Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 14.5% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 32.2% less in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 13.1% more in Costa Rica
- Transportation
-
pay 3.1% less in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 28.6% less in Costa Rica
- Childcare
-
pay 25.2% less in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 12.5% less in Costa Rica
- Clothing
-
pay 13.3% less in Costa Rica
Expenses including restaurants, housing, childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 32.2% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$9.77
CRC4,772.77
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$9.53
CRC4,657.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$2.00
CRC977.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$1.57
CRC767.80
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.1% more for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$2.54
CRC1,240.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$4.50
CRC2,198.95
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$7.52
CRC3,675.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$2.80
CRC1,365.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$3.83
CRC1,869.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$1.78
CRC871.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.62
CRC300.41
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$1.65
CRC804.74
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$1.24
CRC606.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$1.28
CRC624.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$1.10
CRC537.59
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 3.1% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$5.47
CRC2,671.86
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
$54.59
CRC26,665.03
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$36,444.91
CRC17,802,336.11
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
$15.68
CRC7,658.69
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 28.6% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$49.17
CRC24,020.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$805.28
CRC393,355.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$555.89
CRC271,535.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$63.57
CRC31,052.11
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 25.2% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$517.09
CRC252,582.05
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
$9,552.94
CRC4,666,349.20
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 12.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$2.59
CRC1,263.41
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$3.84
CRC1,875.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$4.70
CRC2,295.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$58.68
CRC28,663.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$9.11
CRC4,448.49
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.3% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$58.22
CRC28,437.03
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$44.70
CRC21,835.84
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$112.79
CRC55,095.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$93.41
CRC45,626.70
|
|
Madrid vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing
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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