Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Nuku'alofa Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 18.2% cheaper than Nuku'alofa.

Restaurants: pay 23.4% less in Managua
Groceries: pay 15.6% less in Managua
Transportation: pay 11.7% less in Managua
Housing: pay 53.1% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 6.0 times more in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.7% less in Managua
Clothing: pay 4.6 times more in Managua

The cost of childcare and clothing in Managua are more expensive than in Nuku'alofa. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and transportation are lower in Managua. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Managua.

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Managua vs. Nuku'alofa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Managua instead of Nuku'alofa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.4% less for restaurants

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$10.00 NIO368.55	+20.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$7.61 NIO280.46	-26.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.88 NIO32.54	-68.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.71 NIO26.22	-71.1%
Average			-23.4%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.6% less for groceries

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$2.37 NIO87.46	+128.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$5.80 NIO213.64	+28.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$4.68 NIO172.61	-20.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.37 NIO87.18	-53.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.87 NIO105.79	+7.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.82 NIO67.08	+44.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.27 NIO10.03	-78.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$0.82 NIO30.09	-38.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$1.11 NIO41.05	-34.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$1.79 NIO65.90	+23.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$1.01 NIO37.13	-15.6%
Average			-15.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.7% less for transportation

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.06 NIO186.38	-8.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$6.01 NIO221.41	-85.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$22,973.64 NIO847K	+295.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$14.69 NIO541.39	-21.4%
Average			-11.7%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.1% less for housing

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	-73.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-58.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$181.00 NIO6,670.67
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	-19.0%
Average			-53.1%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 6.0 times more for childcare

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	+49.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$6,060.00 NIO223K	+2331.8%
Average			+502.8%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$1.50 NIO55.28	-54.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$2.60 NIO95.82	-10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$2.73 NIO100.51	-73.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	+11.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$9.00 NIO331.69	-78.3%
Average			-48.7%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.6 times more for clothing

	Nuku'alofa	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+311.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+268.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+490.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+398.2%
Average			+359.6%

Nuku'alofa vs. Managua - 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

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