Cost of living comparison

Panama City, Panama

compared to

Bern, Switzerland

Bern vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Bern is 2.5 times more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in Bern
Groceries: pay 63.1% more in Bern
Transportation: pay 2.6 times more in Bern
Housing: pay 56.3% more in Bern
Childcare: pay 5.1 times more in Bern
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Bern
Clothing: pay 99.3% more in Bern

The cost of childcare, transportation, restaurants, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in Bern are more expensive than in Panama City. Notably, childcare, transportation, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Bern.

Bern vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bern instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Panama City	Bern
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.25 PAB13.25	$26.23 CHF21.56	+98.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$17.11 CHF14.06	+113.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$4.65 CHF3.82	+150.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$4.30 CHF3.54	+204.9%
Average			+141.8%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.1% more for groceries

	Panama City	Bern
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 PAB2.51	$3.23 CHF2.66	+29.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39 PAB6.39	$13.69 CHF11.25	+114.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 PAB6.80	$7.62 CHF6.26	+12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.68 PAB2.68	$5.84 CHF4.80	+118.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.41 PAB3.41	$13.31 CHF10.94	+290.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 PAB1.48	$1.48 CHF1.22	-0.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PAB0.72	$1.08 CHF0.89	+49.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 PAB1.24	$1.16 CHF0.95	-6.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$2.71 CHF2.23	+93.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$1.06 CHF0.87	+7.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 PAB1.15	$0.98 CHF0.81	-14.5%
Average			+63.1%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Panama City	Bern
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.69 PAB3.69	$7.86 CHF6.46	+113.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$91.24 CHF75.00	+265.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$37,408.50 CHF30,750.46	+89.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.71 PAB16.71	$43.00 CHF35.34	+157.4%
Average			+156.2%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 56.3% more for housing

	Panama City	Bern
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.10 PAB52.10	$48.66 CHF40.00	-6.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	$1,382.42 CHF1,136.37	+35.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$755.88 PAB755.88	$978.93 CHF804.70	+29.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.84 PAB94.84	$253.38 CHF208.28	+167.2%
Average			+56.3%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.1 times more for childcare

	Panama City	Bern
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$439.17 PAB439.17	$3,022.33 CHF2,484.41	+588.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	$34,215.09 CHF28,125.42	+239.0%
Average			+413.6%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Bern
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$7.41 CHF6.09	+147.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.59 PAB3.59	$5.39 CHF4.43	+50.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.50 PAB5.50	$10.26 CHF8.44	+86.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.27 PAB47.27	$71.17 CHF58.50	+50.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.00 PAB7.00	$22.81 CHF18.75	+225.9%
Average			+112.1%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 99.3% more for clothing

	Panama City	Bern
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.91 PAB53.91	$142.37 CHF117.03	+164.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 PAB37.78	$63.68 CHF52.34	+68.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.62 PAB87.62	$167.27 CHF137.50	+90.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.75 PAB108.75	$189.00 CHF155.36	+73.8%
Average			+99.3%

Panama City vs. Bern - 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

Panama City vs.

Quito

Panama City vs.

Madrid

Panama City vs.

Delhi

Panama City vs.

Dublin

Panama City vs.

Algiers

Panama City vs.

Lima

Panama City vs.

Canberra

Panama City vs.

Moscow

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Panama City

Add prices for Bern

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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