Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 50.5% more expensive than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 58.3% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 55.2% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 17.8% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 47.3% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 16.4% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 10.6% more in Costa Rica

The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, childcare, housing, and clothing in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Saudi Arabia. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.32 SAR23.70	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	+54.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	+23.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 SAR2.79	$2.00 CRC995.21	+169.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 SAR1.02	$1.57 CRC781.41	+476.2%
Average			+180.9%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.3% more for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 SAR3.43	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	+177.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 SAR13.56	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	+24.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.74 SAR25.26	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	+11.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 SAR9.47	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	+10.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 SAR12.28	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	+16.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 SAR3.63	$1.78 CRC886.81	+84.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.91	$0.62 CRC305.74	-20.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR3.00	$1.65 CRC819.01	+106.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 SAR2.77	$1.24 CRC617.46	+68.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.49	$1.28 CRC635.24	+92.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 SAR2.43	$1.10 CRC547.12	+69.6%
Average			+58.3%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 55.2% more for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.32 SAR8.72	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	+135.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.84 SAR126.92	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	+61.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	+41.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.00 SAR71.26	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	-17.5%
Average			+55.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.8% more for housing

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.04 SAR277.70	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	-33.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	+85.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	+54.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.42 SAR365.42	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	-34.7%
Average			+17.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 47.3% more for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	+47.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	+47.3%
Average			+47.3%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 16.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.89 SAR7.09	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	+36.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 SAR13.06	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	+10.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.47 SAR28.00	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	-37.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.43 SAR399.18	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	-44.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.24 SAR64.67	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	-47.2%
Average			-16.4%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.6% more for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.71 SAR182.69	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	+19.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.50 SAR215.68	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	-22.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.56 SAR332.16	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	+27.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.17 SAR296.96	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	+18.0%
Average			+10.6%

Saudi Arabia vs. Costa Rica - 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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