Cost of living comparison

Panama City, Panama

compared to

Port Vila, Vanuatu

Port Vila vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Port Vila is 52.7% more expensive than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 11.0% more in Port Vila
Groceries: pay 52.5% more in Port Vila
Transportation: pay 58.5% more in Port Vila
Housing: pay 2.9 times more in Port Vila
Childcare: pay 13.9% less in Port Vila
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.9% more in Port Vila
Clothing: pay 6.6% more in Port Vila

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in Port Vila are more expensive than in Panama City. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Port Vila.

Port Vila vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Port Vila instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 11.0% more for restaurants

	Panama City	Port Vila
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.25 PAB13.25	$11.23 VUV1,334	-15.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$9.60 VUV1,139	+19.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$2.17 VUV257	+16.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.41 PAB1.41	$1.73 VUV206	+22.8%
Average			+11.0%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.5% more for groceries

	Panama City	Port Vila
Bread 1 loaf	$2.51 PAB2.51	$2.46 VUV293	-1.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.39 PAB6.39	$10.11 VUV1,200	+58.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.80 PAB6.80	$8.55 VUV1,014	+25.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.68 PAB2.68	$5.20 VUV618	+94.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.41 PAB3.41	$8.41 VUV998	+146.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.48 PAB1.48	$2.23 VUV265	+50.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PAB0.72	$0.96 VUV113	+32.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.24 PAB1.24	$2.53 VUV301	+104.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.40 PAB1.40	$1.15 VUV136	-18.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.98 PAB0.98	$1.98 VUV235	+101.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 PAB1.15	$0.96 VUV114	-16.0%
Average			+52.5%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - Cost of groceries

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pay 58.5% more for transportation

	Panama City	Port Vila
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.69 PAB3.69	$7.17 VUV852	+94.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 PAB25.00	$67.38 VUV8,000	+169.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	$23,163.36 VUV2,750,000	+17.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.71 PAB16.71	$8.84 VUV1,050	-47.1%
Average			+58.5%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

	Panama City	Port Vila
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.10 PAB52.10	$228.83 VUV27,167	+339.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	$1,867.11 VUV221,667	+82.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$755.88 PAB755.88	$1,407.24 VUV167,070	+86.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.84 PAB94.84	$347.82 VUV41,294	+266.7%
Average			+193.6%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - Cost of housing

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pay 13.9% less for childcare

	Panama City	Port Vila
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$439.17 PAB439.17	$469.58 VUV55,750	+6.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	$6,586.82 VUV782,000	-34.7%
Average			-13.9%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Port Vila
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.00 PAB3.00	$4.59 VUV545	+53.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.59 PAB3.59	$5.09 VUV604	+41.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.50 PAB5.50	$9.27 VUV1,100	+68.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.27 PAB47.27	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.00 PAB7.00	$12.63 VUV1,500	+80.5%
Average			+60.9%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.6% more for clothing

	Panama City	Port Vila
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.91 PAB53.91	$46.33 VUV5,500	-14.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 PAB37.78	$67.38 VUV8,000	+78.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.62 PAB87.62	$101.08 VUV12,000	+15.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$108.75 PAB108.75	$50.54 VUV6,000	-53.5%
Average			+6.6%

Panama City vs. Port Vila - 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: April 2025

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