Cost of living comparison

compared to

Buenos Aires vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Buenos Aires is 6.2% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 22.8% more in Buenos Aires
Groceries: pay 17.0% less in Buenos Aires
Transportation: pay 36.5% less in Buenos Aires
Housing: pay 11.7% less in Buenos Aires
Childcare: pay 47.6% less in Buenos Aires
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1% less in Buenos Aires
Clothing: pay 48.7% more in Buenos Aires

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

Buenos Aires vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Buenos Aires instead of San Jose, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.8% more for restaurants

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.95 CRC4,947.81	$18.00 ARS26,034.72	+80.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 CRC4,924.29	$12.00 ARS17,356.48	+21.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 CRC1,022.01	$2.18 ARS3,154.71	+6.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.67 CRC831.76	$1.39 ARS2,007.74	-17.0%
Average			+22.8%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.0% less for groceries

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Bread 1 loaf	$2.64 CRC1,311.09	$2.89 ARS4,181.15	+9.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 CRC2,462.15	$6.13 ARS8,871.09	+23.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.78 CRC3,868.62	$5.84 ARS8,442.80	-25.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.88 CRC1,429.67	$3.29 ARS4,757.11	+14.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.97 CRC1,971.17	$3.92 ARS5,669.05	-1.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.94 CRC963.65	$1.15 ARS1,664.69	-40.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 CRC324.89	$0.96 ARS1,390.37	+47.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.95 CRC967.90	$0.57 ARS819.15	-70.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 CRC786.24	$1.14 ARS1,648.30	-27.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 CRC768.91	$0.66 ARS952.66	-57.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.43 CRC711.41	$0.58 ARS837.26	-59.5%
Average			-17.0%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.5% less for transportation

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.39 CRC2,678.58	$4.31 ARS6,237.99	-20.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.21 CRC20,485.06	$20.00 ARS28,927.47	-51.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,640.45 CRC18,712,315.88	$25,000.00 ARS36,159,331.25	-33.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.12 CRC8,011.83	$9.51 ARS13,762.18	-41.0%
Average			-36.5%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.7% less for housing

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$58.88 CRC29,268.77	$29.42 ARS42,555.70	-50.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$891.63 CRC443,258.89	$659.06 ARS953,253.26	-26.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$560.77 CRC278,778.03	$463.75 ARS670,751.66	-17.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.88 CRC34,242.87	$100.98 ARS146,052.25	+46.6%
Average			-11.7%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of housing

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pay 47.6% less for childcare

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$600.27 CRC298,412.20	$367.39 ARS531,384.95	-38.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,608.22 CRC6,267,964.49	$5,496.25 ARS7,949,628.98	-56.4%
Average			-47.6%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1% less for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.67 CRC1,329.56	$3.80 ARS5,496.22	+42.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.85 CRC1,915.58	$4.13 ARS5,967.15	+7.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.15 CRC2,560.63	$3.68 ARS5,322.65	-28.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.98 CRC27,831.01	$43.59 ARS63,042.89	-22.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.91 CRC4,924.29	$9.00 ARS13,017.36	-9.1%
Average			-2.1%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.7% more for clothing

	San Jose	Buenos Aires
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.74 CRC30,694.76	$112.87 ARS163,247.52	+82.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$51.32 CRC25,512.74	$91.59 ARS132,477.95	+78.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$120.28 CRC59,794.99	$129.33 ARS187,064.27	+7.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.98 CRC53,182.37	$134.94 ARS195,167.49	+26.1%
Average			+48.7%

San Jose vs. Buenos Aires - 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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