Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

Bahrain

Manama vs. San Jose Cost of Living Summary

Manama is 24.1% cheaper than San Jose.

Restaurants: pay 56.2% less in Manama
Groceries: pay 48.5% less in Manama
Transportation: pay 18.0% less in Manama
Housing: pay 0.3% more in Manama
Childcare: pay 43.3% less in Manama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.6% more in Manama
Clothing: pay 23.4% less in Manama

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

Planning a move to Bahrain? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Manama vs. San Jose Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 56.2% less for restaurants

	San Jose	Manama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	$5.30 BHD2.010	-56.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	$7.43 BHD2.810	-36.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	$0.86 BHD0.330	-67.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.89 CRC858.35	$0.31 BHD0.120	-83.8%
Average			-56.2%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.5% less for groceries

	San Jose	Manama
Bread 1 loaf	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	$1.08 BHD0.410	-64.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	$4.33 BHD1.640	-18.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	$5.35 BHD2.030	-40.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	$2.27 BHD0.860	-35.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	$2.95 BHD1.120	-37.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	$1.06 BHD0.400	-54.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 CRC330.88	$1.04 BHD0.390	+42.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.15 CRC979.64	$0.87 BHD0.330	-59.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC799.36	$0.64 BHD0.240	-63.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.73 CRC787.71	$0.47 BHD0.180	-73.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.66 CRC755.96	$0.63 BHD0.240	-62.0%
Average			-48.5%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.0% less for transportation

	San Jose	Manama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	$2.53 BHD0.960	-56.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	$37.13 BHD14.060	-43.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,990.00 CRC10M	$37,115.81 BHD14,058.540	+68.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	$32.88 BHD12.460	+117.3%
Average			-18.0%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.3% more for housing

	San Jose	Manama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	$35.14 BHD13.310	-40.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$942.15 CRC429K	$995.34 BHD377.010	+5.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.77 CRC345K	$645.13 BHD244.360	-15.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	$117.06 BHD44.340	+61.8%
Average			+0.3%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.3% less for childcare

	San Jose	Manama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$980.95 CRC446K	$489.38 BHD185.370	-50.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,102.76 CRC8M	$11,017.71 BHD4,173.230	-35.6%
Average			-43.3%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.6% more for entertainment and sports

	San Jose	Manama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	$6.63 BHD2.510	+101.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	$4.94 BHD1.870	+11.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	$5.30 BHD2.010	-10.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	$62.98 BHD23.860	-13.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	$10.61 BHD4.020	+38.4%
Average			+21.6%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 23.4% less for clothing

	San Jose	Manama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	$51.08 BHD19.350	-28.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	$57.58 BHD21.810	+3.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	$87.84 BHD33.270	-31.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	$89.50 BHD33.900	-31.9%
Average			-23.4%

San Jose vs. Manama - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: San Jose vs. Manama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Manama?

More cost comparisons

San Jose vs.

Washington

San Jose vs.

Ottawa

San Jose vs.

Madrid

San Jose vs.

Vienna

San Jose vs.

Dublin

San Jose vs.

Canberra

San Jose vs.

Warsaw

San Jose vs.

Berlin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Costa Rica vs. Bahrain. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Costa Rica and Bahrain.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for San Jose

Add prices for Manama

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Manama or San Jose. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.