Cost of living comparison

compared to

Alajuela vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

Alajuela is 20.4% cheaper than Hong Kong.

Restaurants: pay 34.3% more in Alajuela
Groceries: pay 11.5% less in Alajuela
Transportation: pay 2.3% less in Alajuela
Housing: pay 42.2% less in Alajuela
Childcare: pay 80.5% less in Alajuela
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.7% less in Alajuela
Clothing: pay 1.0% more in Alajuela

The cost of restaurants and clothing in Alajuela are more expensive than in Hong Kong. Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in Alajuela.

Alajuela vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Alajuela instead of Hong Kong, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 34.3% more for restaurants

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 HK$61.55	$9.91 CRC4,842.54	+25.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.43 HK$50.04	$9.42 CRC4,600.41	+46.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.39 HK$10.81	$2.06 CRC1,005.01	+48.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.11 HK$8.66	$1.31 CRC637.60	+17.3%
Average			+34.3%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.5% less for groceries

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Bread 1 loaf	$2.19 HK$17.06	$2.44 CRC1,192.61	+11.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.44 HK$96.85	$4.96 CRC2,421.27	-60.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.75 HK$91.46	$7.18 CRC3,508.58	-38.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 HK$27.37	$2.26 CRC1,104.10	-35.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.85 HK$37.76	$3.97 CRC1,938.45	-18.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.57 HK$12.19	$1.79 CRC873.04	+14.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 HK$8.46	$0.65 CRC319.50	-39.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.62 HK$12.63	$1.95 CRC951.83	+20.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.39 HK$10.79	$1.28 CRC624.10	-7.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 HK$8.56	$1.29 CRC630.43	+17.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.06 HK$8.25	$1.17 CRC573.18	+10.8%
Average			-11.5%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3% less for transportation

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$11.90 HK$92.63	$5.39 CRC2,634.01	-54.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.49 HK$525.39	$111.03 CRC54,236.42	+64.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,564.70 HK$300,222.36	$37,671.80 CRC18,401,642.97	-2.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.53 HK$113.08	$12.12 CRC5,920.00	-16.6%
Average			-2.3%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.2% less for housing

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.19 HK$172.75	$32.71 CRC15,980.37	+47.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,349.29 HK$18,288.97	$693.95 CRC338,977.63	-70.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,688.04 HK$13,141.20	$594.82 CRC290,552.26	-64.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$177.52 HK$1,382.01	$34.11 CRC16,664.03	-80.8%
Average			-42.2%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - Cost of housing

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pay 80.5% less for childcare

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,038.61 HK$8,085.47	$297.41 CRC145,276.13	-71.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,248.89 HK$173,205.35	$2,339.62 CRC1,142,838.88	-89.5%
Average			-80.5%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.48 HK$50.47	$2.18 CRC1,065.36	-66.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.23 HK$40.71	$3.63 CRC1,775.60	-30.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.11 HK$102.08	$4.96 CRC2,421.27	-62.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$79.18 HK$616.37	$64.44 CRC31,476.49	-18.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.85 HK$100.07	$8.92 CRC4,358.28	-30.6%
Average			-41.7%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.0% more for clothing

	Hong Kong	Alajuela
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.06 HK$576.57	$61.79 CRC30,185.15	-16.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.18 HK$328.34	$51.35 CRC25,083.06	+21.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.97 HK$716.01	$118.96 CRC58,110.45	+29.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$142.80 HK$1,111.65	$99.14 CRC48,425.38	-30.6%
Average			+1.0%

Hong Kong vs. Alajuela - 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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