Cost of living comparison

Nicaragua

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Nicaragua Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 54.8% more expensive than Nicaragua overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.9% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 34.8% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 37.1% more in Panama
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Panama
Childcare: pay 65.6% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.9% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 37.9% less in Panama

The cost of housing, childcare, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Panama are more expensive than in Nicaragua. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Panama.

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Panama vs. Nicaragua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.9% more for restaurants

	Nicaragua	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.07 NIO260.19	$8.20 PAB8.20	+16.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.94 NIO255.55	$8.90 PAB8.90	+28.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 NIO31.72	$1.41 PAB1.41	+63.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 NIO22.85	$1.30 PAB1.30	+110.2%
Average			+31.9%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.8% more for groceries

	Nicaragua	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 NIO62.84	$2.28 PAB2.28	+33.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 NIO136.07	$6.18 PAB6.18	+67.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.65 NIO171.04	$7.09 PAB7.09	+52.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.34 NIO86.26	$2.56 PAB2.56	+9.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.55 NIO93.86	$3.42 PAB3.42	+34.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.82 NIO66.99	$1.86 PAB1.86	+2.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.27 NIO10.02	$0.59 PAB0.59	+117.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 NIO30.05	$1.76 PAB1.76	+115.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 NIO40.68	$1.67 PAB1.67	+51.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.68 NIO61.69	$1.09 PAB1.09	-34.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 NIO37.08	$1.14 PAB1.14	+13.4%
Average			+34.8%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.1% more for transportation

	Nicaragua	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.05 NIO185.92	$4.34 PAB4.34	-14.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.01 NIO221.12	$23.00 PAB23.00	+282.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,973.64 NIO846K	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	+4.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.49 NIO496.63	$16.62 PAB16.62	+23.2%
Average			+37.1%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Nicaragua	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.47 NIO1,194.98	$49.81 PAB49.81	+53.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$293.80 NIO10,813.52	$789.50 PAB789.50	+168.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.83 NIO9,121.68	$614.84 PAB614.84	+148.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.20 NIO2,546.85	$96.53 PAB96.53	+39.5%
Average			+129.4%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 65.6% more for childcare

	Nicaragua	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.82 NIO8,679.43	$543.33 PAB543.33	+130.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,060.00 NIO223K	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+19.0%
Average			+65.6%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Nicaragua	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.40 NIO51.53	$2.21 PAB2.21	+57.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.60 NIO95.69	$3.73 PAB3.73	+43.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.73 NIO100.37	$5.29 PAB5.29	+94.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.54 NIO1,197.72	$50.91 PAB50.91	+56.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.00 NIO331.25	$6.13 PAB6.13	-31.9%
Average			+27.9%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.9% less for clothing

	Nicaragua	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.88 NIO2,203.98	$45.56 PAB45.56	-23.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.00 NIO2,392.37	$36.71 PAB36.71	-43.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$122.64 NIO4,514.01	$69.81 PAB69.81	-43.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$144.83 NIO5,330.42	$88.33 PAB88.33	-39.0%
Average			-37.9%

Nicaragua vs. Panama - 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. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Make 6.2 times more money in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Nicaragua is about 1.7 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Nicaragua to Panama · UN DESA 2020

15,517 people born in Nicaragua live in Panama.

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