Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 2.7% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 47.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 26.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 16.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 22.4% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.0% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 79.5% less in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sao Tome and Principe.

Sao Tome and Principe vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.9% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	$29.20 STD650,623	+198.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	$11.68 STD260,249	+22.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC995.21	$1.92 STD42,768	-4.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC781.41	$1.17 STD26,025	-25.7%
Average			+47.9%

Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.9% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	$1.08 STD24,088	-57.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	$10.22 STD227,718	+127.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	$5.97 STD132,995	-20.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	$5.09 STD113,503	+82.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	$9.27 STD206,583	+142.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC886.81	$2.12 STD47,219	+18.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC305.74	$0.53 STD11,805	-13.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC819.01	$1.85 STD41,316	+12.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC617.46	$1.59 STD35,414	+28.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC635.24	$1.19 STD26,561	-6.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC547.12	$0.93 STD20,658	-15.8%
Average			+26.9%

Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.9% more for transportation

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	$6.40 STD142,518	+16.9%
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			+16.9%

Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.4% less for housing

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	$72.42 STD1,613,544	+47.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	$350.40 STD7,807,473	-56.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	$233.60 STD5,204,982	-58.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	??
Average			-22.4%

Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
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. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	$1.67 STD37,216	-35.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	$2.34 STD52,050	-39.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	$2.34 STD52,050	-50.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	$37.38 STD832,797	-36.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	$21.02 STD468,448	+130.9%
Average			-6.0%

Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 79.5% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	Sao Tome and Principe
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	$19.16 STD426,809	-79.5%
Average			-79.5%

Costa Rica vs. Sao Tome and Principe - 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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