Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 20.7% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 61.5% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 22.5% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 41.5% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 50.1% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 0.1% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.2% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 5.3% more in Costa Rica

The cost of restaurants, housing, transportation, entertainment and sports, clothing, and childcare in Costa Rica are more expensive than in South Korea.

Costa Rica vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.5% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,912	$9.77 CRC4,879.78	+45.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,106	$9.53 CRC4,761.42	+73.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,162	$2.00 CRC999.79	+36.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$1.57 CRC785.01	+90.6%
Average			+61.5%

South Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.5% less for groceries

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,237	$2.54 CRC1,268.61	-11.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,294	$4.50 CRC2,248.26	-20.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,317	$7.52 CRC3,757.58	-2.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,182	$2.80 CRC1,396.14	-1.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,919	$3.83 CRC1,911.54	+14.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,771	$1.78 CRC890.90	-44.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,046	$0.62 CRC307.15	-55.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,123	$1.65 CRC822.78	-41.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,545	$1.24 CRC620.30	-48.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,628	$1.28 CRC638.17	-28.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$1.10 CRC549.64	-8.6%
Average			-22.5%

South Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.5% more for transportation

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,489	$5.47 CRC2,731.77	+24.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,558	$54.59 CRC27,262.91	+15.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,987,177	$36,444.91 CRC18,201,497.07	+37.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,286	$15.68 CRC7,830.41	+88.2%
Average			+41.5%

South Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.1% more for housing

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,974	$49.17 CRC24,558.78	+126.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,787	$805.28 CRC402,175.48	+69.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,681	$555.89 CRC277,623.96	+55.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,423	$63.57 CRC31,748.36	-52.0%
Average			+50.1%

South Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 0.1% more for childcare

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩558,145	$517.09 CRC258,245.40	+36.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,199,645	$9,552.94 CRC4,770,977.29	-36.5%
Average			+0.1%

South Korea vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.2% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,598	$2.59 CRC1,291.74	-17.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,261	$3.84 CRC1,917.18	+7.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,695	$4.70 CRC2,347.02	+47.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,520	$58.68 CRC29,306.05	+17.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,919	$9.11 CRC4,548.24	-10.0%
Average			+9.2%

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

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pay 5.3% more for clothing

	South Korea	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,997	$58.22 CRC29,074.64	-12.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,734	$44.70 CRC22,325.44	-11.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,257	$112.79 CRC56,330.77	+55.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,222	$93.41 CRC46,649.74	-9.5%
Average			+5.3%

South Korea 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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