Cost of living comparison

compared to

French Polynesia vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

French Polynesia is 2.0 times more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 55.8% more in French Polynesia
Groceries: pay 73.1% more in French Polynesia
Transportation: pay 4.9 times more in French Polynesia
Housing: pay 85.5% more in French Polynesia
Childcare: pay 1.5% less in French Polynesia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.7% more in French Polynesia
Clothing: pay 52.2% more in French Polynesia

The cost of transportation, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and clothing in French Polynesia are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Notably, transportation and housing are significantly more expensive in French Polynesia.

French Polynesia vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in French Polynesia instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 55.8% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,879.78	$17.45 CFPF1,774	+78.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,761.42	$13.03 CFPF1,324	+36.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC999.79	$2.80 CFPF285	+39.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC785.01	$2.65 CFPF269	+68.3%
Average			+55.8%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.1% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,268.61	$0.78 CFPF80	-69.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,248.26	$13.05 CFPF1,327	+189.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,757.58	$6.30 CFPF640	-16.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,396.14	$8.38 CFPF852	+199.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,911.54	$7.66 CFPF779	+100.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC890.90	$2.37 CFPF241	+32.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC307.15	$1.22 CFPF124	+98.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC822.78	$2.66 CFPF271	+61.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC620.30	$3.60 CFPF366	+189.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC638.17	$1.37 CFPF139	+6.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC549.64	$1.22 CFPF124	+10.9%
Average			+73.1%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.9 times more for transportation

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,731.77	$5.87 CFPF596	+7.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,262.91	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,201,497.07	$19,575.51 CFPF1,990,270	-46.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,830.41	$205.54 CFPF20,898	+1211.0%
Average			+390.6%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 85.5% more for housing

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,558.78	$107.34 CFPF10,913	+118.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC402,175.48	$1,382.49 CFPF140,559	+71.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC277,623.96	$1,076.62 CFPF109,462	+93.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,748.36	$100.79 CFPF10,247	+58.5%
Average			+85.5%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.5% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC258,245.40	$489.39 CFPF49,757	-5.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,770,977.29	$9,787.76 CFPF995,135	+2.5%
Average			-1.5%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,291.74	$4.53 CFPF460	+75.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,917.18	$4.37 CFPF445	+13.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,347.02	$12.14 CFPF1,234	+158.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,306.05	$70.94 CFPF7,212	+20.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,548.24	$13.70 CFPF1,393	+50.5%
Average			+63.7%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.2% more for clothing

	Costa Rica	French Polynesia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC29,074.64	$105.95 CFPF10,772	+82.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,325.44	$84.22 CFPF8,563	+88.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,330.77	$128.36 CFPF13,051	+13.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,649.74	$116.57 CFPF11,852	+24.8%
Average			+52.2%

Costa Rica vs. French Polynesia - 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.

Italy

Costa Rica vs.

Spain

Costa Rica vs.

Australia

Costa Rica vs.

Iceland

Costa Rica vs.

Austria

Costa Rica vs.

France

Costa Rica vs.

Ecuador

Costa Rica vs.

United Kingdom

Share this

Compare by city

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 French Polynesia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about French Polynesia 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.