Cost of living comparison

compared to

Vanuatu vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Vanuatu is 59.3% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.6% more in Vanuatu
Groceries: pay 55.9% more in Vanuatu
Transportation: pay 7.2% less in Vanuatu
Housing: pay 3.9 times more in Vanuatu
Childcare: pay 4.7% less in Vanuatu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 56.5% more in Vanuatu
Clothing: pay 3.4% more in Vanuatu

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

Vanuatu vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Vanuatu instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.6% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,829.83	$12.52 VUV1,503	+28.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,712.68	$9.56 VUV1,147	+0.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC989.56	$2.55 VUV306	+27.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC776.98	$1.93 VUV231	+22.7%
Average			+19.6%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 55.9% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,255.62	$2.54 VUV305	-0.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,225.24	$10.02 VUV1,202	+122.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,719.11	$9.06 VUV1,087	+20.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,381.85	$5.26 VUV631	+88.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,891.97	$8.33 VUV1,000	+117.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC881.78	$2.11 VUV253	+18.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC304.00	$0.88 VUV106	+43.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC814.36	$2.73 VUV327	+65.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC613.95	$2.46 VUV295	+98.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC631.64	$1.96 VUV236	+53.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC544.02	$0.95 VUV114	-13.3%
Average			+55.9%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.2% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,703.80	$7.11 VUV853	+30.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC26,983.82	$66.78 VUV8,014	+22.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18M	$22,956.84 VUV3M	-37.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,750.25	$8.77 VUV1,052	-44.1%
Average			-7.2%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.9 times more for housing

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,307.37	$226.79 VUV27,213	+361.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC398K	$1,906.11 VUV229K	+136.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC275K	$1,278.71 VUV153K	+130.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,423.35	$406.43 VUV48,770	+539.3%
Average			+291.8%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - Cost of housing

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pay 4.7% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC256K	$617.75 VUV74,127	+19.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC5M	$6,795.22 VUV815K	-28.9%
Average			-4.7%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - Cost of childcare

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pay 56.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,278.51	$4.81 VUV577	+86.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,897.55	$5.70 VUV684	+48.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,322.99	$9.18 VUV1,102	+95.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,006.04	$67.52 VUV8,102	+15.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,501.68	$12.52 VUV1,503	+37.5%
Average			+56.5%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.4% more for clothing

	Costa Rica	Vanuatu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,777.00	$33.39 VUV4,007	-42.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,096.89	$66.78 VUV8,014	+49.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC55,754.11	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,172.18	??
Average			+3.4%

Costa Rica vs. Vanuatu - 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: February 2026

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