Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary
United Kingdom is 60.7% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.
- Restaurants
- pay 33.5% more in United Kingdom
- Groceries
- pay 9.0% less in United Kingdom
- Transportation
- pay 38.4% more in United Kingdom
- Housing
- pay 2.0 times more in United Kingdom
- Childcare
- pay 2.5 times more in United Kingdom
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 2.0 times more in United Kingdom
- Clothing
- pay 9.9% more in United Kingdom
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Kingdom instead of Costa Rica, you would:
pay 33.5% more for restaurants
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $9.77 CRC4,440.14 | $20.41 £15.46 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $9.53 CRC4,332.45 | $9.94 £7.53 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $2.00 CRC909.72 | $2.32 £1.76 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.57 CRC714.29 | $1.65 £1.25 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.0% less for groceries
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $2.54 CRC1,154.31 | $1.59 £1.21 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $4.50 CRC2,045.70 | $4.71 £3.57 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $7.52 CRC3,419.04 | $6.20 £4.70 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.80 CRC1,270.36 | $3.87 £2.93 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.83 CRC1,739.32 | $3.87 £2.93 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.78 CRC810.64 | $1.32 £1.00 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.62 CRC279.47 | $0.73 £0.55 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $1.65 CRC748.65 | $1.28 £0.97 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $1.24 CRC564.42 | $1.49 £1.13 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.28 CRC580.68 | $0.72 £0.54 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.10 CRC500.12 | $0.71 £0.54 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of groceries
pay 38.4% more for transportation
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $5.47 CRC2,485.65 | $7.22 £5.47 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $54.59 CRC24,806.68 | $99.05 £75.03 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $36,444.91 CRC17M | $36,224.29 £27,440.55 | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $15.68 CRC7,124.94 | $22.08 £16.73 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of transportation
pay 2.0 times more for housing
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $49.17 CRC22,346.18 | $41.90 £31.74 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $805.28 CRC366K | $1,285.79 £974.01 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $555.89 CRC253K | $1,062.09 £804.55 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $63.57 CRC28,888.02 | $233.57 £176.93 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of housing
pay 2.5 times more for childcare
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $517.09 CRC235K | $1,530.71 £1,159.54 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $9,552.94 CRC4M | $19,375.12 £14,677.00 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of childcare
pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.59 CRC1,175.36 | $6.35 £4.81 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.84 CRC1,744.45 | $4.54 £3.44 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $4.70 CRC2,135.57 | $19.18 £14.53 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $58.68 CRC26,665.74 | $49.26 £37.31 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $9.11 CRC4,138.47 | $13.88 £10.52 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 9.9% more for clothing
Costa Rica | United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $58.22 CRC26,455.19 | $86.00 £65.15 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $44.70 CRC20,314.05 | $44.20 £33.48 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $112.79 CRC51,255.70 | $95.21 £72.12 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $93.41 CRC42,446.87 | $101.36 £76.78 | |
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom - Cost of clothing
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: June 2026
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