Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Tonga

Tonga vs. Panama Cost of Living Summary

Tonga is 15.0% cheaper than Panama overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.3% more in Tonga
Groceries: pay 3.9% less in Tonga
Transportation: pay 16.6% less in Tonga
Housing: pay 1.7% more in Tonga
Childcare: pay 90.0% less in Tonga
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.2% more in Tonga
Clothing: pay 65.0% less in Tonga

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

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Tonga vs. Panama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.3% more for restaurants

	Panama	Tonga
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.20 PAB8.20	$8.31 TOP20.00	+1.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.90 PAB8.90	$10.38 TOP25.00	+16.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$2.84 TOP6.83	+101.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 PAB1.30	$2.46 TOP5.92	+88.3%
Average			+21.3%

Panama vs. Tonga - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.9% less for groceries

	Panama	Tonga
Bread 1 loaf	$2.28 PAB2.28	$1.04 TOP2.50	-54.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$4.50 TOP10.83	-27.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$5.92 TOP14.26	-16.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 PAB2.56	$5.09 TOP12.27	+99.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.42 PAB3.42	$2.67 TOP6.43	-22.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$1.26 TOP3.02	-32.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 PAB0.59	$1.26 TOP3.02	+112.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.76 PAB1.76	$1.32 TOP3.18	-25.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 PAB1.67	$1.70 TOP4.08	+1.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 PAB1.09	$1.44 TOP3.48	+32.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.14 PAB1.14	$1.19 TOP2.87	+4.4%
Average			-3.9%

Panama vs. Tonga - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.6% less for transportation

	Panama	Tonga
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 PAB4.34	$5.50 TOP13.25	+26.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.00 PAB23.00	$41.53 TOP100.00	+80.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	-75.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.62 PAB16.62	$18.69 TOP45.00	+12.5%
Average			-16.6%

Panama vs. Tonga - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.7% more for housing

	Panama	Tonga
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.81 PAB49.81	$124.60 TOP300.00	+150.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$789.50 PAB789.50	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	-21.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$614.84 PAB614.84	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$96.53 PAB96.53	$142.92 TOP344.12	+48.1%
Average			+1.7%

Panama vs. Tonga - Cost of housing

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pay 90.0% less for childcare

	Panama	Tonga
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$157.82 TOP380.00	-71.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	$249.19 TOP600.00	-96.5%
Average			-90.0%

Panama vs. Tonga - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama	Tonga
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.21 PAB2.21	$3.32 TOP8.00	+50.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.73 PAB3.73	$2.91 TOP7.00	-22.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.29 PAB5.29	$10.18 TOP24.50	+92.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.91 PAB50.91	$31.15 TOP75.00	-38.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.13 PAB6.13	$41.53 TOP100.00	+577.2%
Average			+57.2%

Panama vs. Tonga - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 65.0% less for clothing

	Panama	Tonga
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.56 PAB45.56	$14.54 TOP35.00	-68.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.71 PAB36.71	$17.65 TOP42.50	-51.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.81 PAB69.81	$20.77 TOP50.00	-70.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.33 PAB88.33	$29.07 TOP70.00	-67.1%
Average			-65.0%

Panama vs. Tonga - 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. Tonga

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Tonga?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Be 76.0% less likely to be unemployed in Tonga

Size Comparison · See true size

Panama is about 101 times bigger than Tonga.

Moving from Panama to Tonga · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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