Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 67.9% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 70.2% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 81.6% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 36.6% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 37.5% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 2.7 times more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.3% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 21.3% more in Costa Rica

The cost of childcare, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, and transportation in Costa Rica are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 70.2% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	+4.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	+86.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$2.00 CRC995.21	+94.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.57 CRC781.41	+95.7%
Average			+70.2%

South Africa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 81.6% more for groceries

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	+153.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	+15.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	+72.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	+19.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	+79.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.78 CRC886.81	+144.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.62 CRC305.74	-5.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$1.65 CRC819.01	+141.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.24 CRC617.46	+75.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.28 CRC635.24	+118.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$1.10 CRC547.12	+83.4%
Average			+81.6%

South Africa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.6% more for transportation

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	+11.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	-2.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	+70.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	+67.9%
Average			+36.6%

South Africa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.5% more for housing

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	+24.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	+99.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	+53.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	-27.9%
Average			+37.5%

South Africa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	+198.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	+141.1%
Average			+169.6%

South Africa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.3% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	+18.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	+87.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	+58.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	+93.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	+33.0%
Average			+58.3%

South Africa vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.3% more for clothing

	South Africa	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	+14.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	+36.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	+19.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	+14.2%
Average			+21.3%

South Africa 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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