Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Zealand vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 27.9% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.3% more in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 5.9% more in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 7.3% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 29.9% more in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 31.9% more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 99.0% more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 1.9% more in New Zealand

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, restaurants, transportation, and groceries in New Zealand are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in New Zealand.

New Zealand vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.3% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,772.77	$14.45 NZ$25.01	+47.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,657.00	$9.14 NZ$15.82	-4.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC977.87	$2.11 NZ$3.65	+5.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC767.80	$2.02 NZ$3.49	+28.2%
Average			+19.3%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.9% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,240.79	$1.74 NZ$3.01	-31.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,198.95	$3.88 NZ$6.72	-13.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,675.18	$6.34 NZ$10.97	-15.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,365.53	$5.96 NZ$10.31	+113.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,869.62	$4.01 NZ$6.93	+4.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC871.36	$1.18 NZ$2.04	-33.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC300.41	$0.95 NZ$1.65	+54.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC804.74	$1.29 NZ$2.24	-21.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC606.70	$2.11 NZ$3.65	+69.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC624.18	$0.85 NZ$1.47	-33.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC537.59	$0.80 NZ$1.38	-27.6%
Average			+5.9%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.3% more for transportation

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,671.86	$6.08 NZ$10.52	+11.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC26,665.03	$74.52 NZ$128.99	+36.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC17,802,336.11	$24,777.66 NZ$42,890.20	-32.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,658.69	$17.81 NZ$30.83	+13.6%
Average			+7.3%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.9% more for housing

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,020.20	$50.00 NZ$86.54	+1.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC393,355.72	$978.36 NZ$1,693.54	+21.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC271,535.63	$810.06 NZ$1,402.22	+45.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,052.11	$95.66 NZ$165.59	+50.5%
Average			+29.9%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 31.9% more for childcare

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC252,582.05	$635.34 NZ$1,099.78	+22.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,666,349.20	$13,463.91 NZ$23,306.07	+40.9%
Average			+31.9%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 99.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,263.41	$6.04 NZ$10.46	+133.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,875.13	$3.35 NZ$5.80	-12.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,295.55	$23.12 NZ$40.03	+392.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC28,663.36	$37.72 NZ$65.30	-35.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,448.49	$10.72 NZ$18.56	+17.7%
Average			+99.0%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.9% more for clothing

	Costa Rica	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,437.03	$65.22 NZ$112.90	+12.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC21,835.84	$39.23 NZ$67.91	-12.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC55,095.43	$90.28 NZ$156.27	-20.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC45,626.70	$119.43 NZ$206.73	+27.9%
Average			+1.9%

Costa Rica vs. New Zealand - 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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