Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 51.5% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 62.0% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 31.0% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 41.2% less in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 51.1% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 76.2% less in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.9% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 45.1% less in Costa Rica

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, clothing, and transportation are lower in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Switzerland, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 62.0% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$32.37 CHF25.99	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	-69.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.82 CHF15.11	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	-49.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.26 CHF4.23	$2.00 CRC995.21	-62.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.76 CHF3.82	$1.57 CRC781.41	-67.0%
Average			-62.0%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.0% less for groceries

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$3.73 CHF2.99	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	-31.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$14.66 CHF11.77	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	-69.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.19 CHF6.58	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	-8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.43 CHF5.96	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	-62.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$14.43 CHF11.59	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	-73.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.69 CHF1.36	$1.78 CRC886.81	+5.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 CHF0.89	$0.62 CRC305.74	-44.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.35 CHF1.08	$1.65 CRC819.01	+22.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.94 CHF2.36	$1.24 CRC617.46	-57.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 CHF0.93	$1.28 CRC635.24	+9.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CHF0.88	$1.10 CRC547.12
Average			-31.0%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.2% less for transportation

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.41 CHF6.75	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	-35.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$119.36 CHF95.82	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	-54.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,637.10 CHF32,622.53	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	-10.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$45.06 CHF36.17	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	-65.2%
Average			-41.2%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 51.1% less for housing

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$59.20 CHF47.52	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	-16.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,797.02 CHF1,442.60	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	-55.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,562.03 CHF1,253.96	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	-64.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$197.97 CHF158.93	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	-67.9%
Average			-51.1%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 76.2% less for childcare

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,700.86 CHF2,168.19	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	-80.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$33,359.10 CHF26,779.92	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	-71.4%
Average			-76.2%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 53.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.73 CHF7.00	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	-70.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.04 CHF4.85	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	-36.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.28 CHF9.06	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	-58.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$101.44 CHF81.43	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	-42.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$24.10 CHF19.35	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	-62.2%
Average			-53.9%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 45.1% less for clothing

	Switzerland	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$142.30 CHF114.24	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	-59.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$70.55 CHF56.63	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	-36.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$162.86 CHF130.74	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	-30.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$202.63 CHF162.67	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	-53.9%
Average			-45.1%

Switzerland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Switzerland vs.

United States

Switzerland vs.

Italy

Switzerland vs.

Egypt

Switzerland vs.

Austria

Switzerland vs.

France

Switzerland vs.

Australia

Switzerland vs.

Germany

Switzerland vs.

China

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Bern vs. San Jose

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Switzerland

Add prices for Costa Rica

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Switzerland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.