Managua vs Santiago - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Managua	Santiago
🚶 Cost of living one person	$738	$1133
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1935	$2851
🏠 One person rent	$273	$502
🏘️ Family rent	$566	$950
🍽️ Food expenses	$325	$373
🚐 Transport expenses	$43.2	$159
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$416	$777
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	13 km
🎓 Higher education	33	91
😀 Quality of life	43	77
🏙️ Population	937K	6.26M

The cost of living in Managua is 35% less expensive than in Santiago. Cities ranked 6728th and 4686th ($738 vs $1133) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in Nicaragua and Chile, respectively. Check Nicaragua vs Chile comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Managua compared to 0.7 months in Santiago. Managua ranked 1st best city to live in Nicaragua vs Santiago ranked 1st in Chile, while ranked 6714th and 764th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Managua vs Santiago infographic

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Prices in Managua vs Santiago

Prices for goods and services in Managua and Santiago are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Managua	Santiago
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$4.9	$12.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$29.5	$47.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.27	$8.28
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.3	$3.5
☕ Cappuccino	$2.17	$3.41
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.76	$1.76
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$232	$490
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$169	$386
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$435	$956
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$449	$777
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$54.5	$75.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$83.1	$117
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$36.9	$20.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.3%	5.21%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1162	$3078
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$441	$3323
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.14	$0.86
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$5.96	$43.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$5.98	$10.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.32	$1.41
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.16	$1.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.26	$1.26
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.7	$1.6
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.18	$4.06
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.8	$11.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.36	$6.31
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.86	$10.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.24	$1.98
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.95	$1.56
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$2.04
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.22	$1.78
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.83	$1.79
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.21	$1.54
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.72	$0.79
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.29	$2.33
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$14.7	$5.81
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.35	$1.5
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.68	$5.34
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.58	$4.52
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4	$4.82
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.64	$2.39
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.33	$3.09
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$36.1	$38.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.99	$6.35
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$21	$46.2
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.84	$16.9
👖 Brand Jeans	$76.8	$53.8
👟 Brand Sneakers	$119	$74.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$124	$414
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5713	$8040

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Managua

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Masaya	$710
42 km or 26 mi	Granada	$701
74 km or 46 mi	Leon	$632
93 km or 58 mi	Matagalpa	$624
95 km or 59 mi	Juigalpa	$666
104 km or 65 mi	Esteli	$598
108 km or 67 mi	Chinandega	$638
108 km or 67 mi	Jinotega	$455
109 km or 68 mi	San Juan del Sur	$839
192 km or 119 mi	Liberia	$932
211 km or 131 mi	Tamarindo	$1710
239 km or 148 mi	Tegucigalpa	$863
255 km or 159 mi	San Miguel	$1088
272 km or 169 mi	Usulutan	$1083
288 km or 179 mi	Puntarenas	$801
297 km or 185 mi	Comayagua	$753
303 km or 188 mi	Santa Teresa	$1213
326 km or 203 mi	Alajuela	$1269
335 km or 208 mi	Heredia	$1296
343 km or 213 mi	San Jose	$1324
345 km or 214 mi	Yoro	$755
361 km or 224 mi	Soyapango	$1182
361 km or 224 mi	San Salvador	$1204
361 km or 224 mi	Cartago	$1024
365 km or 227 mi	Mejicanos	$1175
365 km or 227 mi	Apopa	$1160
369 km or 229 mi	Santa Tecla	$1194
398 km or 247 mi	El Progreso	$903
400 km or 248 mi	Villanueva	$897
406 km or 252 mi	La Lima	$897
408 km or 253 mi	La Ceiba	$626
408 km or 254 mi	Santa Ana	$698
412 km or 256 mi	Sonsonate	$884
418 km or 260 mi	San Pedro Sula	$1047
427 km or 265 mi	Limon	$1225
430 km or 267 mi	Choloma	$719
435 km or 270 mi	Ahuachapan	$1449
453 km or 282 mi	Puerto Cortes	$788
489 km or 304 mi	Jalapa	$936
533 km or 331 mi	San Miguel Petapa	$941

Cities near Santiago

Distance	City	Cost of living
17 km or 11 mi	San Bernardo	$875
20 km or 12 mi	Puente Alto	$930
69 km or 43 mi	Los Andes	$759
78 km or 48 mi	San Felipe	$720
80 km or 50 mi	Rancagua	$798
80 km or 50 mi	Villa Alemana	$827
83 km or 52 mi	Quillota	$833
85 km or 53 mi	Quilpue	$832
89 km or 55 mi	San Antonio	$1074
95 km or 59 mi	Vina del Mar	$874
99 km or 62 mi	Valparaiso	$805
130 km or 80 mi	San Fernando	$920
179 km or 111 mi	Curico	$765
181 km or 112 mi	Godoy Cruz	$812
182 km or 113 mi	Mendoza	$823
185 km or 115 mi	Las Heras	$815
208 km or 129 mi	San Martin	$790
238 km or 148 mi	Talca	$835
251 km or 156 mi	San Rafael	$511
264 km or 164 mi	Constitucion	$814
280 km or 174 mi	Linares	$860
292 km or 181 mi	San Juan	$768
321 km or 199 mi	Ovalle	$735
375 km or 233 mi	Chillan	$642
394 km or 245 mi	Coquimbo	$807
398 km or 247 mi	La Serena	$814
401 km or 249 mi	San Luis	$731
409 km or 254 mi	Tome	$750
426 km or 265 mi	Talcahuano	$671
434 km or 269 mi	Concepcion	$902
455 km or 283 mi	Coronel	$810
456 km or 284 mi	Lujan	$722
464 km or 288 mi	Lota	$800
472 km or 294 mi	Los Angeles	$762
482 km or 300 mi	Villa Mercedes	$710
508 km or 316 mi	Curanilahue	$793
518 km or 322 mi	Angol	$791
542 km or 337 mi	Vallenar	$786
576 km or 358 mi	La Rioja	$680
588 km or 366 mi	Rio Cuarto	$731