Cost of living comparison

compared to

Central African Republic vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Central African Republic is 52.6% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.3% more in Central African Republic
Groceries: pay 82.8% more in Central African Republic
Transportation: pay 84.8% more in Central African Republic
Housing: pay 65.8% more in Central African Republic
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.2% more in Central African Republic

The cost of transportation, groceries, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Central African Republic are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Notably, transportation and groceries are significantly more expensive in Central African Republic.

Central African Republic vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Central African Republic instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.3% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	??
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC995.21	??
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC781.41	$1.78 FCFA1,007	+13.3%
Average			+13.3%

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 82.8% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	$4.45 FCFA2,518	+75.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	$4.45 FCFA2,518	-1.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	$20.22 FCFA11,438	+168.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	$5.34 FCFA3,022	+91.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	$4.04 FCFA2,284	+5.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC886.81	??
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC305.74	??
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC819.01	$3.23 FCFA1,827	+96.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC617.46	$2.42 FCFA1,371	+95.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC635.24	$2.02 FCFA1,142	+58.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC547.12	$2.83 FCFA1,599	+156.9%
Average			+82.8%

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.8% more for transportation

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	$10.11 FCFA5,719	+84.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	??
Average			+84.8%

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 65.8% more for housing

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	$1,335.44 FCFA755,392	+65.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	??
Average			+65.8%

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	??

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	$3.56 FCFA2,014	+37.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	??
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	$4.45 FCFA2,518	-5.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	??
Average			+16.2%

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Costa Rica	Central African Republic
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	??

Costa Rica vs. Central African Republic - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Costa Rica vs.

Poland

Costa Rica vs.

France

Costa Rica vs.

Vietnam

Costa Rica vs.

United Kingdom

Costa Rica vs.

Italy

Costa Rica vs.

Russia

Costa Rica vs.

United States

Costa Rica vs.

Greece

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in San Jose vs. Bangui

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

Add prices for Costa Rica

Add prices for Central African Republic

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Central African Republic or Costa Rica. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.