Cost of living comparison
compared to
Geneva vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary
Geneva is 2.7 times more expensive than Costa Rica overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 2.9 times more in Geneva
- Groceries
-
pay 86.9% more in Geneva
- Transportation
-
pay 71.2% more in Geneva
- Housing
-
pay 2.9 times more in Geneva
- Childcare
-
pay 5.2 times more in Geneva
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4 times more in Geneva
- Clothing
-
pay 2.0 times more in Geneva
The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in Geneva are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Notably, childcare, restaurants, and housing are significantly more expensive in Geneva.
Geneva vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Geneva instead of Costa Rica, you would:
pay 2.9 times more for restaurants
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.77
CRC4,772.77
|
$37.54
CHF30.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
CRC4,657.00
|
$18.77
CHF15.09
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CRC977.87
|
$5.40
CHF4.34
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.57
CRC767.80
|
$4.78
CHF3.85
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - Cost of restaurants
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 86.9% more for groceries
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.54
CRC1,240.79
|
$3.92
CHF3.15
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.50
CRC2,198.95
|
$13.59
CHF10.93
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.52
CRC3,675.18
|
$8.69
CHF6.98
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.80
CRC1,365.53
|
$7.79
CHF6.26
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
CRC1,869.62
|
$15.46
CHF12.43
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.78
CRC871.36
|
$1.62
CHF1.30
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CRC300.41
|
$1.14
CHF0.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
CRC804.74
|
$1.41
CHF1.13
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
CRC606.70
|
$2.98
CHF2.40
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.28
CRC624.18
|
$1.23
CHF0.99
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.10
CRC537.59
|
$1.13
CHF0.91
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - Cost of groceries
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 71.2% more for transportation
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.47
CRC2,671.86
|
$8.61
CHF6.92
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$54.59
CRC26,665.03
|
$87.59
CHF70.42
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,444.91
CRC17,802,336.11
|
$41,166.99
CHF33,095.26
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.68
CRC7,658.69
|
$39.80
CHF32.00
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - Cost of transportation
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 2.9 times more for housing
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.17
CRC24,020.20
|
$63.30
CHF50.89
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$805.28
CRC393,355.72
|
$2,499.71
CHF2,009.58
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$555.89
CRC271,535.63
|
$2,098.75
CHF1,687.24
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$63.57
CRC31,052.11
|
$208.38
CHF167.52
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - Cost of housing
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 5.2 times more for childcare
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$517.09
CRC252,582.05
|
$3,503.57
CHF2,816.62
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,552.94
CRC4,666,349.20
|
$33,834.51
CHF27,200.48
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - Cost of childcare
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 2.4 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.59
CRC1,263.41
|
$10.01
CHF8.05
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.84
CRC1,875.13
|
$6.02
CHF4.84
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.70
CRC2,295.55
|
$11.26
CHF9.05
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.68
CRC28,663.36
|
$84.08
CHF67.60
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.11
CRC4,448.49
|
$25.03
CHF20.12
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - Cost of entertainment and sports
Improve prices ·
Change currency (USD)
pay 2.0 times more for clothing
|
Costa Rica
|
Geneva
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.22
CRC28,437.03
|
$141.88
CHF114.06
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.70
CRC21,835.84
|
$81.50
CHF65.52
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.79
CRC55,095.43
|
$170.05
CHF136.71
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$93.41
CRC45,626.70
|
$221.63
CHF178.18
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Geneva - 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
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Costa Rica vs. Switzerland.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Costa Rica and Switzerland.
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
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Geneva 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.