Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nicaragua vs. Quito Cost of Living Summary

Nicaragua is 4.7% cheaper than Quito.

Restaurants
pay 15.6% less in Nicaragua
Groceries
pay 27.2% more in Nicaragua
Transportation
pay 9.2% less in Nicaragua
Housing
pay 28.3% more in Nicaragua
Childcare
pay 47.1% less in Nicaragua
Entertainment and Sports
pay 25.2% less in Nicaragua
Clothing
pay 8.7% more in Nicaragua

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

Nicaragua vs. Quito Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Quito, you would:

pay 15.6% less for restaurants

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.00
 
$4.57
NIO168.02
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.38
 
$6.80
NIO250.43
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.13
 
$0.82
NIO30.13

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pay 27.2% more for groceries

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Bread
1 loaf
$1.62
 
$1.74
NIO64.17
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.18
 
$3.29
NIO121.22
Milk (1 gallon) $4.06
 
$4.55
NIO167.38

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pay 9.2% less for transportation

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.63
 
$4.95
NIO182.16
Monthly public transit pass $27.00
 
$5.00
NIO184.15
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,000.00
 
$22,973.64
NIO845,447.14

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pay 28.3% more for housing

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$28.44
 
$36.35
NIO1,337.82
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $448.12
 
$326.67
NIO12,021.58
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $317.19
 
$283.96
NIO10,449.88

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pay 47.1% less for childcare

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $283.25
 
$118.12
NIO4,347.09
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,360.00
 
$6,000.00
NIO220,804.53

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pay 25.2% less for entertainment and sports

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.38
 
$1.31
NIO48.06
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.96
 
$2.16
NIO79.53
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.00
 
$2.66
NIO97.86

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pay 8.7% more for clothing

 
Quito
Nicaragua
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$60.15
 
$61.83
NIO2,275.24
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$46.83
 
$61.88
NIO2,277.05
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$105.42
 
$108.23
NIO3,983.06

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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: December 2025
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