Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 2.1 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Managua
Groceries: pay 89.2% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 42.6% more in Managua
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Managua
Childcare: pay 7.5 times more in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.2% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 2.8 times more in Managua

The cost of childcare, clothing, restaurants, housing, groceries, and transportation in Managua are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, clothing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Managua.

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Managua vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Managua instead of Thimphu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$10.00 NIO368.55	+286.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$7.61 NIO280.46	+54.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.88 NIO32.54	+76.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.71 NIO26.22	+293.2%
Average			+160.1%

Thimphu vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 89.2% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$2.37 NIO87.46	+121.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$5.80 NIO213.64	+208.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$4.68 NIO172.61	+54.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$2.37 NIO87.18	+25.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$2.87 NIO105.79	+60.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$1.82 NIO67.08	+58.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.27 NIO10.03	-60.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.82 NIO30.09	+12.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$1.11 NIO41.05	+233.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$1.79 NIO65.90	+593.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$1.01 NIO37.13	+224.3%
Average			+89.2%

Thimphu vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.6% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$5.06 NIO186.38	+81.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$6.01 NIO221.41	+16.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$22,973.64 NIO847K	+38.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$14.69 NIO541.39	+11.4%
Average			+42.6%

Thimphu vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	+34.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	+101.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	+110.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+348.8%
Average			+126.7%

Thimphu vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 7.5 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	+424.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$6,060.00 NIO223K	+965.6%
Average			+647.5%

Thimphu vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$1.50 NIO55.28	-42.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$2.60 NIO95.82	+103.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$2.73 NIO100.51	-29.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	-25.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$9.00 NIO331.69	+190.1%
Average			+21.2%

Thimphu vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.8 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+19.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+160.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+82.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+937.5%
Average			+177.2%

Thimphu 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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