Cost of living comparison

Chile

compared to

Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Santiago Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 54.8% more expensive than Santiago.

Restaurants: pay 30.6% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 78.1% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 29.2% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 61.9% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 88.1% more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.5% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 71.7% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare, groceries, clothing, housing, restaurants, and transportation in San Jose are more expensive than in Santiago. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

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San Jose vs. Santiago Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 30.6% more for restaurants

	Santiago	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.23 CLF0.2600	$12.18 CRC5,543.94	+19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.70 CLF0.2200	$11.62 CRC5,289.15	+33.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.71 CLF0.0400	$2.69 CRC1,222.04	+57.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 CLF0.0300	$1.89 CRC858.35	+51.2%
Average			+30.6%

Santiago vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 78.1% more for groceries

	Santiago	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.81 CLF0.0500	$3.09 CRC1,407.40	+70.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.64 CLF0.1400	$5.33 CRC2,425.82	-5.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.81 CLF0.1200	$8.95 CRC4,075.15	+86.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.18 CLF0.1000	$3.49 CRC1,590.09	-16.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.11 CLF0.0800	$4.71 CRC2,145.07	+51.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.90 CLF0.0200	$2.32 CRC1,054.99	+156.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 CLF0.0200	$0.73 CRC330.88	+4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.74 CLF0.0200	$2.15 CRC979.64	+191.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 CLF0.0200	$1.76 CRC799.36	+124.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 CLF0.0100	$1.73 CRC787.71	+251.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.68 CLF0.0200	$1.66 CRC755.96	+145.4%
Average			+78.1%

Santiago vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.2% more for transportation

	Santiago	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 CLF0.1400	$5.80 CRC2,637.53	+0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$40.93 CLF1.0200	$65.71 CRC29,903.89	+60.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,743.12 CLF443.5100	$21,990.00 CRC10M	+23.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.37 CLF0.1800	$15.13 CRC6,887.86	+105.4%
Average			+29.2%

Santiago vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 61.9% more for housing

	Santiago	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.07 CLF0.4800	$59.17 CRC26,929.00	+210.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$552.81 CLF13.8200	$942.15 CRC429K	+70.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$376.90 CLF9.4200	$758.77 CRC345K	+101.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.86 CLF2.8500	$72.33 CRC32,916.13	-36.5%
Average			+61.9%

Santiago vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 88.1% more for childcare

	Santiago	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$432.52 CLF10.8100	$980.95 CRC446K	+126.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,959.69 CLF273.9500	$17,102.76 CRC8M	+56.1%
Average			+88.1%

Santiago vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Santiago	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 CLF0.1000	$3.29 CRC1,495.19	-19.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.25 CLF0.0800	$4.44 CRC2,020.72	+36.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.22 CLF0.1300	$5.91 CRC2,691.35	+13.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 CLF0.8500	$72.94 CRC33,194.61	+115.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.52 CLF0.1900	$7.67 CRC3,488.79	+1.9%
Average			+25.5%

Santiago vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.7% more for clothing

	Santiago	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.25 CLF1.2600	$71.32 CRC32,458.76	+41.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.71 CLF0.7200	$55.79 CRC25,389.75	+94.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.29 CLF1.6600	$128.46 CRC58,460.15	+93.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$80.84 CLF2.0200	$131.42 CRC59,807.77	+62.6%
Average			+71.7%

Santiago vs. San Jose - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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