Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nicaragua vs. Vietnam Cost of Living Summary

Nicaragua is 51.3% more expensive than Vietnam overall.

Restaurants: pay 93.0% more in Nicaragua
Groceries: pay 50.6% more in Nicaragua
Transportation: pay 1.5% less in Nicaragua
Housing: pay 95.1% more in Nicaragua
Childcare: pay 45.9% less in Nicaragua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.9% more in Nicaragua
Clothing: pay 87.8% more in Nicaragua

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

Nicaragua vs. Vietnam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nicaragua instead of Vietnam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 93.0% more for restaurants

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.88 ₫49,683	$4.57 NIO167.54	+142.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.13 ₫108,845	$6.80 NIO249.70	+64.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 ₫13,958	$0.82 NIO30.05	+54.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 ₫7,515	$0.60 NIO22.01	+110.4%
Average			+93.0%

Vietnam vs. Nicaragua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.6% more for groceries

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Bread 1 loaf	$0.86 ₫22,659	$1.74 NIO63.99	+102.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 ₫140,160	$3.29 NIO120.87	-38.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.20 ₫137,163	$4.55 NIO166.90	-12.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.45 ₫38,157	$1.98 NIO72.59	+36.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.56 ₫41,037	$2.48 NIO90.82	+59.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 ₫31,215	$1.77 NIO64.95	+49.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,417	$0.39 NIO14.44	-16.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 ₫15,166	$0.82 NIO29.96	+41.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 ₫12,939	$0.87 NIO32.04	+77.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 ₫12,243	$1.24 NIO45.67	+168.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,298	$0.88 NIO32.12	+87.6%
Average			+50.6%

Vietnam vs. Nicaragua - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.5% less for transportation

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.19 ₫84,134	$4.95 NIO181.64	+55.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$6.64 ₫175,156	$5.00 NIO183.61	-24.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,225.24 ₫875,846,709	$22,973.64 NIO843,003.80	-30.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.90 ₫155,607	$5.56 NIO204.17	-5.7%
Average			-1.5%

Vietnam vs. Nicaragua - Cost of transportation

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pay 95.1% more for housing

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.68 ₫228,737	$36.35 NIO1,333.96	+319.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$310.38 ₫8,181,759	$326.67 NIO11,986.84	+5.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$223.57 ₫5,893,546	$283.96 NIO10,419.68	+27.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.27 ₫1,140,722	$55.87 NIO2,050.11	+29.1%
Average			+95.1%

Vietnam vs. Nicaragua - Cost of housing

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pay 45.9% less for childcare

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.23 ₫5,251,819	$118.12 NIO4,334.53	-40.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,262.04 ₫323,238,187	$6,000.00 NIO220,166.41	-51.1%
Average			-45.9%

Vietnam vs. Nicaragua - Cost of childcare

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pay 79.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.93 ₫24,541	$1.31 NIO47.93	+40.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.60 ₫42,129	$2.16 NIO79.30	+35.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.28 ₫33,698	$2.66 NIO97.58	+108.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$20.38 ₫537,204	$33.69 NIO1,236.40	+65.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.19 ₫84,196	$8.00 NIO293.56	+150.5%
Average			+79.9%

Vietnam vs. Nicaragua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 87.8% more for clothing

	Vietnam	Nicaragua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.66 ₫834,603	$61.83 NIO2,268.67	+95.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.29 ₫561,324	$61.88 NIO2,270.47	+190.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.72 ₫1,916,905	$108.23 NIO3,971.55	+48.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.26 ₫2,036,773	$89.99 NIO3,302.29	+16.5%
Average			+87.8%

Vietnam 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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