Cost of living comparison

Managua, Nicaragua

compared to

Asmara vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 49.6% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 2.5 times more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 44.5% more in Asmara
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Asmara
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Asmara
Childcare: pay 72.6% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.8% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 22.1% more in Asmara

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

Asmara vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5 times more for restaurants

	Managua	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.08 NIO150.04	$18.14 ERN272.04	+344.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 NIO257.43	$5.99 ERN89.85	-14.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 NIO24.02	$1.83 ERN27.50	+180.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 NIO24.68	$1.33 ERN20.00	+98.7%
Average			+152.4%

Managua vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.5% more for groceries

	Managua	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.67 NIO61.36	$0.50 ERN7.50	-70.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.35 NIO86.58	$1.50 ERN22.50	-36.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 NIO154.38	$6.14 ERN92.11	+46.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 NIO71.30	$4.52 ERN67.80	+133.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.29 NIO84.35	$12.17 ERN182.57	+430.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.50 NIO91.85	$5.54 ERN83.16	+122.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 NIO23.39	$0.58 ERN8.69	-8.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 NIO52.92	$0.86 ERN12.85	-40.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 NIO21.62	$0.55 ERN8.32	-5.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 NIO50.68	$0.80 ERN11.94	-42.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 NIO29.21	$0.48 ERN7.26	-39.1%
Average			+44.5%

Managua vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Managua	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.07 NIO186.38	$8.83 ERN132.49	+74.3%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$8.00 ERN120.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 NIO809,051.25	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	+203.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$5.73 ERN85.99
Average			+138.7%

Managua vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Managua	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.10 NIO1,621.84	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+353.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 NIO9,193.76	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	+90.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$250.00 NIO9,193.76	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	+60.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$75.78 NIO2,786.69	$21.03 ERN315.44	-72.2%
Average			+107.8%

Managua vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 72.6% less for childcare

	Managua	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$125.56 NIO4,617.31	$25.00 ERN375.00	-80.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,800.00 NIO176,520.27	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	-65.1%
Average			-72.6%

Managua vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 NIO50.01	$1.00 ERN15.00	-26.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.21 NIO81.43	$0.77 ERN11.58	-65.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.66 NIO97.80	$2.00 ERN30.00	-24.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.27 NIO1,370.60	$27.00 ERN405.00	-27.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.30 NIO268.36	$1.10 ERN16.50	-84.9%
Average			-45.8%

Managua vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.1% more for clothing

	Managua	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.93 NIO2,755.51	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	+10.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.67 NIO2,083.92	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	+32.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$109.40 NIO4,023.28	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+82.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.00 NIO5,516.26	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	-36.7%
Average			+22.1%

Managua vs. Asmara - 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

Managua vs.

Canberra

Managua vs.

Hanoi

Managua vs.

Phnom Penh

Managua vs.

Ankara

Managua vs.

Reykjavik

Managua vs.

Washington

Managua vs.

Rome

Managua vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Nicaragua vs. Eritrea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Nicaragua and Eritrea.

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 Managua

Add prices for Asmara

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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