Cost of living comparison

Vanuatu

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Port Vila Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 25.4% cheaper than Port Vila.

Restaurants: pay 9.3% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 26.1% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 2.9% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 52.4% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 97.6% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.3% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 29.8% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare and clothing in San Jose are more expensive than in Port Vila. Expenses including housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and transportation are lower in San Jose. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in San Jose.

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San Jose vs. Port Vila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Port Vila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.3% less for restaurants

	Port Vila	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.67 VUV1,500	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	-3.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.35 VUV1,700	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	-19.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 VUV270	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+17.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.36 VUV279	$1.89 CRC858.35	-20.0%
Average			-9.3%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 26.1% less for groceries

	Port Vila	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.94 VUV230	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+59.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.86 VUV1,050	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-39.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.63 VUV1,259	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	-15.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.23 VUV737	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	-43.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$7.40 VUV877	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	-36.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 VUV384	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	-28.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.96 VUV113	$0.73 CRC330.88	-24.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.78 VUV211	$2.15 CRC979.64	+20.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$4.21 VUV499	$1.76 CRC799.36	-58.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$4.02 VUV476	$1.73 CRC787.71	-57.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.57 VUV186	$1.66 CRC755.96	+5.8%
Average			-26.1%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.9% less for transportation

	Port Vila	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.78 VUV803	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	-14.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.55 VUV8,000	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	-2.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,220.47 VUV3M	$21,990.00 CRC10M	-5.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.29 VUV1,100	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	+62.9%
Average			-2.9%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.4% less for housing

	Port Vila	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$363.08 VUV43,000	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	-83.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,579.90 VUV187K	$942.15 CRC429K	-40.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,131.05 VUV134K	$758.77 CRC345K	-32.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$484.28 VUV57,353	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	-85.1%
Average			-52.4%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 97.6% more for childcare

	Port Vila	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$624.84 VUV74,000	$980.95 CRC446K	+57.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,873.26 VUV814K	$17,102.76 CRC8M	+148.8%
Average			+97.6%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Port Vila	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.07 VUV600	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	-35.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.08 VUV483	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+8.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.29 VUV1,100	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	-36.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$68.29 VUV8,088	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+6.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$7.67 CRC3,488.79
Average			-12.3%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.8% more for clothing

	Port Vila	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$40.99 VUV4,854	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	+74.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$67.55 VUV8,000	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	-17.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$84.40 VUV9,995	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+52.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$101.28 VUV11,995	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+29.8%
Average			+29.8%

Port Vila vs. San Jose - Cost of clothing

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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

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