Cost of living comparison
compared to
Zambia vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary
Zambia is 35.7% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 61.2% less in Zambia
- Groceries
-
pay 37.0% less in Zambia
- Transportation
-
pay 37.5% less in Zambia
- Housing
-
pay 8.4% less in Zambia
- Childcare
-
pay 21.8% less in Zambia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 39.8% less in Zambia
- Clothing
-
pay 44.1% less in Zambia
Expenses including restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, and childcare are lower in Zambia.
Zambia vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Zambia instead of Costa Rica, you would:
pay 61.2% less for restaurants
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.77
CRC4,857.39
|
$7.35
ZMW168.07
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
CRC4,739.57
|
$3.72
ZMW84.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CRC995.21
|
$0.49
ZMW11.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.57
CRC781.41
|
$0.26
ZMW5.93
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - Cost of restaurants
pay 37.0% less for groceries
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.54
CRC1,262.79
|
$0.77
ZMW17.54
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.50
CRC2,237.94
|
$3.76
ZMW86.00
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.52
CRC3,740.34
|
$4.89
ZMW111.81
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.80
CRC1,389.74
|
$1.53
ZMW35.05
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
CRC1,902.77
|
$1.78
ZMW40.78
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.78
CRC886.81
|
$0.90
ZMW20.49
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CRC305.74
|
$0.73
ZMW16.65
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
CRC819.01
|
$1.22
ZMW27.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
CRC617.46
|
$0.50
ZMW11.42
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.28
CRC635.24
|
$0.89
ZMW20.25
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.10
CRC547.12
|
$0.67
ZMW15.30
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - Cost of groceries
pay 37.5% less for transportation
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.47
CRC2,719.23
|
$4.58
ZMW104.62
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$54.59
CRC27,137.81
|
$38.52
ZMW880.51
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,444.91
CRC18,117,972.89
|
$8,004.53
ZMW182,982.35
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.68
CRC7,794.48
|
$11.53
ZMW263.64
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - Cost of transportation
pay 8.4% less for housing
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.17
CRC24,446.08
|
$118.37
ZMW2,705.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$805.28
CRC400,329.95
|
$176.52
ZMW4,035.26
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$555.89
CRC276,349.98
|
$115.74
ZMW2,645.69
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$63.57
CRC31,602.67
|
$52.70
ZMW1,204.80
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - Cost of housing
pay 21.8% less for childcare
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$517.09
CRC257,060.35
|
$176.79
ZMW4,041.38
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,552.94
CRC4,749,083.93
|
$11,677.88
ZMW266,954.64
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - Cost of childcare
pay 39.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.59
CRC1,285.81
|
$0.98
ZMW22.32
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.84
CRC1,908.38
|
$2.05
ZMW46.80
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.70
CRC2,336.25
|
$3.67
ZMW84.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.68
CRC29,171.56
|
$50.47
ZMW1,153.70
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.11
CRC4,527.37
|
$4.18
ZMW95.66
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 44.1% less for clothing
|
Costa Rica
|
Zambia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.22
CRC28,941.22
|
$18.93
ZMW432.67
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.70
CRC22,222.99
|
$16.99
ZMW388.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.79
CRC56,072.28
|
$84.33
ZMW1,927.74
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$93.41
CRC46,435.67
|
$73.12
ZMW1,671.60
|
|
Costa Rica vs. Zambia - 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: December 2025
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