Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. Argentina Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 48.8% more expensive than Argentina overall.
Costa Rica vs. Argentina Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Argentina, you would:
pay 4.0% more for restaurants
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $11.34 ARS16,754.56 | $9.77 CRC4,440.14 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $9.04 ARS13,364.79 | $9.53 CRC4,332.45 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $1.76 ARS2,594.67 | $2.00 CRC909.72 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.42 ARS2,105.67 | $1.57 CRC714.29 | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 51.6% more for groceries
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.96 ARS2,889.74 | $2.54 CRC1,154.31 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $5.26 ARS7,768.06 | $4.50 CRC2,045.70 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $5.01 ARS7,396.70 | $7.52 CRC3,419.04 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.36 ARS3,486.08 | $2.80 CRC1,270.36 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.01 ARS4,451.49 | $3.83 CRC1,739.32 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.03 ARS1,521.94 | $1.78 CRC810.64 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.91 ARS1,339.92 | $0.62 CRC279.47 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $0.64 ARS938.88 | $1.65 CRC748.65 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.22 ARS1,797.30 | $1.24 CRC564.42 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.53 ARS783.25 | $1.28 CRC580.68 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.52 ARS763.60 | $1.10 CRC500.12 | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 60.0% more for transportation
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $4.12 ARS6,088.90 | $5.47 CRC2,485.65 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $23.10 ARS34,137.03 | $54.59 CRC24,806.68 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $27,600.00 ARS41M | $36,444.91 CRC17M | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $11.28 ARS16,675.04 | $15.68 CRC7,124.94 | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 76.0% more for housing
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $24.35 ARS35,988.28 | $49.17 CRC22,346.18 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $389.68 ARS576K | $805.28 CRC366K | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $297.74 ARS440K | $555.89 CRC253K | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $58.36 ARS86,240.68 | $63.57 CRC28,888.02 | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 2.4 times more for childcare
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $268.88 ARS397K | $517.09 CRC235K | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $3,376.06 ARS5M | $9,552.94 CRC4M | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 36.5% more for entertainment and sports
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.55 ARS3,773.02 | $2.59 CRC1,175.36 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.16 ARS4,670.82 | $3.84 CRC1,744.45 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $3.29 ARS4,860.09 | $4.70 CRC2,135.57 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $32.30 ARS47,732.61 | $58.68 CRC26,665.74 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $6.74 ARS9,953.86 | $9.11 CRC4,138.47 | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.2% less for clothing
Argentina | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $89.61 ARS132K | $58.22 CRC26,455.19 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $79.61 ARS118K | $44.70 CRC20,314.05 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $115.13 ARS170K | $112.79 CRC51,255.70 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $111.12 ARS164K | $93.41 CRC42,446.87 | |
Argentina vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing
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 2026
Change currency:
Compare further: Argentina vs. Costa Rica
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Costa Rica?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 10 statistics
Be 34.9% less likely to live below the poverty line in Costa Rica
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Argentina is about 54 times bigger than Costa Rica.
→
Moving from Argentina to Costa Rica · UN DESA 2020
1,761 people born in Argentina live in Costa Rica.
→
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Argentina. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.