Cost of living comparison

Peru

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Peru Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 65.2% more expensive than Peru overall.

Restaurants: pay 88.8% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 80.2% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 5.2% less in Panama
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Panama
Childcare: pay 99.1% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.6% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 21.2% more in Panama

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and clothing in Panama are more expensive than in Peru. Notably, housing, childcare, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Panama.

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

Panama vs. Peru Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 88.8% more for restaurants

	Peru	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.46 PEN11.93	$8.20 PAB8.20	+136.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.26 PEN21.58	$8.90 PAB8.90	+42.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.98 PEN3.38	$1.41 PAB1.41	+43.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.54 PEN1.85	$1.30 PAB1.30	+142.4%
Average			+88.8%

Peru vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 80.2% more for groceries

	Peru	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.93 PEN6.64	$2.28 PAB2.28	+18.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.69 PEN12.73	$6.18 PAB6.18	+67.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.12 PEN17.65	$7.09 PAB7.09	+38.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.91 PEN10.04	$2.56 PAB2.56	-12.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.62 PEN9.03	$3.42 PAB3.42	+30.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.86 PEN2.97	$1.86 PAB1.86	+115.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.48 PEN1.66	$0.59 PAB0.59	+22.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.54 PEN1.85	$1.76 PAB1.76	+227.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.75	$1.67 PAB1.67	+229.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.42 PEN1.44	$1.09 PAB1.09	+161.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 PEN1.41	$1.14 PAB1.14	+178.4%
Average			+80.2%

Peru vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.2% less for transportation

	Peru	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.81 PEN20.01	$4.34 PAB4.34	-25.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.42 PEN73.79	$23.00 PAB23.00	+7.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,430.71 PEN70,380.21	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	+17.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.50 PEN67.18	$16.62 PAB16.62	-14.8%
Average			-5.2%

Peru vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Peru	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.21 PEN100.61	$49.81 PAB49.81	+70.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$433.10 PEN1,491.96	$789.50 PAB789.50	+82.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$248.75 PEN856.90	$614.84 PAB614.84	+147.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.94 PEN141.03	$96.53 PAB96.53	+135.8%
Average			+113.3%

Peru vs. Panama - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 99.1% more for childcare

	Peru	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$132.64 PEN456.92	$543.33 PAB543.33	+309.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,456.55 PEN25,686.50	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	-3.3%
Average			+99.1%

Peru vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Peru	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.33 PEN8.04	$2.21 PAB2.21	-5.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.02 PEN10.42	$3.73 PAB3.73	+23.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.55 PEN19.12	$5.29 PAB5.29	-4.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.34 PEN107.96	$50.91 PAB50.91	+62.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.06 PEN17.43	$6.13 PAB6.13	+21.2%
Average			+21.6%

Peru vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.2% more for clothing

	Peru	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.89 PEN161.52	$45.56 PAB45.56	-2.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$25.32 PEN87.21	$36.71 PAB36.71	+45.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$65.41 PEN225.33	$69.81 PAB69.81	+6.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$61.54 PEN212.00	$88.33 PAB88.33	+43.5%
Average			+21.2%

Peru vs. Panama - 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: Peru vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 2.0 times more money in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Peru is about 17 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Peru to Panama · UN DESA 2020

5,155 people born in Peru live in Panama.

More cost comparisons

Peru vs.

United States

Peru vs.

Chile

Peru vs.

Spain

Peru vs.

Argentina

Peru vs.

Italy

Peru vs.

Japan

Peru vs.

Venezuela

Peru vs.

Canada

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Lima vs. Panama City

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 Peru

Add prices for Panama

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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