Cost of living comparison

compared to

Guanacaste vs. Lima Cost of Living Summary

Guanacaste is 46.9% more expensive than Lima.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Guanacaste
Groceries: pay 49.1% more in Guanacaste
Transportation: pay 22.1% more in Guanacaste
Housing: pay 11.3% less in Guanacaste
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Guanacaste
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.6% more in Guanacaste
Clothing: pay 1.1% more in Guanacaste

The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Guanacaste are more expensive than in Lima. Notably, childcare and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Guanacaste.

Guanacaste vs. Lima Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Lima	Guanacaste
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 PEN14.40	$9.95 CRC4,970.75	+132.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.14 PEN24.00	$9.91 CRC4,946.99	+38.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 PEN3.38	$2.06 CRC1,026.72	+104.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 PEN2.19	$1.67 CRC835.60	+156.3%
Average			+108.0%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.1% more for groceries

	Lima	Guanacaste
Bread 1 loaf	$2.67 PEN8.96	$2.64 CRC1,317.14	-1.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.52 PEN15.19	$2.48 CRC1,236.75	-45.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.76 PEN19.35	$6.94 CRC3,464.39	+20.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.96 PEN9.96	$2.88 CRC1,436.26	-3.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 PEN8.85	$1.80 CRC897.57	-31.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 PEN3.41	$1.08 CRC538.54	+6.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 PEN1.71	$0.65 CRC326.39	+28.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.58 PEN1.94	$1.80 CRC897.57	+212.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.56 PEN1.89	$0.63 CRC314.15	+11.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 PEN1.55	$1.55 CRC772.46	+235.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 PEN1.46	$0.90 CRC448.78	+107.1%
Average			+49.1%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.1% more for transportation

	Lima	Guanacaste
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.20 PEN17.47	$5.39 CRC2,690.94	+3.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.85 PEN76.80	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,990.85 PEN67,198.40	$37,640.45 CRC18,798,579.99	+88.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.70 PEN72.96	$16.12 CRC8,048.76	-25.7%
Average			+22.1%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.3% less for housing

	Lima	Guanacaste
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.99 PEN83.99	$29.72 CRC14,840.98	+18.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$661.42 PEN2,223.35	$198.11 CRC98,939.89	-70.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$374.24 PEN1,257.98	$178.30 CRC89,045.91	-52.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.53 PEN146.33	$68.88 CRC34,400.73	+58.2%
Average			-11.3%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Lima	Guanacaste
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$192.22 PEN646.14	$600.27 CRC299,787.88	+212.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,215.29 PEN27,615.34	$12,608.37 CRC6,296,935.16	+53.5%
Average			+132.9%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Lima	Guanacaste
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 PEN7.68	$2.67 CRC1,335.69	+17.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.61 PEN8.79	$3.85 CRC1,924.42	+47.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.71 PEN19.20	$3.96 CRC1,978.80	-30.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.13 PEN104.64	$50.00 CRC24,972.50	+60.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.14 PEN24.00	$9.91 CRC4,946.99	+38.7%
Average			+26.6%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.1% more for clothing

	Lima	Guanacaste
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.07 PEN171.67	$59.43 CRC29,681.97	+16.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.74 PEN120.13	$39.62 CRC19,787.98	+10.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.99 PEN282.34	$79.24 CRC39,575.96	-5.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$83.70 PEN281.36	$69.34 CRC34,628.96	-17.2%
Average			+1.1%

Lima vs. Guanacaste - 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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