Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. Mexico Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 36.9% more expensive than Mexico overall.
Costa Rica vs. Mexico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Mexico, you would:
pay 26.6% more for restaurants
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $10.13 MX$177.40 | $9.77 CRC4,440.14 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $8.37 MX$146.48 | $9.53 CRC4,332.45 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $1.38 MX$24.09 | $2.00 CRC909.72 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $1.04 MX$18.25 | $1.57 CRC714.29 | |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 23.9% more for groceries
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $2.62 MX$45.81 | $2.54 CRC1,154.31 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $4.26 MX$74.59 | $4.50 CRC2,045.70 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $5.95 MX$104.13 | $7.52 CRC3,419.04 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $2.45 MX$42.88 | $2.80 CRC1,270.36 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $3.68 MX$64.34 | $3.83 CRC1,739.32 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.27 MX$22.18 | $1.78 CRC810.64 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.67 MX$11.78 | $0.62 CRC279.47 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $0.93 MX$16.22 | $1.65 CRC748.65 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $0.83 MX$14.44 | $1.24 CRC564.42 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.90 MX$15.72 | $1.28 CRC580.68 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.98 MX$17.13 | $1.10 CRC500.12 | |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 33.0% more for transportation
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $5.00 MX$87.57 | $5.47 CRC2,485.65 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $28.70 MX$502.38 | $54.59 CRC24,806.68 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $23,996.60 MX$420K | $36,444.91 CRC17M | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $19.51 MX$341.54 | $15.68 CRC7,124.94 | |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 39.7% more for housing
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $29.35 MX$513.78 | $49.17 CRC22,346.18 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $587.67 MX$10,286.63 | $805.28 CRC366K | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $443.50 MX$7,763.03 | $555.89 CRC253K | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $49.22 MX$861.63 | $63.57 CRC28,888.02 | |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 94.9% more for childcare
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $236.91 MX$4,146.92 | $517.09 CRC235K | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $5,569.03 MX$97,481.43 | $9,552.94 CRC4M | |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 28.9% more for entertainment and sports
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $2.44 MX$42.64 | $2.59 CRC1,175.36 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $3.34 MX$58.45 | $3.84 CRC1,744.45 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $4.42 MX$77.31 | $4.70 CRC2,135.57 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $39.27 MX$687.34 | $58.68 CRC26,665.74 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $5.43 MX$95.11 | $9.11 CRC4,138.47 | |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.2% more for clothing
Mexico | Costa Rica | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $53.04 MX$928.40 | $58.22 CRC26,455.19 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $40.66 MX$711.64 | $44.70 CRC20,314.05 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $95.33 MX$1,668.75 | $112.79 CRC51,255.70 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $87.49 MX$1,531.41 | $93.41 CRC42,446.87 | |
Mexico 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: June 2026
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