Cost of living comparison

Hong Kong

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 36.9% cheaper than Hong Kong overall.

Restaurants: pay 53.9% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 15.4% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 45.7% less in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 59.9% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 38.2% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.4% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 13.5% more in Costa Rica

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

Planning a move to Costa Rica? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Costa Rica vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Hong Kong, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 53.9% more for restaurants

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.28 HK$64.95	$11.15 CRC5,083.73	+34.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.37 HK$49.96	$10.85 CRC4,947.03	+70.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 HK$10.23	$2.43 CRC1,108.65	+86.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.09 HK$8.58	$1.79 CRC814.67	+63.3%
Average			+53.9%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.4% less for groceries

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.37 HK$18.57	$2.77 CRC1,264.43	+17.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.52 HK$98.16	$4.82 CRC2,197.42	-61.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.07 HK$86.85	$8.37 CRC3,816.56	-24.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.47 HK$27.18	$3.63 CRC1,657.17	+4.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.96 HK$31.04	$4.40 CRC2,006.83	+11.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 HK$14.68	$2.20 CRC1,005.07	+17.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.25 HK$9.77	$0.73 CRC330.65	-41.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.09 HK$16.40	$1.67 CRC759.66	-20.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.80 HK$14.10	$1.43 CRC653.57	-20.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 HK$11.24	$1.44 CRC656.50	+0.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.44 HK$11.31	$1.33 CRC605.15	-7.9%
Average			-15.4%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.7% less for transportation

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$15.51 HK$121.64	$5.78 CRC2,636.86	-62.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$89.19 HK$699.49	$66.80 CRC30,463.66	-25.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,597.12 HK$350K	$22,830.95 CRC10M	-48.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.40 HK$112.92	$15.71 CRC7,163.76	+9.1%
Average			-45.7%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.9% less for housing

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.52 HK$168.77	$51.66 CRC23,557.59	+140.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,207.41 HK$17,311.25	$834.08 CRC380K	-62.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,690.00 HK$13,253.54	$597.43 CRC272K	-64.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$190.59 HK$1,494.71	$68.56 CRC31,264.97	-64.0%
Average			-59.9%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.2% less for childcare

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,171.99 HK$9,191.18	$742.27 CRC338K	-36.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,295.74 HK$175K	$13,434.66 CRC6M	-39.7%
Average			-38.2%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.65 HK$59.96	$2.91 CRC1,325.77	-62.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.04 HK$39.53	$4.06 CRC1,851.10	-19.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.38 HK$104.92	$5.29 CRC2,414.34	-60.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$93.07 HK$729.90	$66.37 CRC30,264.14	-28.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.70 HK$107.42	$7.92 CRC3,611.08	-42.2%
Average			-42.4%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.5% more for clothing

	Hong Kong	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.63 HK$530.38	$67.50 CRC30,779.10	-0.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.11 HK$322.38	$49.52 CRC22,583.65	+20.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.54 HK$631.61	$122.64 CRC55,924.15	+52.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.85 HK$939.94	$108.52 CRC49,488.74	-9.5%
Average			+13.5%

Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Hong Kong vs. Costa Rica

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Costa Rica?

Quality of Life Comparison · 11 statistics

Be 2.4 times more likely to be unemployed in Costa Rica

Size Comparison · See true size

Hong Kong is about 46 times smaller than Costa Rica.

Moving from Hong Kong to Costa Rica · UN DESA 2020

3,943 people born in Hong Kong live in Costa Rica.

More cost comparisons

Hong Kong vs.

Singapore

Hong Kong vs.

United States

Hong Kong vs.

United Kingdom

Hong Kong vs.

Macau

Hong Kong vs.

Los Angeles

Hong Kong vs.

South Korea

Hong Kong vs.

Switzerland

Hong Kong vs.

Japan

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Hong Kong vs. San Jose

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Hong Kong

Add prices for Costa Rica

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Hong Kong. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.