Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Santo Domingo is 32.9% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 22.3% less in Santo Domingo
Groceries: pay 37.8% less in Santo Domingo
Transportation: pay 6.9% more in Santo Domingo
Housing: pay 48.1% less in Santo Domingo
Childcare: pay 40.3% less in Santo Domingo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.2% less in Santo Domingo
Clothing: pay 9.3% less in Santo Domingo

Expenses including housing, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Santo Domingo.

Planning a move to Dominican Republic? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Santo Domingo vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Santo Domingo instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.3% less for restaurants

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.50 PAB11.50	$9.95 DOP611.16	-13.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$7.54 DOP463.46	-5.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 PAB1.97	$1.04 DOP63.95	-47.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.60 PAB1.60	$0.57 DOP35.01	-64.4%
Average			-22.3%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.8% less for groceries

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 PAB2.52	$1.51 DOP93.03	-39.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$3.62 DOP222.50	-41.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$5.19 DOP318.59	-26.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 PAB2.75	$2.34 DOP143.71	-14.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.07 PAB3.07	$2.53 DOP155.32	-17.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 PAB1.87	$1.45 DOP88.96	-22.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 PAB0.82	$0.37 DOP22.53	-55.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.92 PAB1.92	$1.24 DOP75.89	-35.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$0.83 DOP51.09	-55.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 PAB1.55	$0.91 DOP56.14	-40.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.96 PAB1.96	$1.00 DOP61.45	-48.9%
Average			-37.8%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.9% more for transportation

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.62 PAB4.62	$5.38 DOP330.30	+16.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.00 PAB21.00	$18.24 DOP1,120.45	-13.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	$23,212.79 DOP1M	+9.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.98 PAB16.98	$21.22 DOP1,303.80	+25.0%
Average			+6.9%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.1% less for housing

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.70 PAB48.70	$36.30 DOP2,230.04	-25.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	$721.96 DOP44,352.33	-42.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$874.18 PAB874.18	$350.20 DOP21,513.82	-59.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.29 PAB100.29	$70.91 DOP4,356.44	-29.3%
Average			-48.1%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.3% less for childcare

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$252.26 DOP15,497.20	-53.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	$7,399.96 DOP455K	-23.2%
Average			-40.3%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 PAB3.30	$2.49 DOP152.79	-24.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.11 PAB4.11	$2.27 DOP139.64	-44.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.00 PAB6.00	$5.32 DOP326.97	-11.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.40 PAB46.40	$29.64 DOP1,820.74	-36.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 PAB8.50	$7.46 DOP458.37	-12.2%
Average			-28.2%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 9.3% less for clothing

	Panama City	Santo Domingo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.67 PAB66.67	$45.80 DOP2,813.91	-31.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.43 PAB48.43	$46.66 DOP2,866.62	-3.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.62 PAB94.62	$87.04 DOP5,346.99	-8.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67 PAB111.67	$124.34 DOP7,638.61	+11.3%
Average			-9.3%

Panama City vs. Santo Domingo - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: Panama City vs. Santo Domingo

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Santo Domingo?

More cost comparisons

Panama City vs.

Dublin

Panama City vs.

Lima

Panama City vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Panama City vs.

New York City

Panama City vs.

Reykjavik

Panama City vs.

Paris

Panama City vs.

Moscow

Panama City vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Panama vs. Dominican Republic. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Panama and Dominican Republic.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Panama City

Add prices for Santo Domingo

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Santo Domingo or Panama City. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.