Cost of living comparison
compared to
Ecuador vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary
Ecuador is 38.2% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.
Ecuador vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Ecuador instead of Costa Rica, you would:
pay 51.4% less for restaurants
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $9.77 CRC4,440.14 | $3.56 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $9.53 CRC4,332.45 | $6.93 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.00 CRC909.72 | $0.91 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.57 CRC714.29 | $0.63 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - Cost of restaurants
pay 43.6% less for groceries
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $2.54 CRC1,154.31 | $1.62 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $4.50 CRC2,045.70 | $3.11 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $7.52 CRC3,419.04 | $4.00 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.80 CRC1,270.36 | $2.28 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.83 CRC1,739.32 | $2.55 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.78 CRC810.64 | $0.83 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.62 CRC279.47 | $0.49 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.65 CRC748.65 | $0.52 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.24 CRC564.42 | $0.51 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.28 CRC580.68 | $0.57 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.10 CRC500.12 | $0.46 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - Cost of groceries
pay 43.1% less for transportation
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $5.47 CRC2,485.65 | $2.52 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $54.59 CRC24,806.68 | $26.64 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $36,444.91 CRC17M | $23,000.00 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $15.68 CRC7,124.94 | $10.89 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - Cost of transportation
pay 46.4% less for housing
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $49.17 CRC22,346.18 | $29.34 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $805.28 CRC366K | $360.30 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $555.89 CRC253K | $278.34 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $63.57 CRC28,888.02 | $38.16 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - Cost of housing
pay 50.8% less for childcare
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $517.09 CRC235K | $233.05 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $9,552.94 CRC4M | $5,103.33 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - Cost of childcare
pay 21.5% less for entertainment and sports
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.59 CRC1,175.36 | $2.01 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.84 CRC1,744.45 | $2.43 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $4.70 CRC2,135.57 | $5.75 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $58.68 CRC26,665.74 | $32.69 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $9.11 CRC4,138.47 | $6.67 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 10.5% less for clothing
Costa Rica | Ecuador | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $58.22 CRC26,455.19 | $55.39 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $44.70 CRC20,314.05 | $42.48 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $112.79 CRC51,255.70 | $97.41 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $93.41 CRC42,446.87 | $76.05 | |
Costa Rica vs. Ecuador - 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
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Moving from Costa Rica to Ecuador · UN DESA 2020
1,027 people born in Costa Rica live in Ecuador.
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