Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Colombia

Colombia vs. Panama Cost of Living Summary

Colombia is 2.9% cheaper than Panama overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.3% less in Colombia
Groceries: pay 23.2% less in Colombia
Transportation: pay 35.5% more in Colombia
Housing: pay 13.2% less in Colombia
Childcare: pay 10.5% more in Colombia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.6% less in Colombia
Clothing: pay 60.7% more in Colombia

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

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Colombia vs. Panama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.3% less for restaurants

	Panama	Colombia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.20 PAB8.20	$7.09 COP22,489.29	-13.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.90 PAB8.90	$9.93 COP31,528.63	+11.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$1.50 COP4,759.09	+6.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 PAB1.30	$1.15 COP3,637.93	-12.2%
Average			-3.3%

Panama vs. Colombia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.2% less for groceries

	Panama	Colombia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.28 PAB2.28	$2.08 COP6,604.13	-8.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$3.94 COP12,511.51	-36.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$5.55 COP17,600.16	-21.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 PAB2.56	$3.08 COP9,765.50	+20.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.42 PAB3.42	$4.90 COP15,548.14	+43.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.60 COP5,080.61	-13.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 PAB0.59	$0.63 COP1,990.45	+6.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.76 PAB1.76	$0.72 COP2,297.32	-58.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 PAB1.67	$0.88 COP2,778.06	-47.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 PAB1.09	$0.68 COP2,174.11	-37.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.14 PAB1.14	$0.64 COP2,046.26	-43.6%
Average			-23.2%

Panama vs. Colombia - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.5% more for transportation

	Panama	Colombia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 PAB4.34	$4.89 COP15,507.12	+12.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 PAB23.00	$57.51 COP183K	+150.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	$24,696.92 COP78M	+3.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.62 PAB16.62	$21.04 COP66,775.93	+26.6%
Average			+35.5%

Panama vs. Colombia - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.2% less for housing

	Panama	Colombia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.81 PAB49.81	$27.89 COP88,530.84	-44.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$789.50 PAB789.50	$745.73 COP2M	-5.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$614.84 PAB614.84	$482.25 COP2M	-21.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$96.53 PAB96.53	$101.48 COP322K	+5.1%
Average			-13.2%

Panama vs. Colombia - Cost of housing

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pay 10.5% more for childcare

	Panama	Colombia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$597.35 COP2M	+9.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	$8,009.31 COP25M	+11.0%
Average			+10.5%

Panama vs. Colombia - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama	Colombia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 PAB2.21	$2.59 COP8,214.62	+17.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.73 PAB3.73	$2.72 COP8,641.67	-27.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.29 PAB5.29	$4.03 COP12,788.35	-23.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.91 PAB50.91	$41.34 COP131K	-18.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.13 PAB6.13	$6.65 COP21,122.50	+8.5%
Average			-8.6%

Panama vs. Colombia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 60.7% more for clothing

	Panama	Colombia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.56 PAB45.56	$82.92 COP263K	+82.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.71 PAB36.71	$53.80 COP171K	+46.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.81 PAB69.81	$134.00 COP425K	+91.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.33 PAB88.33	$115.03 COP365K	+30.2%
Average			+60.7%

Panama vs. Colombia - 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: Panama vs. Colombia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Colombia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 56.7% less money in Colombia

Size Comparison · See true size

Panama is about 15 times smaller than Colombia.

Moving from Panama to Colombia · OECD 2021

416 people moved from Panama to Colombia.

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