Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. Quito Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 65.3% more expensive than Quito.
- Restaurants
-
pay 78.9% more in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 78.0% more in Costa Rica
- Transportation
-
pay 77.2% more in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 95.4% more in Costa Rica
- Childcare
-
pay 42.3% more in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 19.9% more in Costa Rica
The cost of housing, restaurants, groceries, transportation, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Quito. Notably, housing, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica vs. Quito Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Quito, you would:
pay 78.9% more for restaurants
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.00
|
$9.77
CRC4,772.77
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.38
|
$9.53
CRC4,657.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.13
|
$2.00
CRC977.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.73
|
$1.57
CRC767.80
|
|
Quito vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 78.0% more for groceries
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.62
|
$2.54
CRC1,240.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.18
|
$4.50
CRC2,198.95
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.06
|
$7.52
CRC3,675.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.43
|
$2.80
CRC1,365.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.52
|
$3.83
CRC1,869.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.98
|
$1.78
CRC871.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.51
|
$0.62
CRC300.41
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.48
|
$1.65
CRC804.74
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
|
$1.24
CRC606.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
|
$1.28
CRC624.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.47
|
$1.10
CRC537.59
|
|
Quito vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 77.2% more for transportation
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$2.63
|
$5.47
CRC2,671.86
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$27.00
|
$54.59
CRC26,665.03
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$20,000.00
|
$36,444.91
CRC17,802,336.11
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$13.50
|
$15.68
CRC7,658.69
|
|
Quito vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 95.4% more for housing
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$28.44
|
$49.17
CRC24,020.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$448.12
|
$805.28
CRC393,355.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$317.19
|
$555.89
CRC271,535.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$25.07
|
$63.57
CRC31,052.11
|
|
Quito vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 42.3% more for childcare
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$283.25
|
$517.09
CRC252,582.05
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,360.00
|
$9,552.94
CRC4,666,349.20
|
|
Quito vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 19.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.38
|
$2.59
CRC1,263.41
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.96
|
$3.84
CRC1,875.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.00
|
$4.70
CRC2,295.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$38.55
|
$58.68
CRC28,663.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.00
|
$9.11
CRC4,448.49
|
|
Quito vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Quito
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$60.15
|
$58.22
CRC28,437.03
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$46.83
|
$44.70
CRC21,835.84
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$105.42
|
$112.79
CRC55,095.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$92.78
|
$93.41
CRC45,626.70
|
Quito 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: December 2025
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