Cost of living comparison

Chad

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. N'djamena Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 91.0% more expensive than N'djamena.

Restaurants: pay 72.4% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 79.8% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 37.9% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 92.9% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.0 times more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose

The cost of entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in San Jose are more expensive than in N'djamena. Notably, entertainment and sports, clothing, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

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

San Jose vs. N'djamena Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of N'djamena, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 72.4% more for restaurants

	N'djamena	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.54 FCFA4,983	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	+42.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	??	$11.62 CRC5,289.15
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 FCFA498	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+214.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 FCFA498	$1.89 CRC858.35	+121.0%
Average			+72.4%

N'djamena vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 79.8% more for groceries

	N'djamena	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$0.34 FCFA199	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+805.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.71 FCFA997	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	+212.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.68 FCFA7,985	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	-34.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.05 FCFA1,196	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	+70.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.10 FCFA1,808	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	+52.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.13 FCFA1,243	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	+8.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.97 FCFA565	$0.73 CRC330.88	-24.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.16 FCFA678	$2.15 CRC979.64	+85.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 FCFA648	$1.76 CRC799.36	+58.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 FCFA422	$1.73 CRC787.71	+139.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.72 FCFA422	$1.66 CRC755.96	+129.9%
Average			+79.8%

N'djamena vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 37.9% more for transportation

	N'djamena	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 FCFA2,829	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	+19.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$85.35 FCFA49,830	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	-23.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,778.47 FCFA7M	$21,990.00 CRC10M	+86.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.84 FCFA2,242	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	+294.1%
Average			+37.9%

N'djamena vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 92.9% more for housing

	N'djamena	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$426.76 FCFA249K	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	-86.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,707.02 FCFA997K	$942.15 CRC429K	-44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$85.35 FCFA49,830	$758.77 CRC345K	+789.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$32.63 FCFA19,053	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	+121.6%
Average			+92.9%

N'djamena vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for childcare

	N'djamena	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$980.95 CRC446K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$17,102.76 CRC8M

N'djamena vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	N'djamena	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.28 FCFA747	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	+156.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.85 FCFA498	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+420.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$0.98 FCFA573	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	+502.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$72.94 CRC33,194.61
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$7.67 CRC3,488.79
Average			+303.8%

N'djamena vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	N'djamena	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.61 FCFA14,949	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	+178.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.14 FCFA19,932	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	+63.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$42.68 FCFA24,915	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+201.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$85.35 FCFA49,830	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+54.0%
Average			+114.3%

N'djamena vs. San Jose - 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: N'djamena vs. San Jose

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in San Jose?

More cost comparisons

N'djamena vs.

Canberra

N'djamena vs.

Bangkok

N'djamena vs.

Athens

N'djamena vs.

Hanoi

N'djamena vs.

Madrid

N'djamena vs.

Reykjavik

N'djamena vs.

London

N'djamena vs.

Dublin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Chad vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Chad and Costa Rica.

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 N'djamena

Add prices for San Jose

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about San Jose or N'djamena. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.