Cost of living comparison

compared to

Alajuela vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Alajuela is 68.3% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Alajuela
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Alajuela
Transportation: pay 75.9% more in Alajuela
Housing: pay 58.1% more in Alajuela
Childcare: pay 20.3% less in Alajuela
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.2% more in Alajuela
Clothing: pay 2.1 times more in Alajuela

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

Alajuela vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES750.88	$9.91 CRC4,842.54	+70.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.06	$9.42 CRC4,600.41	+35.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.79	$2.06 CRC1,005.01	+193.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.04	$1.31 CRC637.60	+137.7%
Average			+109.2%

Nairobi vs. Alajuela - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.69	$2.44 CRC1,192.61	+346.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.08	$4.96 CRC2,421.27	-11.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.10	$7.18 CRC3,508.58	+114.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.73	$2.26 CRC1,104.10	+37.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.51	$3.97 CRC1,938.45	+36.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.96	$1.79 CRC873.04	+27.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.40	$0.65 CRC319.50	+37.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.07	$1.95 CRC951.83	+119.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.01	$1.28 CRC624.10	+180.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.50	$1.29 CRC630.43	+162.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.52	$1.17 CRC573.18	+131.7%
Average			+107.4%

Nairobi vs. Alajuela - Cost of groceries

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pay 75.9% more for transportation

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.38	$5.39 CRC2,634.01	-0.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,004.71	$111.03 CRC54,236.42	+258.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	$37,671.80 CRC18,401,642.97	+73.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,202.59	$12.12 CRC5,920.00	-28.8%
Average			+75.9%

Nairobi vs. Alajuela - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.1% more for housing

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,156.50	$32.71 CRC15,980.37	-17.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,695.24	$693.95 CRC338,977.63	+45.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,686.56	$594.82 CRC290,552.26	+188.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,793.22	$34.11 CRC16,664.03	+16.3%
Average			+58.1%

Nairobi vs. Alajuela - Cost of housing

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pay 20.3% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,992.44	$297.41 CRC145,276.13	+32.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	$2,339.62 CRC1,142,838.88	-73.3%
Average			-20.3%

Nairobi vs. Alajuela - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.35	$2.18 CRC1,065.36	-6.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.55	$3.63 CRC1,775.60	+53.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.47	$4.96 CRC2,421.27	+60.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,859.39	$64.44 CRC31,476.49	+42.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.12	$8.92 CRC4,358.28	+21.3%
Average			+34.2%

Nairobi vs. Alajuela - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

	Nairobi	Alajuela
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,538.28	$61.79 CRC30,185.15	+214.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,218.07	$51.35 CRC25,083.06	+106.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,785.33	$118.96 CRC58,110.45	+75.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,055.48	$99.14 CRC48,425.38	+59.2%
Average			+113.9%

Nairobi 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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