Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cuba vs. Nicaragua Cost of Living Summary

Cuba is 32.7% more expensive than Nicaragua overall.

Restaurants: pay 57.9% more in Cuba
Groceries: pay 33.8% more in Cuba
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Cuba
Housing: pay 11.4% more in Cuba
Childcare: pay 18.2% more in Cuba
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.1% less in Cuba
Clothing: pay 31.1% less in Cuba

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

Cuba vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 57.9% more for restaurants

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.57 NIO167.54	$4.40 CUC4.40	-3.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.80 NIO249.70	$5.00 CUC5.00	-26.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 NIO30.05	$2.08 CUC2.08	+153.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 NIO22.01	$1.25 CUC1.25	+108.4%
Average			+57.9%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.8% more for groceries

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Bread 1 loaf	$1.74 NIO63.99	$1.22 CUC1.22	-30.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.29 NIO120.87	$2.89 CUC2.89	-12.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.55 NIO166.90	$10.68 CUC10.68	+134.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.98 NIO72.59	$4.15 CUC4.15	+109.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.48 NIO90.82	$2.49 CUC2.49	+0.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 NIO64.95	$2.27 CUC2.27	+28.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.39 NIO14.44	$0.59 CUC0.59	+49.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO29.96	$1.36 CUC1.36	+66.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 NIO32.04	$1.00 CUC1.00	+14.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 NIO45.67	$0.95 CUC0.95	-23.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.88 NIO32.12	$1.17 CUC1.17	+33.7%
Average			+33.8%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.95 NIO181.64	$4.77 CUC4.77	-3.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.00 NIO183.61	$25.00 CUC25.00	+399.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO843,003.80	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	+161.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.56 NIO204.17	$6.60 CUC6.60	+18.6%
Average			+144.0%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.4% more for housing

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.35 NIO1,333.96	$75.00 CUC75.00	+106.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$326.67 NIO11,986.84	$251.37 CUC251.37	-23.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$283.96 NIO10,419.68	$322.73 CUC322.73	+13.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$55.87 NIO2,050.11	$27.15 CUC27.15	-51.4%
Average			+11.4%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of housing

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pay 18.2% more for childcare

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$118.12 NIO4,334.53	$112.00 CUC112.00	-5.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,000.00 NIO220,166.41	$8,500.00 CUC8,500.00	+41.7%
Average			+18.2%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.31 NIO47.93	$2.00 CUC2.00	+53.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.16 NIO79.30	$1.01 CUC1.01	-53.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.66 NIO97.58	$4.00 CUC4.00	+50.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.69 NIO1,236.40	$37.75 CUC37.75	+12.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.00 NIO293.56	$1.00 CUC1.00	-87.5%
Average			-5.1%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.1% less for clothing

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.83 NIO2,268.67	$34.75 CUC34.75	-43.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$61.88 NIO2,270.47	$37.75 CUC37.75	-39.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.23 NIO3,971.55	$75.00 CUC75.00	-30.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.99 NIO3,302.29	$80.00 CUC80.00	-11.1%
Average			-31.1%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - 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: December 2025

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