Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. Spain Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 4.6% more expensive than Spain overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 18.6% less in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 26.0% more in Costa Rica
- Transportation
-
pay 7.2% more in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 6.5% less in Costa Rica
- Childcare
-
pay 13.7% more in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.6% more in Costa Rica
- Clothing
-
pay 2.5% more in Costa Rica
The cost of groceries, childcare, entertainment and sports, transportation, and clothing in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Spain. Expenses including restaurants and housing are lower in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica vs. Spain Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Spain, you would:
pay 18.6% less for restaurants
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.59
€13.44
|
$9.77
CRC4,857.39
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.47
€9.03
|
$9.53
CRC4,739.57
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.43
€2.10
|
$2.00
CRC995.21
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.75
€1.51
|
$1.57
CRC781.41
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.0% more for groceries
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.50
€1.29
|
$2.54
CRC1,262.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.18
€6.19
|
$4.50
CRC2,237.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.55
€3.92
|
$7.52
CRC3,740.34
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.00
€2.59
|
$2.80
CRC1,389.74
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.77
€3.25
|
$3.83
CRC1,902.77
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.12
€0.97
|
$1.78
CRC886.81
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.62
CRC305.74
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.77
|
$1.65
CRC819.01
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.08
|
$1.24
CRC617.46
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.79
€0.68
|
$1.28
CRC635.24
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.88
€0.76
|
$1.10
CRC547.12
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 7.2% more for transportation
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.72
€5.80
|
$5.47
CRC2,719.23
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$36.04
€31.08
|
$54.59
CRC27,137.81
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,479.99
€31,457.68
|
$36,444.91
CRC18,117,972.89
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.35
€14.10
|
$15.68
CRC7,794.48
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 6.5% less for housing
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$31.86
€27.48
|
$49.17
CRC24,446.08
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$935.97
€807.11
|
$805.28
CRC400,329.95
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$738.34
€636.69
|
$555.89
CRC276,349.98
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$108.98
€93.97
|
$63.57
CRC31,602.67
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 13.7% more for childcare
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$443.17
€382.16
|
$517.09
CRC257,060.35
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,629.20
€7,441.19
|
$9,552.94
CRC4,749,083.93
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 7.6% more for entertainment and sports
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.32
€2.86
|
$2.59
CRC1,285.81
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
€1.95
|
$3.84
CRC1,908.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.32
€5.45
|
$4.70
CRC2,336.25
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$48.29
€41.64
|
$58.68
CRC29,171.56
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.66
€8.33
|
$9.11
CRC4,527.37
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.5% more for clothing
|
Spain
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$82.11
€70.81
|
$58.22
CRC28,941.22
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$35.86
€30.92
|
$44.70
CRC22,222.99
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$88.78
€76.56
|
$112.79
CRC56,072.28
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$106.74
€92.05
|
$93.41
CRC46,435.67
|
|
Spain vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing
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: November 2025
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