Cost of living comparison

Pretoria, South Africa

compared to

Panama City, Panama

Panama City vs. Pretoria Cost of Living Summary

Panama City is 52.7% more expensive than Pretoria.

Restaurants: pay 71.1% more in Panama City
Groceries: pay 68.2% more in Panama City
Transportation: pay 1.3% more in Panama City
Housing: pay 72.1% more in Panama City
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Panama City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.9% more in Panama City
Clothing: pay 6.1% more in Panama City

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

Panama City vs. Pretoria Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 71.1% more for restaurants

	Pretoria	Panama City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.52 ZAR151.51	$13.25 PAB13.25	+55.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.68 ZAR83.28	$8.00 PAB8.00	+70.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 ZAR17.93	$1.86 PAB1.86	+84.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 ZAR14.44	$1.41 PAB1.41	+73.8%
Average			+71.1%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 68.2% more for groceries

	Pretoria	Panama City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR19.10	$2.51 PAB2.51	+133.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 ZAR65.74	$6.39 PAB6.39	+72.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.91 ZAR87.37	$6.80 PAB6.80	+38.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.35 ZAR41.74	$2.68 PAB2.68	+14.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 ZAR36.92	$3.41 PAB3.41	+64.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.69 ZAR12.28	$1.48 PAB1.48	+114.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.18	$0.72 PAB0.72	+5.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.90	$1.24 PAB1.24	+71.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 ZAR13.39	$1.40 PAB1.40	+85.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR11.38	$0.98 PAB0.98	+53.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 ZAR10.37	$1.15 PAB1.15	+96.6%
Average			+68.2%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.3% more for transportation

	Pretoria	Panama City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.05 ZAR89.89	$3.69 PAB3.69	-27.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.32 ZAR1,161.56	$25.00 PAB25.00	-61.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,084.78 ZAR339,376.96	$19,750.00 PAB19,750.00	+3.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.78 ZAR156.05	$16.71 PAB16.71	+90.4%
Average			+1.3%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - Cost of transportation

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pay 72.1% more for housing

	Pretoria	Panama City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.13 ZAR695.86	$52.10 PAB52.10	+33.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$416.34 ZAR7,403.67	$1,023.81 PAB1,023.81	+145.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$379.25 ZAR6,744.03	$755.88 PAB755.88	+99.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.03 ZAR1,529.83	$94.84 PAB94.84	+10.2%
Average			+72.1%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Pretoria	Panama City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.65 ZAR3,852.62	$439.17 PAB439.17	+102.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,800.41 ZAR85,363.69	$10,092.67 PAB10,092.67	+110.2%
Average			+106.5%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Pretoria	Panama City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.39 ZAR42.42	$3.00 PAB3.00	+25.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 ZAR35.49	$3.59 PAB3.59	+79.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 ZAR52.52	$5.50 PAB5.50	+86.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.21 ZAR608.35	$47.27 PAB47.27	+38.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR138.88	$7.00 PAB7.00	-10.4%
Average			+43.9%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.1% more for clothing

	Pretoria	Panama City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.09 ZAR872.89	$53.91 PAB53.91	+9.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.65 ZAR616.13	$37.78 PAB37.78	+9.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.30 ZAR1,641.33	$87.62 PAB87.62	-5.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.31 ZAR1,748.16	$108.75 PAB108.75	+10.6%
Average			+6.1%

Pretoria vs. Panama City - 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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See the cost of living in South Africa vs. Panama. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa and Panama.

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