Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beirut vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Beirut is 11.9% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants
pay 19.9% less in Beirut
Groceries
pay 36.2% less in Beirut
Transportation
pay 13.0% more in Beirut
Housing
pay 6.9% more in Beirut
Childcare
pay 45.2% less in Beirut
Entertainment and Sports
pay 0.8% more in Beirut
Clothing
pay 2.5% less in Beirut

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

Beirut vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beirut instead of San Jose, you would:

pay 19.9% less for restaurants

 
San Jose
Beirut
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.95
CRC4,947.81
$10.82
LBP966,418
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.91
CRC4,924.29
$8.00
LBP714,522
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.06
CRC1,022.01
$1.76
LBP156,798

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pay 36.2% less for groceries

 
San Jose
Beirut
Bread
1 loaf
$2.64
CRC1,311.09
$0.75
LBP66,834
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.95
CRC2,462.15
$5.06
LBP452,159
Milk (1 gallon) $7.78
CRC3,868.62
$6.20
LBP553,696

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pay 13.0% more for transportation

 
San Jose
Beirut
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.39
CRC2,678.58
$3.51
LBP313,128
Monthly public transit pass $41.21
CRC20,485.06
$72.50
LBP6,475,359
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,640.45
CRC18,712,315.88
$35,000.00
LBP3,126,035,607

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pay 6.9% more for housing

 
San Jose
Beirut
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$58.88
CRC29,268.77
$37.92
LBP3,387,111
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $891.63
CRC443,258.89
$842.31
LBP75,230,967
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $560.77
CRC278,778.03
$372.22
LBP33,245,141

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pay 45.2% less for childcare

 
San Jose
Beirut
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $600.27
CRC298,412.20
$362.50
LBP32,376,797
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $12,608.22
CRC6,267,964.49
$6,187.50
LBP552,638,438

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pay 0.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
San Jose
Beirut
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.67
CRC1,329.56
$4.00
LBP357,261
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.85
CRC1,915.58
$3.28
LBP293,366
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$5.15
CRC2,560.63
$2.55
LBP227,754

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pay 2.5% less for clothing

 
San Jose
Beirut
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$61.74
CRC30,694.76
$59.38
LBP5,303,096
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$51.32
CRC25,512.74
$50.00
LBP4,465,765
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$120.28
CRC59,794.99
$120.56
LBP10,767,456

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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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