Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 15.9% more expensive than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 47.6% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 50.7% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 10.0% less in Panama
Housing: pay 25.1% more in Panama
Childcare: pay 4.4% more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.1% less in Panama
Clothing: pay 11.1% less in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Panama instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.6% more for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.43 SAR24.15	$8.20 PAB8.20	+27.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.60 SAR28.53	$8.90 PAB8.90	+17.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.77 SAR2.90	$1.41 PAB1.41	+82.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 SAR0.94	$1.30 PAB1.30	+421.0%
Average			+47.6%

Saudi Arabia vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.7% more for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 SAR3.69	$2.28 PAB2.28	+132.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.80 SAR14.25	$6.18 PAB6.18	+62.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 SAR25.16	$7.09 PAB7.09	+5.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 SAR10.01	$2.56 PAB2.56	-4.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.42 SAR12.84	$3.42 PAB3.42
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 SAR3.66	$1.86 PAB1.86	+90.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.93	$0.59 PAB0.59	-24.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$1.76 PAB1.76	+120.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 SAR2.81	$1.67 PAB1.67	+123.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 SAR2.32	$1.09 PAB1.09	+77.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 SAR2.27	$1.14 PAB1.14	+88.9%
Average			+50.7%

Saudi Arabia vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.0% less for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.83	$4.34 PAB4.34	+84.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.96 SAR134.94	$23.00 PAB23.00	-36.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,549.24 SAR167K	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-46.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.52 SAR77.00	$16.62 PAB16.62	-19.0%
Average			-10.0%

Saudi Arabia vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 25.1% more for housing

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.86 SAR258.41	$49.81 PAB49.81	-27.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$633.54 SAR2,377.57	$789.50 PAB789.50	+24.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$465.22 SAR1,745.88	$614.84 PAB614.84	+32.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.68 SAR276.52	$96.53 PAB96.53	+31.0%
Average			+25.1%

Saudi Arabia vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 4.4% more for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$419.94 SAR1,575.96	$543.33 PAB543.33	+29.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,565.65 SAR32,145.50	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	-15.8%
Average			+4.4%

Saudi Arabia vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.91 SAR7.18	$2.21 PAB2.21	+15.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.43 SAR12.86	$3.73 PAB3.73	+8.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.94 SAR26.04	$5.29 PAB5.29	-23.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$98.19 SAR368.47	$50.91 PAB50.91	-48.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.24 SAR57.19	$6.13 PAB6.13	-59.8%
Average			-31.1%

Saudi Arabia vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.1% less for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.17 SAR165.75	$45.56 PAB45.56	+3.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.80 SAR209.42	$36.71 PAB36.71	-34.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.45 SAR335.69	$69.81 PAB69.81	-22.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$74.85 SAR280.89	$88.33 PAB88.33	+18.0%
Average			-11.1%

Saudi Arabia 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: Saudi Arabia vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics

Be 2.8 times more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Saudi Arabia is about 28 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from Saudi Arabia to Panama · UN DESA 2020

59 people born in Saudi Arabia live in Panama.

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