Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

Qatar

Doha vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Doha is 7.3% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 38.3% less in Doha
Groceries: pay 46.3% less in Doha
Transportation: pay 37.9% less in Doha
Housing: pay 58.3% more in Doha
Childcare: pay 38.0% less in Doha
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.0% more in Doha
Clothing: pay 19.8% less in Doha

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

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Doha vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.3% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Doha
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.18 CRC5,535.65	$9.61 QAR35.18	-21.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.62 CRC5,281.24	$8.23 QAR30.16	-29.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.69 CRC1,220.21	$0.94 QAR3.45	-64.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.89 CRC857.07	$0.42 QAR1.53	-77.9%
Average			-38.3%

San Jose vs. Doha - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.3% less for groceries

	San Jose	Doha
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 CRC1,405.30	$1.39 QAR5.08	-55.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 CRC2,422.20	$5.62 QAR20.59	+5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.95 CRC4,069.05	$7.97 QAR29.21	-10.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 CRC1,587.71	$3.41 QAR12.50	-2.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.71 CRC2,141.86	$3.56 QAR13.02	-24.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.32 CRC1,053.42	$1.01 QAR3.71	-56.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CRC330.38	$0.82 QAR3.02	+13.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.15 CRC978.17	$0.70 QAR2.57	-67.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC798.16	$0.56 QAR2.04	-68.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CRC786.53	$0.44 QAR1.60	-74.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.66 CRC754.83	$0.45 QAR1.63	-73.2%
Average			-46.3%

San Jose vs. Doha - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.9% less for transportation

	San Jose	Doha
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.80 CRC2,633.58	$2.14 QAR7.82	-63.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.71 CRC29,859.18	$27.44 QAR100.52	-58.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 CRC10M	$27,978.05 QAR102K	+27.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.13 CRC6,877.56	$18.39 QAR67.35	+21.5%
Average			-37.9%

San Jose vs. Doha - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.3% more for housing

	San Jose	Doha
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.17 CRC26,888.73	$86.45 QAR316.63	+46.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$942.15 CRC428K	$1,897.48 QAR6,950.09	+101.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.77 CRC345K	$1,178.09 QAR4,315.08	+55.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.33 CRC32,866.92	$65.24 QAR238.97	-9.8%
Average			+58.3%

San Jose vs. Doha - Cost of housing

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pay 38.0% less for childcare

	San Jose	Doha
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$980.95 CRC446K	$670.94 QAR2,457.53	-31.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,102.76 CRC8M	$9,605.02 QAR35,181.22	-43.8%
Average			-38.0%

San Jose vs. Doha - Cost of childcare

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pay 79.0% more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Doha
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.29 CRC1,492.96	$12.21 QAR44.73	+271.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.44 CRC2,017.70	$5.87 QAR21.50	+32.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.91 CRC2,687.33	$6.45 QAR23.62	+9.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.94 CRC33,144.98	$125.60 QAR460.06	+72.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 CRC3,483.57	$12.35 QAR45.23	+61.1%
Average			+79.0%

San Jose vs. Doha - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.8% less for clothing

	San Jose	Doha
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.32 CRC32,410.23	$60.60 QAR221.98	-15.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.79 CRC25,351.79	$53.93 QAR197.52	-3.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.46 CRC58,372.75	$99.54 QAR364.61	-22.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.42 CRC59,718.35	$85.38 QAR312.72	-35.0%
Average			-19.8%

San Jose vs. Doha - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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