Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Romania Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 41.7% more expensive than Romania overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.3% less in Panama
Groceries: pay 84.0% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 8.9% less in Panama
Housing: pay 98.7% more in Panama
Childcare: pay 6.7% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.6% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 8.1% less in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Romania Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.3% less for restaurants

	Romania	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.82 RON46.44	$8.20 PAB8.20	-16.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.22 RON34.13	$8.90 PAB8.90	+23.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.87 RON8.86	$1.41 PAB1.41	-24.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 RON7.43	$1.30 PAB1.30	-16.9%
Average			-5.3%

Romania vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 84.0% more for groceries

	Romania	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 RON5.19	$2.28 PAB2.28	+108.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 RON17.78	$6.18 PAB6.18	+64.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.36 RON25.36	$7.09 PAB7.09	+32.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.91 RON13.77	$2.56 PAB2.56	-12.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.69 RON12.72	$3.42 PAB3.42	+27.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 RON2.42	$1.86 PAB1.86	+263.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 RON3.18	$0.59 PAB0.59	-12.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.65 RON3.08	$1.76 PAB1.76	+170.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.89 RON4.19	$1.67 PAB1.67	+88.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 RON1.66	$1.09 PAB1.09	+210.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.36 RON1.70	$1.14 PAB1.14	+217.5%
Average			+84.0%

Romania vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.9% less for transportation

	Romania	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.55 RON30.98	$4.34 PAB4.34	-33.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.38 RON110.58	$23.00 PAB23.00	-1.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,083.66 RON128K	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-11.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.64 RON31.43	$16.62 PAB16.62	+150.2%
Average			-8.9%

Romania vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 98.7% more for housing

	Romania	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.56 RON40.50	$49.81 PAB49.81	+481.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$371.73 RON1,758.50	$789.50 PAB789.50	+112.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$281.26 RON1,330.53	$614.84 PAB614.84	+118.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$107.14 RON506.84	$96.53 PAB96.53	-9.9%
Average			+98.7%

Romania vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 6.7% more for childcare

	Romania	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$482.75 RON2,283.68	$543.33 PAB543.33	+12.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,125.14 RON33,706.19	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+1.2%
Average			+6.7%

Romania vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Romania	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 RON10.31	$2.21 PAB2.21	+1.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.45 RON11.57	$3.73 PAB3.73	+52.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 RON27.03	$5.29 PAB5.29	-7.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.73 RON183.19	$50.91 PAB50.91	+31.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.13 RON33.75	$6.13 PAB6.13	-14.0%
Average			+11.6%

Romania vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.1% less for clothing

	Romania	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.00 RON293.30	$45.56 PAB45.56	-26.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.53 RON168.09	$36.71 PAB36.71	+3.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.18 RON365.11	$69.81 PAB69.81	-9.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$85.19 RON402.98	$88.33 PAB88.33	+3.7%
Average			-8.1%

Romania 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: Romania vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 39.6% more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Romania is about 3.2 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Romania to Panama · UN DESA 2020

215 people born in Romania live in Panama.

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