Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua Cost of Living Summary
Ecuador is 20.8% more expensive than Nicaragua overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 1.2% less in Ecuador
- Groceries
-
pay 19.4% less in Ecuador
- Transportation
-
pay 2.2 times more in Ecuador
- Housing
-
pay 10.7% less in Ecuador
- Childcare
-
pay 41.2% more in Ecuador
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 32.6% more in Ecuador
- Clothing
-
pay 16.8% less in Ecuador
The cost of transportation, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Ecuador are more expensive than in Nicaragua. Expenses including groceries, clothing, housing, and restaurants are lower in Ecuador. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Ecuador.
Ecuador vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ecuador instead of Nicaragua, you would:
pay 1.2% less for restaurants
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.57
NIO167.54
|
$3.56
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.80
NIO249.70
|
$6.93
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.82
NIO30.05
|
$0.91
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.60
NIO22.01
|
$0.63
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.4% less for groceries
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.74
NIO63.99
|
$1.62
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.29
NIO120.87
|
$3.11
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.55
NIO166.90
|
$4.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.98
NIO72.59
|
$2.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.48
NIO90.82
|
$2.55
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.77
NIO64.95
|
$0.83
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.39
NIO14.44
|
$0.49
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.82
NIO29.96
|
$0.52
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.87
NIO32.04
|
$0.51
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
NIO45.67
|
$0.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
NIO32.12
|
$0.46
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of groceries
pay 2.2 times more for transportation
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.95
NIO181.64
|
$2.52
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$5.00
NIO183.61
|
$26.64
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$22,973.64
NIO843,003.80
|
$23,000.00
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$5.56
NIO204.17
|
$10.89
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of transportation
pay 10.7% less for housing
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$36.35
NIO1,333.96
|
$29.34
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$326.67
NIO11,986.84
|
$360.30
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$283.96
NIO10,419.68
|
$278.34
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$55.87
NIO2,050.11
|
$38.16
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of housing
pay 41.2% more for childcare
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$118.12
NIO4,334.53
|
$233.05
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$6,000.00
NIO220,166.41
|
$5,103.33
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of childcare
pay 32.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.31
NIO47.93
|
$2.01
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.16
NIO79.30
|
$2.43
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.66
NIO97.58
|
$5.75
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.69
NIO1,236.40
|
$32.69
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.00
NIO293.56
|
$6.67
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.8% less for clothing
|
Nicaragua
|
Ecuador
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$61.83
NIO2,268.67
|
$55.39
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$61.88
NIO2,270.47
|
$42.48
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$108.23
NIO3,971.55
|
$97.41
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$89.99
NIO3,302.29
|
$76.05
|
|
Nicaragua vs. Ecuador - Cost of clothing
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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