Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nicaragua vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Nicaragua is 0.8% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 16.0% less in Nicaragua
Groceries: pay 33.5% more in Nicaragua
Transportation: pay 30.9% less in Nicaragua
Housing: pay 21.2% less in Nicaragua
Childcare: pay 9.8% more in Nicaragua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.3% less in Nicaragua
Clothing: pay 33.9% more in Nicaragua

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

Nicaragua vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 16.0% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$4.57 NIO167.54	-51.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$6.80 NIO249.70	+33.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.82 NIO30.05	-20.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.60 NIO22.01	-25.3%
Average			-16.0%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.5% more for groceries

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.74 NIO63.99	+73.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$3.29 NIO120.87	-15.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$4.55 NIO166.90	+4.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$1.98 NIO72.59	-15.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$2.48 NIO90.82	+16.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.77 NIO64.95	+143.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.39 NIO14.44	-39.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.82 NIO29.96	+19.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.87 NIO32.04	+23.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.24 NIO45.67	+112.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.88 NIO32.12	+45.9%
Average			+33.5%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.9% less for transportation

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$4.95 NIO181.64	+0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$5.00 NIO183.61	-91.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$22,973.64 NIO843,003.80	+7.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$5.56 NIO204.17	-40.4%
Average			-30.9%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.2% less for housing

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$36.35 NIO1,333.96	-7.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$326.67 NIO11,986.84	-19.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$283.96 NIO10,419.68	-21.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$55.87 NIO2,050.11	-36.6%
Average			-21.2%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of housing

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pay 9.8% more for childcare

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$118.12 NIO4,334.53	-31.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$6,000.00 NIO220,166.41	+51.4%
Average			+9.8%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.3% less for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.31 NIO47.93	-40.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.16 NIO79.30	+5.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$2.66 NIO97.58	-10.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$33.69 NIO1,236.40	+11.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$8.00 NIO293.56	+16.8%
Average			-3.3%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 33.9% more for clothing

	South Africa	Nicaragua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$61.83 NIO2,268.67	+21.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$61.88 NIO2,270.47	+88.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$108.23 NIO3,971.55	+14.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$89.99 NIO3,302.29	+10.0%
Average			+33.9%

South Africa vs. Nicaragua - Cost of clothing

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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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