Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 33.9% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0% less in Panama
Groceries: pay 10.6% less in Panama
Transportation: pay 21.1% less in Panama
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Panama
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.3% more in Panama
Clothing: pay 53.4% more in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 STD200K	$8.20 PAB8.20	-8.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.89 STD176K	$8.90 PAB8.90	+12.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.84 STD41,004	$1.41 PAB1.41	-23.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 STD27,770	$1.30 PAB1.30	+4.7%
Average			-2.0%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.6% less for groceries

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 STD22,187	$2.28 PAB2.28	+129.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.80 STD218K	$6.18 PAB6.18	-36.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.87 STD131K	$7.09 PAB7.09	+20.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.85 STD108K	$2.56 PAB2.56	-47.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.89 STD198K	$3.42 PAB3.42	-61.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 STD37,881	$1.86 PAB1.86	+9.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 STD17,644	$0.59 PAB0.59	-25.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 STD36,419	$1.76 PAB1.76	+7.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 STD34,958	$1.67 PAB1.67	+6.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 STD29,299	$1.09 PAB1.09	-16.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 STD23,986	$1.14 PAB1.14	+6.1%
Average			-10.6%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.1% less for transportation

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.46 STD144K	$4.34 PAB4.34	-32.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$23.00 PAB23.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,634.18 STD549M	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-2.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.43 STD500K	$16.62 PAB16.62	-25.9%
Average			-21.1%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.91 STD1M	$49.81 PAB49.81	-25.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$284.91 STD6M	$789.50 PAB789.50	+177.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.02 STD4M	$614.84 PAB614.84	+215.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.83 STD4M	$96.53 PAB96.53	-44.8%
Average			+114.5%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.62 STD5M	$543.33 PAB543.33	+137.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,194.77 STD49M	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+228.7%
Average			+179.5%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 STD37,799	$2.21 PAB2.21	+30.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.26 STD50,442	$3.73 PAB3.73	+64.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.26 STD50,420	$5.29 PAB5.29	+133.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 STD756K	$50.91 PAB50.91	+50.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.16 STD449K	$6.13 PAB6.13	-69.6%
Average			+4.3%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.4% more for clothing

	Sao Tome and Principe	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$45.56 PAB45.56
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.02 STD2M	$36.71 PAB36.71	-51.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$69.81 PAB69.81
Men's business shoes (leather)	$18.36 STD409K	$88.33 PAB88.33	+381.0%
Average			+53.4%

Sao Tome and Principe 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: Sao Tome and Principe vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 4.8 times more money in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Sao Tome and Principe is about 78 times smaller than Panama.

Moving from Sao Tome and Principe to Panama · Cost, visas & climate

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