Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cartago vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Cartago is 39.8% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 56.5% less in Cartago
Groceries: pay 32.7% less in Cartago
Transportation: pay 33.8% less in Cartago
Housing: pay 35.1% less in Cartago
Childcare: pay 12.8% less in Cartago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.5% less in Cartago
Clothing: pay 47.2% less in Cartago

Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, housing, transportation, and groceries are lower in Cartago.

Cartago vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cartago instead of Reykjavik, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.5% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$27.48 ISK3,517	$7.93 CRC3,874.03	-71.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$22.76 ISK2,913	$8.92 CRC4,358.28	-60.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.34 ISK427	$1.98 CRC968.51	-40.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.70 ISK345	$1.26 CRC613.39	-53.4%
Average			-56.5%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.7% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Bread 1 loaf	$4.63 ISK593	$2.17 CRC1,062.13	-53.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.44 ISK1,208	$3.97 CRC1,937.02	-58.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.63 ISK976	$7.79 CRC3,804.39	+2.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.50 ISK832	$2.88 CRC1,405.93	-55.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$11.29 ISK1,445	$3.97 CRC1,938.45	-64.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.59 ISK204	$1.94 CRC947.65	+22.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 ISK150	$0.54 CRC263.58	-53.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.49 ISK190	$1.80 CRC878.62	+20.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.54 ISK325	$1.21 CRC593.07	-52.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 ISK217	$0.90 CRC439.31	-47.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.13 ISK145	$0.90 CRC439.31	-20.4%
Average			-32.7%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.8% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.66 ISK1,236	$5.39 CRC2,634.01	-44.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$88.58 ISK11,337	$69.61 CRC34,003.04	-21.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,771.00 ISK6,497,672	$37,671.80 CRC18,401,642.97	-25.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$28.07 ISK3,592	$15.82 CRC7,728.69	-43.6%
Average			-33.8%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.1% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$81.97 ISK10,490	$56.84 CRC27,763.88	-30.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,259.48 ISK289,169	??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,034.90 ISK260,427	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.87 ISK7,791	$36.82 CRC17,986.57	-39.5%
Average			-35.1%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - Cost of housing

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pay 12.8% less for childcare

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$327.78 ISK41,949	$495.68 CRC242,126.88	+51.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,711.08 ISK3,930,404	$7,137.82 CRC3,486,627.09	-76.8%
Average			-12.8%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$13.12 ISK1,680	$1.98 CRC968.51	-84.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.17 ISK790	$3.86 CRC1,884.12	-37.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.94 ISK1,783	$5.16 CRC2,518.12	-63.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$87.35 ISK11,179	$39.65 CRC19,370.15	-54.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.18 ISK2,199	$6.44 CRC3,147.65	-62.5%
Average			-60.5%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.2% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Cartago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$145.10 ISK18,569	$61.79 CRC30,185.15	-57.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$63.97 ISK8,187	$51.35 CRC25,083.06	-19.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$193.43 ISK24,755	$109.05 CRC53,267.91	-43.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$248.79 ISK31,840	$79.31 CRC38,740.30	-68.1%
Average			-47.2%

Reykjavik vs. Cartago - 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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