Cost of living comparison

Madagascar

compared to

Nicaragua vs. Madagascar Cost of Living Summary

Nicaragua is 51.4% more expensive than Madagascar overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.7% more in Nicaragua
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Nicaragua
Transportation: pay 5.8% more in Nicaragua
Housing: pay 96.1% more in Nicaragua
Childcare: pay 6.7% more in Nicaragua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.6% more in Nicaragua
Clothing: pay 94.1% more in Nicaragua

The cost of groceries, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and childcare in Nicaragua are more expensive than in Madagascar. Notably, groceries, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua vs. Madagascar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.7% more for restaurants

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.90 MGA13,558	$4.15 NIO152.77	+43.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 MGA20,086	$5.48 NIO201.53	+27.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 MGA4,302	$0.95 NIO35.01	+3.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 MGA3,041	$0.66 NIO24.10	+0.7%
Average			+18.7%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 MGA4,296	$1.43 NIO52.74	+56.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.17 MGA24,163	$2.35 NIO86.57	-54.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.71 MGA17,338	$4.24 NIO156.00	+14.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.80 MGA8,436	$1.88 NIO69.14	+4.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.51 MGA11,730	$2.20 NIO81.11	-12.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.64 MGA2,999	$2.80 NIO102.98	+336.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.32 MGA1,485	$0.60 NIO22.13	+89.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.55 MGA2,562	$1.72 NIO63.26	+213.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.34 MGA1,575	$0.65 NIO24.09	+94.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 MGA1,321	$1.08 NIO39.75	+282.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.37 MGA1,720	$0.97 NIO35.80	+164.5%
Average			+108.0%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.8% more for transportation

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.28 MGA20,006	$5.15 NIO189.40	+20.3%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$30.05 NIO1,105.63
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,817.99 MGA55,236,137	$18,168.72 NIO668,447.39	+53.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.46 MGA58,249	$5.42 NIO199.30	-56.5%
Average			+5.8%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 96.1% more for housing

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$58.38 MGA272,881	$44.72 NIO1,645.44	-23.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$241.73 MGA1,129,830	$308.00 NIO11,331.74	+27.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$65.00 MGA303,824	$281.86 NIO10,370.03	+333.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$35.96 MGA168,087	$52.83 NIO1,943.53	+46.9%
Average			+96.1%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.7% more for childcare

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$89.71 MGA419,292	$112.78 NIO4,149.22	+25.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,292.35 MGA52,779,342	$9,900.00 NIO364,231.99	-12.3%
Average			+6.7%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.91 MGA4,268	$1.22 NIO44.80	+33.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.13 MGA5,289	$2.28 NIO83.88	+101.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.46 MGA11,499	$2.97 NIO109.13	+20.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.89 MGA144,367	$26.12 NIO961.16	-15.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.45 MGA30,129	$7.30 NIO268.48	+13.2%
Average			+30.6%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 94.1% more for clothing

	Madagascar	Nicaragua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.15 MGA66,147	$42.40 NIO1,560.02	+199.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.67 MGA73,230	$40.36 NIO1,484.85	+157.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.98 MGA336,438	$58.79 NIO2,163.01	-18.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.39 MGA268,230	$79.04 NIO2,907.91	+37.7%
Average			+94.1%

Madagascar vs. Nicaragua - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Madagascar vs.

Poland

Madagascar vs.

United States

Madagascar vs.

Ecuador

Madagascar vs.

Germany

Madagascar vs.

Vietnam

Madagascar vs.

Russia

Madagascar vs.

Italy

Madagascar vs.

Australia

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Antananarivo vs. Managua

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Madagascar

Add prices for Nicaragua

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Nicaragua or Madagascar. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.