Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Cuba

Cuba vs. Nicaragua Cost of Living Summary

Cuba is 8.0% cheaper than Nicaragua overall.

Restaurants: pay 25.2% less in Cuba
Groceries: pay 32.2% more in Cuba
Transportation: pay 69.0% more in Cuba
Housing: pay 15.0% less in Cuba
Childcare: pay 25.9% less in Cuba
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.3% less in Cuba
Clothing: pay 47.5% less in Cuba

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

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Cuba vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.2% less for restaurants

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.07 NIO260.53	$3.71 CUC3.71	-47.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.94 NIO255.89	$5.00 CUC5.00	-28.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 NIO31.77	$1.70 CUC1.70	+97.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 NIO22.88	$1.00 CUC1.00	+61.1%
Average			-25.2%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.2% more for groceries

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 NIO62.93	$1.49 CUC1.49	-12.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 NIO136.25	$2.22 CUC2.22	-40.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.65 NIO171.26	$14.20 CUC14.20	+205.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.34 NIO86.37	$3.71 CUC3.71	+58.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.55 NIO93.99	$2.07 CUC2.07	-18.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.82 NIO67.08	$2.75 CUC2.75	+50.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.27 NIO10.03	$0.48 CUC0.48	+77.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO30.09	$1.79 CUC1.79	+118.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 NIO40.73	$1.04 CUC1.04	-5.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.68 NIO61.77	$1.73 CUC1.73	+3.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.13	$1.85 CUC1.85	+83.6%
Average			+32.2%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of groceries

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pay 69.0% more for transportation

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.05 NIO186.17	$4.83 CUC4.83	-4.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO221.41	$22.50 CUC22.50	+274.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO847K	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	+161.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.49 NIO497.29	$6.20 CUC6.20	-54.1%
Average			+69.0%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.0% less for housing

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	$90.21 CUC90.21	+177.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$293.80 NIO10,827.86	$254.03 CUC254.03	-13.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.83 NIO9,133.78	$214.40 CUC214.40	-13.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.20 NIO2,550.23	$36.20 CUC36.20	-47.7%
Average			-15.0%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of housing

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pay 25.9% less for childcare

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	$112.00 CUC112.00	-52.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,060.00 NIO223K	$7,000.00 CUC7,000.00	+15.5%
Average			-25.9%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.40 NIO51.60	$1.60 CUC1.60	+14.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 NIO95.82	$1.11 CUC1.11	-57.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.73 NIO100.51	$2.00 CUC2.00	-26.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.54 NIO1,199.31	$19.00 CUC19.00	-41.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 NIO331.69	$0.85 CUC0.85	-90.6%
Average			-59.3%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.5% less for clothing

	Nicaragua	Cuba
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	$37.00 CUC37.00	-38.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	$37.00 CUC37.00	-43.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	$68.67 CUC68.67	-44.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	$56.00 CUC56.00	-61.3%
Average			-47.5%

Nicaragua vs. Cuba - 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

Compare further: Nicaragua vs. Cuba

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Cuba?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 65.3% less likely to be unemployed in Cuba

Size Comparison · See true size

Nicaragua is about 1.2 times bigger than Cuba.

Moving from Nicaragua to Cuba · UN DESA 2020

71 people born in Nicaragua live in Cuba.

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