Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Philippines Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 93.6% more expensive than Philippines overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Panama
Groceries: pay 48.6% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 44.2% more in Panama
Housing: pay 2.7 times more in Panama
Childcare: pay 83.3% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.3% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 32.3% more in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Philippines Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Philippines	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.66 ₱229.50	$8.20 PAB8.20	+124.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.23 ₱202.44	$8.90 PAB8.90	+175.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 ₱45.56	$1.41 PAB1.41	+93.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 ₱24.96	$1.30 PAB1.30	+228.1%
Average			+146.8%

Philippines vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.6% more for groceries

	Philippines	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.15 ₱72.41	$2.28 PAB2.28	+98.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.30 ₱207.22	$6.18 PAB6.18	+87.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.50 ₱407.88	$7.09 PAB7.09	+9.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 ₱123.63	$2.56 PAB2.56	+29.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.82 ₱113.99	$3.42 PAB3.42	+88.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 ₱79.71	$1.86 PAB1.86	+46.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 ₱39.88	$0.59 PAB0.59	-6.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.14 ₱71.82	$1.76 PAB1.76	+53.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 ₱37.68	$1.67 PAB1.67	+178.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 ₱56.97	$1.09 PAB1.09	+20.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 ₱63.44	$1.14 PAB1.14	+13.0%
Average			+48.6%

Philippines vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.2% more for transportation

	Philippines	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.37 ₱274.02	$4.34 PAB4.34	-0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.98 ₱814.22	$23.00 PAB23.00	+77.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,989.85 ₱1M	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	+14.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.59 ₱162.44	$16.62 PAB16.62	+542.0%
Average			+44.2%

Philippines vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.7 times more for housing

	Philippines	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.62 ₱1,607.28	$49.81 PAB49.81	+94.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$267.48 ₱16,783.05	$789.50 PAB789.50	+195.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$170.01 ₱10,667.07	$614.84 PAB614.84	+261.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.57 ₱5,369.21	$96.53 PAB96.53	+12.8%
Average			+171.4%

Philippines vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 83.3% more for childcare

	Philippines	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.60 ₱10,202.38	$543.33 PAB543.33	+234.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,174.58 ₱450K	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+0.5%
Average			+83.3%

Philippines vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Philippines	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.24 ₱77.69	$2.21 PAB2.21	+78.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.15 ₱134.97	$3.73 PAB3.73	+73.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.72 ₱170.53	$5.29 PAB5.29	+94.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.00 ₱1,882.49	$50.91 PAB50.91	+69.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.33 ₱334.65	$6.13 PAB6.13	+15.0%
Average			+58.3%

Philippines vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.3% more for clothing

	Philippines	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.72 ₱2,366.71	$45.56 PAB45.56	+20.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.70 ₱1,424.50	$36.71 PAB36.71	+61.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.85 ₱4,320.06	$69.81 PAB69.81	+1.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.10 ₱3,582.91	$88.33 PAB88.33	+54.7%
Average			+32.3%

Philippines vs. Panama - 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: Philippines vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 4.7 times more money in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Philippines is about 4 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Philippines to Panama · UN DESA 2020

1,923 people born in Philippines live in Panama.

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