Cost of living comparison

Managua, Nicaragua

compared to

Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico City vs. Managua Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 40.1% more expensive than Managua.

Restaurants: pay 57.5% more in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 15.4% more in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 11.9% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 67.6% more in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.2% more in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 26.7% less in Mexico City

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

Mexico City vs. Managua Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Managua, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 57.5% more for restaurants

	Managua	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.08 NIO150.14	$9.93 MX$189.72	+143.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 NIO257.60	$7.45 MX$142.29	+6.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 NIO24.03	$1.08 MX$20.63	+65.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.67 NIO24.70	$0.77 MX$14.77	+15.1%
Average			+57.5%

Managua vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.4% more for groceries

	Managua	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.67 NIO61.40	$2.45 MX$46.85	+47.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.35 NIO86.64	$4.87 MX$92.99	+106.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 NIO154.48	$5.51 MX$105.24	+31.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 NIO71.35	$2.18 MX$41.71	+12.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.29 NIO84.40	$3.57 MX$68.23	+55.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.50 NIO91.92	$1.22 MX$23.35	-51.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 NIO23.41	$0.67 MX$12.79	+5.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 NIO52.96	$0.80 MX$15.27	-44.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 NIO21.63	$0.83 MX$15.81	+40.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 NIO50.72	$0.85 MX$16.26	-38.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 NIO29.23	$0.83 MX$15.81	+4.2%
Average			+15.4%

Managua vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.9% less for transportation

	Managua	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.07 NIO186.50	$4.64 MX$88.61	-8.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$17.87 MX$341.49
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,000.00 NIO809,600.00	$18,615.02 MX$355,719.96	-15.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$3.47 MX$66.40
Average			-11.9%

Managua vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.6% more for housing

	Managua	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$44.10 NIO1,622.94	$24.38 MX$465.87	-44.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 NIO9,200.00	$893.52 MX$17,074.56	+257.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$250.00 NIO9,200.00	$544.24 MX$10,399.96	+117.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$75.78 NIO2,788.58	$30.31 MX$579.23	-60.0%
Average			+67.6%

Managua vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Managua	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$125.56 NIO4,620.44	$381.33 MX$7,286.87	+203.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,800.00 NIO176,640.00	$8,426.99 MX$161,033.86	+75.6%
Average			+139.6%

Managua vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 39.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Managua	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 NIO50.05	$2.73 MX$52.17	+100.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.21 NIO81.48	$3.01 MX$57.45	+35.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.66 NIO97.86	$3.92 MX$74.94	+47.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.27 NIO1,371.53	$53.69 MX$1,025.93	+44.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.30 NIO268.54	$4.96 MX$94.86	-32.0%
Average			+39.2%

Managua vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.7% less for clothing

	Managua	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.93 NIO2,757.38	$56.36 MX$1,076.91	-24.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.67 NIO2,085.33	$41.06 MX$784.61	-27.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$109.40 NIO4,026.00	$91.99 MX$1,757.91	-15.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.00 NIO5,520.00	$91.93 MX$1,756.71	-38.7%
Average			-26.7%

Managua vs. Mexico City - 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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Managua vs.

Ottawa

Managua vs.

Quito

Managua vs.

Wellington

Managua vs.

Nairobi

Managua vs.

Manila

Managua vs.

London

Managua vs.

Beijing

Managua vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Mexico City

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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