Cost of living comparison

compared to

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 14.7% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 36.0% less in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 25.5% less in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 20.9% less in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 89.0% more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 9.2% less in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 87.9% more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 17.4% more in United Arab Emirates

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, transportation, and childcare are lower in United Arab Emirates. Notably, housing and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 36.0% less for restaurants

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	$7.91 AED29.06	-19.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	$8.65 AED31.75	-9.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC995.21	$1.04 AED3.83	-47.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC781.41	$0.50 AED1.85	-67.9%
Average			-36.0%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.5% less for groceries

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	$1.47 AED5.39	-42.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	$5.36 AED19.68	+19.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	$6.96 AED25.56	-7.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	$2.81 AED10.34	+0.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	$3.68 AED13.51	-3.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC886.81	$0.98 AED3.59	-45.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC305.74	$0.75 AED2.75	+21.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC819.01	$0.73 AED2.69	-55.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC617.46	$0.59 AED2.15	-52.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC635.24	$0.48 AED1.76	-62.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC547.12	$0.53 AED1.93	-52.2%
Average			-25.5%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.9% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	$2.91 AED10.69	-46.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	$53.10 AED195.00	-2.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	+11.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	$8.50 AED31.21	-45.8%
Average			-20.9%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 89.0% more for housing

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	$101.41 AED372.42	+106.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	+78.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	$990.79 AED3,638.67	+78.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	$122.67 AED450.49	+93.0%
Average			+89.0%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 9.2% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	$497.28 AED1,826.25	-3.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	-14.5%
Average			-9.2%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 87.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	$10.43 AED38.31	+303.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	$4.99 AED18.32	+29.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	$6.23 AED22.88	+32.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	$75.55 AED277.45	+28.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	$13.19 AED48.44	+44.8%
Average			+87.9%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.4% more for clothing

	Costa Rica	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	$75.04 AED275.58	+28.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	$59.50 AED218.51	+33.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	$105.66 AED388.03	-6.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	$106.53 AED391.23	+14.0%
Average			+17.4%

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates - 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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