Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 14.3% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 19.4% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 12.2% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 11.6% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 36.9% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 36.9% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.1% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 13.8% more in Costa Rica

The cost of clothing and transportation in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Ottawa. Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.4% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.87	$9.77 CRC4,772.77	-45.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.22	$9.53 CRC4,657.00	-13.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.77	$2.00 CRC977.87
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.15	$1.57 CRC767.80	+0.9%
Average			-19.4%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.2% less for groceries

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.77	$2.54 CRC1,240.79	-6.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.09	$4.50 CRC2,198.95	-23.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$11.97	$7.52 CRC3,675.18	-13.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.86	$2.80 CRC1,365.53	-20.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.94	$3.83 CRC1,869.62	-33.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.64	$1.78 CRC871.36	-6.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.62 CRC300.41	+2.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.25	$1.65 CRC804.74	+1.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.30	$1.24 CRC606.70	-25.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.53	$1.28 CRC624.18	+15.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.02	$1.10 CRC537.59	-24.6%
Average			-12.2%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6% more for transportation

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.60	$5.47 CRC2,671.86	+35.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.31	$54.59 CRC26,665.03	-43.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	$36,444.91 CRC17,802,336.11	+49.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.49	$15.68 CRC7,658.69	+5.8%
Average			+11.6%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.9% less for housing

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.04	$49.17 CRC24,020.20	-1.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	$805.28 CRC393,355.72	-44.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	$555.89 CRC271,535.63	-54.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$164.46	$63.57 CRC31,052.11	-46.5%
Average			-36.9%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 36.9% less for childcare

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	$517.09 CRC252,582.05	-34.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	$9,552.94 CRC4,666,349.20	-39.4%
Average			-36.9%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.96	$2.59 CRC1,263.41	-55.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.18	$3.84 CRC1,875.13	+2.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.91	$4.70 CRC2,295.55	-63.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.68	$58.68 CRC28,663.36	+31.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.92	$9.11 CRC4,448.49	-15.6%
Average			-20.1%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.8% more for clothing

	Ottawa	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.05	$58.22 CRC28,437.03	+10.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$53.81	$44.70 CRC21,835.84	+14.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.44	$112.79 CRC55,095.43	+29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$128.48	$93.41 CRC45,626.70	+0.5%
Average			+13.8%

Ottawa vs. Costa Rica - 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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