Cost of living comparison

compared to

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 14.1% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 49.9% less in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 29.0% less in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 25.9% less in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 5.7% more in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 32.1% less in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.7% more in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 6.1% less in Saudi Arabia

The cost of entertainment and sports and housing in Saudi Arabia are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including restaurants, childcare, groceries, transportation, and clothing are lower in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.9% less for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	$6.32 SAR23.70	-35.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	$7.73 SAR29.00	-18.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC995.21	$0.74 SAR2.79	-62.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC781.41	$0.27 SAR1.02	-82.6%
Average			-49.9%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.0% less for groceries

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	$0.92 SAR3.43	-64.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	$3.62 SAR13.56	-19.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	$6.74 SAR25.26	-10.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	$2.52 SAR9.47	-9.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	$3.28 SAR12.28	-14.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC886.81	$0.97 SAR3.63	-45.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC305.74	$0.78 SAR2.91	+26.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC819.01	$0.80 SAR3.00	-51.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC617.46	$0.74 SAR2.77	-40.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC635.24	$0.66 SAR2.49	-48.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC547.12	$0.65 SAR2.43	-41.0%
Average			-29.0%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.9% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	$2.32 SAR8.72	-57.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	$33.84 SAR126.92	-38.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	-29.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	$19.00 SAR71.26	+21.2%
Average			-25.9%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.7% more for housing

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	$74.04 SAR277.70	+50.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	-46.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	-35.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	$97.42 SAR365.42	+53.3%
Average			+5.7%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.1% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	-32.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	-32.1%
Average			-32.1%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	$1.89 SAR7.09	-26.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	$3.48 SAR13.06	-9.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	$7.47 SAR28.00	+58.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	$106.43 SAR399.18	+81.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	$17.24 SAR64.67	+89.3%
Average			+38.7%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.1% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	$48.71 SAR182.69	-16.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	$57.50 SAR215.68	+28.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	$88.56 SAR332.16	-21.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	$79.17 SAR296.96	-15.2%
Average			-6.1%

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia - 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.

Greece

Costa Rica vs.

Ecuador

Costa Rica vs.

Spain

Costa Rica vs.

Vietnam

Costa Rica vs.

Australia

Costa Rica vs.

China

Costa Rica vs.

Peru

Costa Rica vs.

France

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in San Jose vs. Riyadh

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 Saudi Arabia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Saudi Arabia 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.