Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Centurion and Boquete

For one person, living is cheaper in Centurion: $1,367 a month against $1,438 in Boquete, rent and utilities included – about $850 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Boquete outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

66

Cost of Living Index in Centurion
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Centurion Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Boquete
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Boquete Living Index

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Centurion

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,367

/mo nomad

Boquete

🇵🇦 Panama

$1,438

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Centurion and in Boquete

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Centurion and in Boquete actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,367 in Centurion versus $1,438 in Boquete.

Centurion $1,367
Boquete $1,438

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,206 in Centurion versus $2,232 in Boquete.

Centurion $2,206
Boquete $2,232

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,045 in Centurion versus $3,026 in Boquete.

Centurion $3,045
Boquete $3,026

Living in Centurion costs roughly 5% less than in Boquete, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.75 R 363

$6.34 PAB 6.34

243.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.00 R 668

$40.22 PAB 40.22

-0.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.75 R 96.0

$7.31 PAB 7.31

-21.34%

Cappuccino

$2.67 R 44.52

$3.73 PAB 3.73

-28.42%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 16.13

$1.34 PAB 1.34

-27.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 R 14.48

$1.20 PAB 1.20

-27.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.04 R 34.07

$2.29 PAB 2.29

-10.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 R 40.34

$5.11 PAB 5.11

-52.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.45

$1.83 PAB 1.83

-36.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 20.23

$2.14 PAB 2.14

-43.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 35.24

$2.15 PAB 2.15

-1.86%

Eggs

$2.93 R 48.97

$2.51 PAB 2.51

16.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.09 R 168

$9.32 PAB 9.32

8.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.63 R 111

$7.49 PAB 7.49

-11.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.26 R 121

$15.36 PAB 15.36

-52.73%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 R 31.07

$4.49 PAB 4.49

-58.57%

Banana (1kg)

$1.86 R 31.09

$0.99 PAB 0.99

87.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.67

$4.28 PAB 4.28

-50.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.05 R 34.25

$2.19 PAB 2.19

-6.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 R 26.47

$2.15 PAB 2.15

-26.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 R 29.73

$2.26 PAB 2.26

-21.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 R 22.63

$2.20 PAB 2.20

-38.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.18

$1.71 PAB 1.71

-18.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.70 R 61.7

$5.02 PAB 5.02

-26.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.94 R 99.2

$8.13 PAB 8.13

-26.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 R 26.40

$1.15 PAB 1.15

37.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 R 34.85

$2.61 PAB 2.61

-19.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.36 R 39.37

$1.42 PAB 1.42

66.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.4 R 1,626

$24.84 PAB 24.84

292.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R 20.40

$1.02 PAB 1.02

19.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.18 R 19.71

$2.05 PAB 2.05

-42.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.04 R 151

$29.44 PAB 29.44

-69.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.44 R 24.05

$1.14 PAB 1.14

26.32%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.7K R 596.0K

$26.0K PAB 26.0K

37.42%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$32.9K R 548.5K

$22.4K PAB 22.4K

46.58%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$136 R 2,274

$59.2 PAB 59.2

130.18%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$29.89 R 499

$26.16 PAB 26.16

14.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.20 R 671

$43.16 PAB 43.16

-6.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.78 R 731

$82.1 PAB 82.1

-46.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 PAB 17.19

Cinema Ticket

$10.59 R 177

$6.63 PAB 6.63

59.73%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$315 R 5,252

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,416 R 73.7K

$5,932 PAB 5,932

-25.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.5 R 976

$24.90 PAB 24.90

134.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.25 R 722

$25.18 PAB 25.18

71.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 R 1,954

$44.37 PAB 44.37

163.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 R 1,704

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$335 R 5,599

$840 PAB 840

-60.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$369 R 6,155

$687 PAB 687

-46.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$581 R 9,691

$1,540 PAB 1,540

-62.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$891 R 14.9K

$1,302 PAB 1,302

-31.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$527 R 8,800

$1,198 PAB 1,198

-56.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$605 R 10.1K

$1,158 PAB 1,158

-47.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,364 R 39.5K

$797 PAB 797

196.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.5

6.5

61.54%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Centurion: October 24, 2026

Last update for Boquete: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Centurion

$369 27%

Boquete

$687 47.8% 86.2% $318

Eating Out

Centurion

$246 18%

Boquete

$149 10.4% 39.3% $96

Groceries & Markets

Centurion

$223 16.3%

Boquete

$294 20.4% 31.9% $71

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Centurion

$206 15.1%

Boquete

$129 8.9% 37.7% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Centurion

$144 10.6%

Boquete

$43 * 3% 70.6% $102

Getting Around

Centurion

$114 8.3%

Boquete

$42 2.9% 63.3% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Centurion

$65 4.8%

Boquete

$95 6.6% 46.8% $30

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $335 in Centurion and $840 in Boquete. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Centurion pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $40 in Centurion vs $40 in Boquete for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $223 vs $294 per month, with Centurion cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Centurion

🇵🇦 Boquete

🕒 Local time

12:01 12:01 PM

05:01 5:01 AM

7 h behind Centurion

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

236,580

7,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Panamanian Balboa PAB B/.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

1 PAB = 1 USD

1 PAB = 0.896 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PAB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.63 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

Panamanian Balboa exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1 PAB (1 PAB = 1 USD). 1 EUR = 1.12 PAB (1 PAB = 0.896 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Centurion Boquete 12,490 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Centurion
Boquete

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Centurion vs Boquete: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Centurion is about 5% cheaper overall, especially in groceries and leisure. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Centurion is about 3 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $335 in Centurion versus $840 in Boquete. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 32% higher in Boquete. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

A monthly transit pass in Boquete runs roughly 74% less than in Centurion. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Centurion is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Centurion delivers better value at $1,367 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Centurion hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Centurion and Boquete are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.