Cost of living comparison

compared to

Alajuela vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Alajuela is 79.6% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Alajuela
Groceries: pay 19.1% more in Alajuela
Transportation: pay 3.7 times more in Alajuela
Housing: pay 31.6% more in Alajuela
Childcare: pay 14.1% more in Alajuela
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.7% more in Alajuela
Clothing: pay 61.2% more in Alajuela

The cost of transportation, restaurants, clothing, entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries in Alajuela are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, transportation and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Alajuela.

Alajuela vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Alajuela instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Manila	Alajuela
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.03	$9.91 CRC4,842.54	+64.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱253.60	$9.42 CRC4,600.41	+119.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.27	$2.06 CRC1,005.01	+111.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.69	$1.31 CRC637.60	+159.2%
Average			+113.6%

Manila vs. Alajuela - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.1% more for groceries

	Manila	Alajuela
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.64	$2.44 CRC1,192.61	+83.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.12	$4.96 CRC2,421.27	+15.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱431.63	$7.18 CRC3,508.58	-1.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.51	$2.26 CRC1,104.10	+2.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.63	$3.97 CRC1,938.45	+73.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.37	$1.79 CRC873.04	+17.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.49	$0.65 CRC319.50	-20.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.51	$1.95 CRC951.83	+19.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.36	$1.28 CRC624.10	+24.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱68.98	$1.29 CRC630.43	+10.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.04	$1.17 CRC573.18	-14.6%
Average			+19.1%

Manila vs. Alajuela - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.7 times more for transportation

	Manila	Alajuela
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱246.46	$5.39 CRC2,634.01	+29.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱811.51	$111.03 CRC54,236.42	+706.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,491,141.28	$37,671.80 CRC18,401,642.97	+49.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.44	$12.12 CRC5,920.00	+314.4%
Average			+274.8%

Manila vs. Alajuela - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.6% more for housing

	Manila	Alajuela
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,598.07	$32.71 CRC15,980.37	+20.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,246.98	$693.95 CRC338,977.63	+35.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,843.72	$594.82 CRC290,552.26	+136.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,925.44	$34.11 CRC16,664.03	-66.1%
Average			+31.6%

Manila vs. Alajuela - Cost of housing

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pay 14.1% more for childcare

	Manila	Alajuela
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,171.41	$297.41 CRC145,276.13	+114.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,004,491.60	$2,339.62 CRC1,142,838.88	-86.3%
Average			+14.1%

Manila vs. Alajuela - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Alajuela
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.22	$2.18 CRC1,065.36	+49.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.56	$3.63 CRC1,775.60	+40.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱192.73	$4.96 CRC2,421.27	+51.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,484.39	$64.44 CRC31,476.49	+52.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱441.26	$8.92 CRC4,358.28	+19.2%
Average			+42.7%

Manila vs. Alajuela - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 61.2% more for clothing

	Manila	Alajuela
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,902.69	$61.79 CRC30,185.15	+25.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,751.10	$51.35 CRC25,083.06	+72.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,767.52	$118.96 CRC58,110.45	+47.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,930.32	$99.14 CRC48,425.38	+99.5%
Average			+61.2%

Manila 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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