Cost Of Living In Nicaragua

Get Your Free Overseas Information
Report Today!


Learn more about NICARAGUA and other countries in our free, daily Overseas Opportunity Letter. Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you our FREE REPORT - The 10 Best Places To Retire In

What Is The Cost of Living In Nicaragua?

Reviewed by Kathleen Peddicord

Kathleen is the Live and Invest Overseas Founding Publisher. She has more than 30 years of hands-on experience traveling, living, and buying property around the world.


San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua
Alamy/wendy connett

Many Americans are attracted to Nicaragua because of the low cost of living. Yet these same people are often drawn to touristy areas and wonder where all of the bargains are.

The truth is, you can live extremely cheaply in Nicaragua but don’t expect to have all the same amenities you likely do today.

For instance, in the cheaper areas, utilities are spotty at best. And while you might get more of the services that you’re used to stateside in a place like San Juan del Sur, prices are going to look a lot closer to what you’re paying at home too.

Eating Out

Below you’ll find a chart of average prices across Nicaragua in US$ at the prevailing exchange rate (Jan. 2023).

Highlighting some of the particulars…

You can get a decent meal for 1 at an inexpensive restaurant for US$7. A meal at McDonald’s will set you back US$6.52.

Local beer is less than a US$2.00, as is a liter of milk. If you’d like to take a taxi to town, you’ll pay about US$23 for 30 kilometers (19 miles). And if you’d like the taxi driver to wait for an hour while you shop, you’ll pay just over US$8.

Electricity should run you around US$70 and decent internet slightly over US$50. Rents vary depending on the area but you can easily find something for under US$550 a month.

Please take a look at the table below to get a better idea of the average cost of living in Nicaragua.

RestaurantsAverage Cost ($USD)
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant$9.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course$20.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal)$6.79
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter draught)$2.00
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)$4.00
Cappuccino (regular)$0.95
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 liter bottle)$0.96
Water (0.33 liter bottle)$0.79

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas In

Grocery Shopping

MarketsAverage Cost ($USD)
Milk (regular), (1 liter)$1.27
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (500g)$1.81
Rice (white), (1kg)$1.37
Eggs (12)$1.99
Local Cheese (1kg)$3.71
Chicken Breasts (Boneless, Skinless), (1kg)$3.80
Beef Round (1kg) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat)$8.63
Apples (1kg)$8.00
Banana (1kg)$1.46
Oranges (1kg)$1.38
Tomato (1kg)$1.39
Potato (1kg)$1.39
Onion (1kg)$1.51
Lettuce (1 head)$0.92
Water (1.5 liter bottle)$0.90
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range)$10.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)$1.50
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)$3.04
Pack of Cigarettes (Marlboro)$4.00

Transportation Cost

TransportationAverage Cost ($USD)
One-way Ticket (Local Transport)$0.50
Monthly Pass (Regular Price)N/A
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)$0.63
Taxi 1km (Normal Tariff)$0.60
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)$8.05
Gasoline (1 liter)$2.05
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car)$22,000
Toyota Corolla 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car)$31,000

Cost Of Utilities In Nicaragua

Utilities (Monthly)Average Cost ($USD)
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Water, Garbage) for 85m2 Apartment$74.62
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local (No Discounts or Plans)$0.67
Internet (10 Mbps, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL)$56.17

Start Your New Life Today, Overseas

A world full of fun, adventure, and profit awaits! Sign up for our free daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter, and we'll send you a FREE report on the 10 Best Places To Retire In Style Overseas In

Cost Of Clothing And Shoes

Clothing And ShoesAverage Cost ($USD)
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)$39.57
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...)$23.52
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes$36.29

Rent In Nicaragua

Rent Per MonthAverage Cost ($USD)
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre$365.67
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre$201.47
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre$575.54
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre$350.50

Cost Of Living In Nicaragua: Purchasing Real Estate

Buy Apartment PriceAverage Cost ($USD)
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment in City Centre$370.00
Price per Square Meter to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre$357.50

Nicaragua - FAQs

Does Nicaragua Offer Quality Health Care?

The health care system in Nicaragua is, as elsewhere in the region, a two-tier system consisting a wide network of public hospitals that would be considered substandard in the United States or Canada and private, for-profit facilities that are — in many cases — on par with those you would be accustomed to back home.

Popular Articles

No Content Available
No Content Available
No Content Available

Nicaragua Articles

The Best Places To Retire In Latin America

Easygoing cultures, friendly people, warm weather and all-year sunshine, extraordinary and diverse natural beauty from the Caribbean to the Pacific with mountainside villages and historic colonial cities in between... Plus a cost of living that means your budget can stretch two, three, four, five times further than it does back home... Especially right now thanks to the supercharged U.S. dollar. The Greenback is at historic highs versus the Mexican peso, the Colombian peso, the Brazilian real... It all adds up...

Read more

Get Your Free Overseas Information
Report Today!


Learn more about NICARAGUA and other countries in our free, daily Overseas Opportunity Letter. Simply enter your email address below and we’ll send you our FREE REPORT - The 10 Best Places To Retire In

Sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report…

RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY