Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Guanacaste Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 5.9% more expensive than Guanacaste.

Restaurants: pay 66.7% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 6.7% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 48.2% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 51.3% more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.2% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 13.0% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. Guanacaste Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Guanacaste, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 66.7% less for restaurants

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.95 CRC4,861.74	$4.21 CN¥29.74	-57.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	$4.91 CN¥34.69	-50.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CRC1,004.21	$0.48 CN¥3.39	-76.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 CRC817.27	$0.31 CN¥2.17	-81.7%
Average			-66.7%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.7% less for groceries

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$2.64 CRC1,288.25	$1.71 CN¥12.07	-35.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.48 CRC1,209.63	$7.47 CN¥52.80	+201.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.94 CRC3,388.41	$6.64 CN¥46.96	-4.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 CRC1,404.76	$1.78 CN¥12.56	-38.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.80 CRC877.88	$1.53 CN¥10.83	-14.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.08 CRC526.73	$0.98 CN¥6.95	-8.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 CRC319.23	$0.77 CN¥5.44	+17.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.80 CRC877.88	$0.80 CN¥5.66	-55.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC307.26	$0.60 CN¥4.26	-4.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 CRC755.52	$0.35 CN¥2.46	-77.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.90 CRC438.94	$0.41 CN¥2.92	-54.1%
Average			-6.7%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 48.2% less for transportation

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,631.93	$4.21 CN¥29.77	-21.8%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$31.54 CN¥223.02
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,640.45 CRC18,386,324.93	$18,225.66 CN¥128,857.25	-51.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.12 CRC7,872.25	$4.63 CN¥32.71	-71.3%
Average			-48.2%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.72 CRC14,515.52	$12.93 CN¥91.43	-56.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$198.11 CRC96,770.13	$935.23 CN¥6,612.19	+372.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$178.30 CRC87,093.12	$504.41 CN¥3,566.20	+182.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.88 CRC33,646.32	$39.27 CN¥277.61	-43.0%
Average			+113.9%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 51.3% more for childcare

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$600.27 CRC293,213.50	$710.76 CN¥5,025.17	+18.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,608.37 CRC6,158,842.64	$23,242.73 CN¥164,328.40	+84.3%
Average			+51.3%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 CRC1,306.40	$1.12 CN¥7.93	-58.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.85 CRC1,882.22	$2.90 CN¥20.52	-24.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.96 CRC1,935.40	$4.21 CN¥29.74	+6.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.00 CRC24,424.85	$57.84 CN¥408.91	+15.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.91 CRC4,838.51	$8.41 CN¥59.47	-15.1%
Average			-15.2%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.0% more for clothing

	Guanacaste	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.43 CRC29,031.04	$62.30 CN¥440.46	+4.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.62 CRC19,354.03	$36.37 CN¥257.16	-8.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.24 CRC38,708.05	$81.74 CN¥577.91	+3.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.34 CRC33,869.55	$105.53 CN¥746.11	+52.2%
Average			+13.0%

Guanacaste vs. Beijing - 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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