Cost of living comparison

compared to

Guanacaste vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Guanacaste is 64.4% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 3.5 times more in Guanacaste
Groceries: pay 59.7% more in Guanacaste
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Guanacaste
Housing: pay 15.4% more in Guanacaste
Childcare: pay 30.6% less in Guanacaste
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.0% more in Guanacaste
Clothing: pay 8.3% less in Guanacaste

The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing in Guanacaste are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Guanacaste. Notably, restaurants and transportation are significantly more expensive in Guanacaste.

Guanacaste vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Guanacaste instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5 times more for restaurants

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$9.95 CRC4,861.74	+136.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.69	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	+101.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.39	$2.06 CRC1,004.21	+328.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.17	$1.67 CRC817.27	+445.1%
Average			+253.0%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.7% more for groceries

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥12.07	$2.64 CRC1,288.25	+54.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥52.80	$2.48 CRC1,209.63	-66.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.96	$6.94 CRC3,388.41	+4.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.56	$2.88 CRC1,404.76	+61.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.83	$1.80 CRC877.88	+17.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.95	$1.08 CRC526.73	+9.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.44	$0.65 CRC319.23	-15.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.66	$1.80 CRC877.88	+124.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.26	$0.63 CRC307.26	+4.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.46	$1.55 CRC755.52	+343.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.92	$0.90 CRC438.94	+117.8%
Average			+59.7%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.77	$5.39 CRC2,631.93	+27.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥223.02	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	$37,640.45 CRC18,386,324.93	+106.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.71	$16.12 CRC7,872.25	+248.3%
Average			+127.6%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.4% more for housing

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥91.43	$29.72 CRC14,515.52	+129.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	$198.11 CRC96,770.13	-78.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	$178.30 CRC87,093.12	-64.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥277.61	$68.88 CRC33,646.32	+75.4%
Average			+15.4%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - Cost of housing

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pay 30.6% less for childcare

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	$600.27 CRC293,213.50	-15.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	$12,608.37 CRC6,158,842.64	-45.8%
Average			-30.6%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.93	$2.67 CRC1,306.40	+138.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.52	$3.85 CRC1,882.22	+32.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.74	$3.96 CRC1,935.40	-5.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥408.91	$50.00 CRC24,424.85	-13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥59.47	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	+17.8%
Average			+34.0%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.3% less for clothing

	Beijing	Guanacaste
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥440.46	$59.43 CRC29,031.04	-4.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥257.16	$39.62 CRC19,354.03	+8.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥577.91	$79.24 CRC38,708.05	-3.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥746.11	$69.34 CRC33,869.55	-34.3%
Average			-8.3%

Beijing vs. Guanacaste - 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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