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 CHF21.30	+98.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$17.11 CHF13.89	+113.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$4.65 CHF3.77	+150.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$4.30 CHF3.49	+204.9%
Average			+141.8%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of restaurants

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pay 63.1% more for groceries

	Panama City	Bern
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 PAB2.51	$3.23 CHF2.62	+29.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39 PAB6.39	$13.69 CHF11.11	+114.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 PAB6.80	$7.62 CHF6.18	+12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.68 PAB2.68	$5.84 CHF4.74	+118.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.41 PAB3.41	$13.31 CHF10.80	+290.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 PAB1.48	$1.48 CHF1.20	-0.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PAB0.72	$1.08 CHF0.88	+49.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 PAB1.24	$1.16 CHF0.94	-6.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$2.71 CHF2.20	+93.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$1.06 CHF0.86	+7.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 PAB1.15	$0.98 CHF0.80	-14.5%
Average			+63.1%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Panama City	Bern
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.69 PAB3.69	$7.86 CHF6.38	+113.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$91.24 CHF74.08	+265.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$37,408.50 CHF30,370.80	+89.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.71 PAB16.71	$43.00 CHF34.91	+157.4%
Average			+156.2%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.3% more for housing

	Panama City	Bern
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.10 PAB52.10	$48.66 CHF39.51	-6.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	$1,382.42 CHF1,122.34	+35.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$755.88 PAB755.88	$978.93 CHF794.76	+29.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.84 PAB94.84	$253.38 CHF205.71	+167.2%
Average			+56.3%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of housing

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pay 5.1 times more for childcare

	Panama City	Bern
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$439.17 PAB439.17	$3,022.33 CHF2,453.74	+588.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	$34,215.09 CHF27,778.17	+239.0%
Average			+413.6%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Bern
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$7.41 CHF6.02	+147.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.59 PAB3.59	$5.39 CHF4.38	+50.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.50 PAB5.50	$10.26 CHF8.33	+86.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.27 PAB47.27	$71.17 CHF57.78	+50.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.00 PAB7.00	$22.81 CHF18.52	+225.9%
Average			+112.1%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 99.3% more for clothing

	Panama City	Bern
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.91 PAB53.91	$142.37 CHF115.59	+164.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 PAB37.78	$63.68 CHF51.70	+68.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.62 PAB87.62	$167.27 CHF135.80	+90.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.75 PAB108.75	$189.00 CHF153.44	+73.8%
Average			+99.3%

Panama City vs. Bern - Cost of clothing

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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

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