Cost of living comparison

El Salvador

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 36.7% cheaper than San Salvador.

Restaurants: pay 17.9% more in Managua
Groceries: pay 19.5% less in Managua
Transportation: pay 41.3% less in Managua
Housing: pay 65.7% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 36.4% more in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.3% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 12.2% more in Managua

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

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Managua vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Managua instead of San Salvador, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 17.9% more for restaurants

	San Salvador	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 SVC59.06	$10.00 NIO368.55	+48.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SVC61.25	$7.61 NIO280.46	+8.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.14 SVC10.01	$0.88 NIO32.54	-22.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 SVC7.29	$0.71 NIO26.22	-14.6%
Average			+17.9%

San Salvador vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.5% less for groceries

	San Salvador	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$2.85 SVC24.94	$2.37 NIO87.46	-16.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.85 SVC33.72	$5.80 NIO213.64	+50.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 SVC60.81	$4.68 NIO172.61	-32.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.02 SVC26.39	$2.37 NIO87.18	-21.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.16 SVC27.66	$2.87 NIO105.79	-9.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.29 SVC20.07	$1.82 NIO67.08	-20.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 SVC5.54	$0.27 NIO10.03	-57.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SVC10.35	$0.82 NIO30.09	-31.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 SVC13.68	$1.11 NIO41.05	-28.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.33 SVC11.65	$1.79 NIO65.90	+34.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.49 SVC13.05	$1.01 NIO37.13	-32.4%
Average			-19.5%

San Salvador vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.3% less for transportation

	San Salvador	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.75 SVC41.60	$5.06 NIO186.38	+6.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.50 SVC328.13	$6.01 NIO221.41	-84.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SVC219K	$22,973.64 NIO847K	-8.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.00 SVC262.50	$14.69 NIO541.39	-51.0%
Average			-41.3%

San Salvador vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.7% less for housing

	San Salvador	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.50 SVC371.88	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	-23.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$898.99 SVC7,866.27	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-71.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$770.00 SVC6,737.58	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	-76.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$99.35 SVC869.35	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+16.6%
Average			-65.7%

San Salvador vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 36.4% more for childcare

	San Salvador	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.67 SVC1,423.35	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	+45.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,720.00 SVC41,300.50	$6,060.00 NIO223K	+28.4%
Average			+36.4%

San Salvador vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.3% more for entertainment and sports

	San Salvador	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SVC17.50	$1.50 NIO55.28	-25.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 SVC31.02	$2.60 NIO95.82	-26.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 SVC35.00	$2.73 NIO100.51	-31.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.60 SVC276.50	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	+10.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SVC43.75	$9.00 NIO331.69	+80.0%
Average			+1.3%

San Salvador vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.2% more for clothing

	San Salvador	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.15 SVC587.57	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	-10.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.00 SVC411.25	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+38.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.33 SVC1,035.43	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+3.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$117.00 SVC1,023.76	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+23.8%
Average			+12.2%

San Salvador vs. Managua - 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

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