Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Romania

Bucharest vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Bucharest is 23.6% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 14.1% more in Bucharest
Groceries: pay 46.4% less in Bucharest
Transportation: pay 15.5% more in Bucharest
Housing: pay 41.6% less in Bucharest
Childcare: pay 31.2% more in Bucharest
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.2% more in Bucharest
Clothing: pay 8.1% less in Bucharest

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

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Bucharest vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bucharest instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.1% more for restaurants

	Panama City	Bucharest
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.50 PAB11.50	$14.64 RON69.25	+27.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$7.32 RON34.63	-8.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 PAB1.97	$2.42 RON11.44	+22.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.60 PAB1.60	$2.25 RON10.65	+40.7%
Average			+14.1%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.4% less for groceries

	Panama City	Bucharest
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 PAB2.52	$1.32 RON6.24	-47.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$4.36 RON20.63	-29.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$6.22 RON29.40	-12.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 PAB2.75	$3.67 RON17.35	+33.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.07 PAB3.07	$3.05 RON14.45	-0.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 PAB1.87	$0.57 RON2.70	-69.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 PAB0.82	$0.72 RON3.43	-12.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.92 PAB1.92	$0.69 RON3.25	-64.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.15 RON5.42	-38.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 PAB1.55	$0.36 RON1.73	-76.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.96 PAB1.96	$0.34 RON1.62	-82.5%
Average			-46.4%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.5% more for transportation

	Panama City	Bucharest
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.62 PAB4.62	$7.45 RON35.25	+61.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.00 PAB21.00	$20.91 RON98.93	-0.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	$28,531.98 RON135K	+34.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.98 PAB16.98	$5.65 RON26.71	-66.7%
Average			+15.5%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.6% less for housing

	Panama City	Bucharest
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.70 PAB48.70	$9.27 RON43.83	-81.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	$677.15 RON3,203.34	-46.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$874.18 PAB874.18	$451.32 RON2,135.02	-48.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.29 PAB100.29	$147.83 RON699.33	+47.4%
Average			-41.6%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - Cost of housing

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pay 31.2% more for childcare

	Panama City	Bucharest
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$627.11 RON2,966.59	+15.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	$14,371.87 RON67,987.54	+49.1%
Average			+31.2%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Bucharest
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 PAB3.30	$3.76 RON17.81	+14.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.11 PAB4.11	$3.51 RON16.59	-14.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.00 PAB6.00	$6.43 RON30.42	+7.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.40 PAB46.40	$49.22 RON232.83	+6.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 PAB8.50	$8.37 RON39.57	-1.6%
Average			+1.2%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.1% less for clothing

	Panama City	Bucharest
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.67 PAB66.67	$88.76 RON419.90	+33.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.43 PAB48.43	$38.43 RON181.80	-20.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.62 PAB94.62	$77.83 RON368.20	-17.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67 PAB111.67	$91.69 RON433.74	-17.9%
Average			-8.1%

Panama City vs. Bucharest - 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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