceries

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Bread 1 loaf	$0.51 MDL9.08	$1.71 NIO62.76	+236.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.87 MDL69.24	$3.70 NIO135.88	-4.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.41 MDL78.82	$4.65 NIO170.80	+5.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.31 MDL41.28	$2.34 NIO86.14	+1.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.20 MDL39.31	$2.55 NIO93.73	+16.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.45 MDL8.07	$1.82 NIO66.90	+303.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.93 MDL16.57	$0.27 NIO10.00	-70.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 MDL15.59	$0.82 NIO30.01	-6.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 MDL18.56	$1.11 NIO40.62	+6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MDL5.61	$1.68 NIO61.60	+434.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.23 MDL4.20	$1.01 NIO37.03	+329.3%
Average			+53.0%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.2% less for transportation

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.15 MDL109.96	$5.05 NIO185.66	-17.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.07 MDL305.22	$6.01 NIO220.81	-64.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,274.90 MDL577K	$22,973.64 NIO844K	-28.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.30 MDL76.89	$13.49 NIO495.94	+213.7%
Average			-27.2%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.9% less for housing

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.64 MDL190.16	$32.47 NIO1,193.32	+205.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$414.42 MDL7,408.91	$293.80 NIO10,798.48	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$301.91 MDL5,397.46	$247.83 NIO9,109.00	-17.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$134.34 MDL2,401.73	$69.20 NIO2,543.31	-48.5%
Average			-22.9%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - Cost of housing

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pay 9.4% more for childcare

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$219.48 MDL3,923.84	$235.82 NIO8,667.36	+7.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,438.11 MDL97,220.90	$6,060.00 NIO223K	+11.4%
Average			+9.4%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 MDL26.74	$1.40 NIO51.46	-6.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.77 MDL31.61	$2.60 NIO95.56	+47.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.38 MDL60.51	$2.73 NIO100.24	-19.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.66 MDL565.92	$32.54 NIO1,196.06	+2.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.45 MDL115.33	$9.00 NIO330.79	+39.5%
Average			+14.2%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.8% more for clothing

	Moldova	Nicaragua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.78 MDL943.56	$59.88 NIO2,200.91	+13.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.13 MDL681.64	$65.00 NIO2,389.04	+70.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.27 MDL1,649.64	$122.64 NIO4,507.73	+32.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$66.57 MDL1,190.11	$144.83 NIO5,323.01	+117.6%
Average			+53.8%

Moldova vs. Nicaragua - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Moldova vs. Nicaragua

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Nicaragua?

Quality of Life Comparison · 20 statistics

Be 3.4 times more likely to be unemployed in Nicaragua

Size Comparison · See true size

Moldova is about 3.9 times smaller than Nicaragua.

Moving from Moldova to Nicaragua · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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