Cost of living comparison

compared to

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 14.2% more expensive than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 84.4% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 58.7% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 41.2% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 46.9% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 10.5% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.2% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 13.2% less in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 84.4% more for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 AED29.06	$9.77 CRC4,857.39	+23.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.65 AED31.75	$9.53 CRC4,739.57	+10.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 AED3.83	$2.00 CRC995.21	+92.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 AED1.85	$1.57 CRC781.41	+211.8%
Average			+84.4%

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.7% more for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.47 AED5.39	$2.54 CRC1,262.79	+73.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 AED19.68	$4.50 CRC2,237.94	-16.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.96 AED25.56	$7.52 CRC3,740.34	+8.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.81 AED10.34	$2.80 CRC1,389.74	-0.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$3.83 CRC1,902.77	+4.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 AED3.59	$1.78 CRC886.81	+82.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 AED2.75	$0.62 CRC305.74	-17.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 AED2.69	$1.65 CRC819.01	+125.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 AED2.15	$1.24 CRC617.46	+112.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.76	$1.28 CRC635.24	+166.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.93	$1.10 CRC547.12	+109.0%
Average			+58.7%

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.2% more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.91 AED10.69	$5.47 CRC2,719.23	+87.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$53.10 AED195.00	$54.59 CRC27,137.81	+2.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	$36,444.91 CRC18,117,972.89	-10.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 AED31.21	$15.68 CRC7,794.48	+84.5%
Average			+41.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.9% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.41 AED372.42	$49.17 CRC24,446.08	-51.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	$805.28 CRC400,329.95	-44.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$990.79 AED3,638.67	$555.89 CRC276,349.98	-43.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.67 AED450.49	$63.57 CRC31,602.67	-48.2%
Average			-46.9%

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 10.5% more for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$497.28 AED1,826.25	$517.09 CRC257,060.35	+4.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	$9,552.94 CRC4,749,083.93	+17.0%
Average			+10.5%

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.2% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.43 AED38.31	$2.59 CRC1,285.81	-75.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.32	$3.84 CRC1,908.38	-23.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.23 AED22.88	$4.70 CRC2,336.25	-24.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$75.55 AED277.45	$58.68 CRC29,171.56	-22.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.19 AED48.44	$9.11 CRC4,527.37	-31.0%
Average			-35.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.2% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.04 AED275.58	$58.22 CRC28,941.22	-22.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$59.50 AED218.51	$44.70 CRC22,222.99	-24.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$105.66 AED388.03	$112.79 CRC56,072.28	+6.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.53 AED391.23	$93.41 CRC46,435.67	-12.3%
Average			-13.2%

United Arab Emirates 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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