Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Cuba Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 99.7% more expensive than Cuba overall.

Restaurants: pay 58.8% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 19.3% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 57.9% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 98.1% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.4 times more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 38.3% more in Costa Rica

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, restaurants, transportation, and clothing in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Cuba. Notably, entertainment and sports, childcare, and housing are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Cuba Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 58.8% more for restaurants

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.40 CUC4.40	$9.77 CRC4,556.03	+122.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.00 CUC5.00	$9.53 CRC4,445.52	+90.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.08 CUC2.08	$2.00 CRC933.46	-3.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 CUC1.25	$1.57 CRC732.93	+25.7%
Average			+58.8%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.3% more for groceries

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.22 CUC1.22	$2.54 CRC1,184.44	+108.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.89 CUC2.89	$4.50 CRC2,099.09	+56.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.68 CUC10.68	$7.52 CRC3,508.28	-29.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.15 CUC4.15	$2.80 CRC1,303.52	-32.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.49 CUC2.49	$3.83 CRC1,784.72	+53.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.27 CUC2.27	$1.78 CRC831.79	-21.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.59 CUC0.59	$0.62 CRC286.77	+4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 CUC1.36	$1.65 CRC768.19	+21.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 CUC1.00	$1.24 CRC579.15	+24.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 CUC0.95	$1.28 CRC595.83	+33.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.17 CUC1.17	$1.10 CRC513.18	-6.0%
Average			+19.3%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 57.9% more for transportation

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.77 CUC4.77	$5.47 CRC2,550.53	+14.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.00 CUC25.00	$54.59 CRC25,454.13	+118.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$60,000.00 CUC60,000.00	$36,444.91 CRC17M	-39.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.60 CUC6.60	$15.68 CRC7,310.89	+137.6%
Average			+57.9%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 98.1% more for housing

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$75.00 CUC75.00	$49.17 CRC22,929.41	-34.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$251.37 CUC251.37	$805.28 CRC375K	+220.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$322.73 CUC322.73	$555.89 CRC259K	+72.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$27.15 CUC27.15	$63.57 CRC29,641.99	+134.2%
Average			+98.1%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.00 CUC112.00	$517.09 CRC241K	+361.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,500.00 CUC8,500.00	$9,552.94 CRC4M	+12.4%
Average			+187.0%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.4 times more for entertainment and sports

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 CUC2.00	$2.59 CRC1,206.04	+29.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.01 CUC1.01	$3.84 CRC1,789.98	+280.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.00 CUC4.00	$4.70 CRC2,191.31	+17.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.75 CUC37.75	$58.68 CRC27,361.71	+55.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.00 CUC1.00	$9.11 CRC4,246.48	+810.7%
Average			+238.6%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.3% more for clothing

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$34.75 CUC34.75	$58.22 CRC27,145.66	+67.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.75 CUC37.75	$44.70 CRC20,844.24	+18.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.00 CUC75.00	$112.79 CRC52,593.47	+50.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$80.00 CUC80.00	$93.41 CRC43,554.72	+16.8%
Average			+38.3%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - 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: March 2026

Compare further: Cuba vs. Costa Rica

Quality of Life Comparison · 8 statistics

Be 7.2 times more likely to be unemployed in Costa Rica

Size Comparison · See true size

Cuba is about 2.2 times bigger than Costa Rica.

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