Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Atenas Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 6.3% more expensive than Atenas.

Restaurants: pay 0.7% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 3.2% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 1.5% less in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 21.5% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 23.4% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.5% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 8.3% less in Costa Rica

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Atenas. Expenses including clothing, transportation, and restaurants are lower in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Atenas Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Atenas, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.7% less for restaurants

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.91 CRC4,354.66	$9.77 CRC4,772.77	+9.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	$9.53 CRC4,657.00	-3.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CRC1,004.21	$2.00 CRC977.87	-2.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 CRC817.27	$1.57 CRC767.80	-6.1%
Average			-0.7%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.2% more for groceries

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.64 CRC1,288.25	$2.54 CRC1,240.79	-3.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 CRC2,419.25	$4.50 CRC2,198.95	-9.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 CRC3,801.22	$7.52 CRC3,675.18	-3.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 CRC1,404.76	$2.80 CRC1,365.53	-2.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.97 CRC1,936.83	$3.83 CRC1,869.62	-3.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 CRC877.88	$1.78 CRC871.36	-0.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 CRC319.23	$0.62 CRC300.41	-5.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.08 CRC526.73	$1.65 CRC804.74	+52.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.99 CRC482.84	$1.24 CRC606.70	+25.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 CRC746.20	$1.28 CRC624.18	-16.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 CRC526.73	$1.10 CRC537.59	+2.1%
Average			+3.2%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.5% less for transportation

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,631.93	$5.47 CRC2,671.86	+1.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$54.59 CRC26,665.03
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,640.45 CRC18,386,324.93	$36,444.91 CRC17,802,336.11	-3.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.12 CRC7,872.25	$15.68 CRC7,658.69	-2.7%
Average			-1.5%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.5% more for housing

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.56 CRC22,740.98	$49.17 CRC24,020.20	+5.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$544.80 CRC266,117.86	$805.28 CRC393,355.72	+47.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$396.22 CRC193,540.26	$555.89 CRC271,535.63	+40.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.88 CRC33,646.32	$63.57 CRC31,052.11	-7.7%
Average			+21.5%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 23.4% more for childcare

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$600.27 CRC293,213.50	$517.09 CRC252,582.05	-13.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,943.23 CRC2,903,103.94	$9,552.94 CRC4,666,349.20	+60.7%
Average			+23.4%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 CRC1,306.40	$2.59 CRC1,263.41	-3.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.76 CRC1,838.63	$3.84 CRC1,875.13	+2.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.15 CRC2,516.02	$4.70 CRC2,295.55	-8.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$43.58 CRC21,289.43	$58.68 CRC28,663.36	+34.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.42 CRC4,112.73	$9.11 CRC4,448.49	+8.2%
Average			+6.5%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.3% less for clothing

	Atenas	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.74 CRC30,160.02	$58.22 CRC28,437.03	-5.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.53 CRC24,192.53	$44.70 CRC21,835.84	-9.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$118.86 CRC58,062.08	$112.79 CRC55,095.43	-5.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.98 CRC52,255.87	$93.41 CRC45,626.70	-12.7%
Average			-8.3%

Atenas vs. Costa Rica - 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: December 2025

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