Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 4.4 times more expensive than Tonga overall.

Restaurants: pay 14.0% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 12.7% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 28.9% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 20.8 times more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.7% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 3.8 times more in Costa Rica

The cost of childcare, clothing, transportation, and groceries in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Tonga. Expenses including housing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Costa Rica. Notably, childcare, clothing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 14.0% less for restaurants

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	+17.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	-8.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$2.00 CRC995.21	-29.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$1.57 CRC781.41	-36.0%
Average			-14.0%

Tonga vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.7% more for groceries

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	+144.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	+0.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	+27.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	-45.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	+43.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.78 CRC886.81	+42.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.62 CRC305.74	-51.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$1.65 CRC819.01	+24.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$1.24 CRC617.46	-26.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$1.28 CRC635.24	-11.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$1.10 CRC547.12	-7.8%
Average			+12.7%

Tonga vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	-0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	+31.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	+526.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	-16.1%
Average			+135.4%

Tonga vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.9% less for housing

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	-60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	+29.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$555.89 CRC276,349.98
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	-55.5%
Average			-28.9%

Tonga vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 20.8 times more for childcare

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	+227.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	+3733.5%
Average			+1980.5%

Tonga vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	-22.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	+32.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	-53.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	+88.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	-78.1%
Average			-6.7%

Tonga vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.8 times more for clothing

	Tonga	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	+300.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	+153.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	+443.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	+221.3%
Average			+279.6%

Tonga 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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