Cost of living comparison

compared to

Thailand vs. Panama Cost of Living Summary

Thailand is 16.3% cheaper than Panama overall.

Restaurants: pay 54.5% less in Thailand
Groceries: pay 25.8% less in Thailand
Transportation: pay 9.9% more in Thailand
Housing: pay 48.1% less in Thailand
Childcare: pay 35.5% more in Thailand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.5% less in Thailand
Clothing: pay 16.8% less in Thailand

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

Thailand vs. Panama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.5% less for restaurants

	Panama	Thailand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.45 PAB8.45	$2.33 THB78.18	-72.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.90 PAB7.90	$6.02 THB201.74	-23.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.54 PAB1.54	$0.70 THB23.61	-54.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 PAB1.17	$0.38 THB12.71	-67.5%
Average			-54.5%

Panama vs. Thailand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.8% less for groceries

	Panama	Thailand
Bread 1 loaf	$2.19 PAB2.19	$1.40 THB46.89	-36.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.66 PAB5.66	$8.16 THB273.52	+44.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.43 PAB6.43	$6.68 THB224.00	+4.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 PAB2.53	$2.05 THB68.57	-19.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.54 PAB3.54	$1.29 THB43.24	-63.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.12 PAB2.12	$1.23 THB41.25	-41.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.61 PAB0.61	$0.52 THB17.44	-15.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 PAB1.29	$0.82 THB27.32	-36.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 PAB1.16	$0.66 THB22.07	-43.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$0.69 THB23.20	-29.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 PAB1.01	$0.54 THB17.95	-46.8%
Average			-25.8%

Panama vs. Thailand - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.9% more for transportation

	Panama	Thailand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.92 PAB3.92	$4.47 THB149.70	+13.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$25.43 THB852.26	+1.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,916.67 PAB18,916.67	$31,362.48 THB1,050,956.52	+65.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.61 PAB16.61	$9.67 THB323.90	-41.8%
Average			+9.9%

Panama vs. Thailand - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.1% less for housing

	Panama	Thailand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$47.61 PAB47.61	$17.13 THB574.18	-64.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$747.76 PAB747.76	$389.22 THB13,042.76	-47.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$567.84 PAB567.84	$225.23 THB7,547.61	-60.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.20 PAB69.20	$55.17 THB1,848.88	-20.3%
Average			-48.1%

Panama vs. Thailand - Cost of housing

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pay 35.5% more for childcare

	Panama	Thailand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$302.08 PAB302.08	$341.66 THB11,448.97	+13.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,548.17 PAB6,548.17	$10,344.18 THB346,633.35	+58.0%
Average			+35.5%

Panama vs. Thailand - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama	Thailand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 PAB1.95	$2.20 THB73.71	+12.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.39 PAB3.39	$1.90 THB63.65	-43.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.38 PAB5.38	$3.85 THB128.92	-28.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.20 PAB57.20	$48.79 THB1,635.00	-14.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.33 PAB5.33	$5.42 THB181.65	+1.6%
Average			-14.5%

Panama vs. Thailand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.8% less for clothing

	Panama	Thailand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.41 PAB47.41	$38.62 THB1,294.08	-18.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.81 PAB34.81	$29.36 THB983.87	-15.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.21 PAB81.21	$82.78 THB2,774.01	+1.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.42 PAB100.42	$65.55 THB2,196.73	-34.7%
Average			-16.8%

Panama vs. Thailand - 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: April 2025

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