Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 9.4% more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 59.6% more in Sao Tome
Groceries: pay 27.2% more in Sao Tome
Transportation: pay 85.9% more in Sao Tome
Housing: pay 32.7% less in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% more in Sao Tome
Clothing: pay 84.9% less in Sao Tome

The cost of transportation, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Sao Tome are more expensive than in Panama City. Expenses including clothing and housing are lower in Sao Tome. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Sao Tome.

Sao Tome vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.6% more for restaurants

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 PAB10.00	$29.20 STD651K	+192.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$11.68 STD260K	+46.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.70 PAB1.70	$1.92 STD42,768	+13.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.33 PAB1.33	$1.17 STD26,025	-12.5%
Average			+59.6%

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.2% more for groceries

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Bread 1 loaf	$2.56 PAB2.56	$1.08 STD24,088	-57.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 PAB5.81	$10.22 STD228K	+75.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.82 PAB6.82	$5.97 STD133K	-12.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 PAB2.84	$5.09 STD114K	+79.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.29 PAB3.29	$9.27 STD207K	+181.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.65 PAB1.65	$2.12 STD47,219	+28.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 PAB0.70	$0.53 STD11,805	-24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$1.85 STD41,316	+32.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.46 PAB1.46	$1.59 STD35,414	+8.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 PAB1.00	$1.19 STD26,561	+19.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 PAB1.37	$0.93 STD20,658	-32.1%
Average			+27.2%

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of groceries

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pay 85.9% more for transportation

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.44 PAB3.44	$6.40 STD143K	+85.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 PAB22.50	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.50 PAB26.50	??
Average			+85.9%

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of transportation

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pay 32.7% less for housing

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.20 PAB49.20	$72.42 STD2M	+47.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,164.71 PAB1,164.71	$350.40 STD8M	-69.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$953.85 PAB953.85	$233.60 STD5M	-75.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.90 PAB95.90	??
Average			-32.7%

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$476.00 PAB476.00	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,733.33 PAB15,733.33	??

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$1.67 STD37,216	-44.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.61 PAB3.61	$2.34 STD52,050	-35.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.92 PAB5.92	$2.34 STD52,050	-60.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.86 PAB43.86	$37.38 STD833K	-14.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.00 PAB8.00	$21.02 STD468K	+162.8%
Average			+1.6%

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 84.9% less for clothing

	Panama City	Sao Tome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.00 PAB50.00	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.50 PAB47.50	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.55 PAB89.55	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$126.88 PAB126.88	$19.16 STD427K	-84.9%
Average			-84.9%

Panama City vs. Sao Tome - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2026

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