Cost of living comparison
compared to
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary
Costa Rica is 22.2% cheaper than United Kingdom overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 18.6% less in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 19.2% more in Costa Rica
- Transportation
-
pay 24.4% less in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 35.1% less in Costa Rica
- Childcare
-
pay 58.5% less in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 33.1% less in Costa Rica
- Clothing
-
pay 5.1% less in Costa Rica
Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of United Kingdom, you would:
pay 18.6% less for restaurants
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$20.41
£15.30
|
$9.77
CRC4,772.77
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.94
£7.45
|
$9.53
CRC4,657.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.32
£1.74
|
$2.00
CRC977.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.65
£1.23
|
$1.57
CRC767.80
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants
pay 19.2% more for groceries
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.59
£1.20
|
$2.54
CRC1,240.79
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.71
£3.53
|
$4.50
CRC2,198.95
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.20
£4.65
|
$7.52
CRC3,675.18
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.87
£2.90
|
$2.80
CRC1,365.53
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.87
£2.90
|
$3.83
CRC1,869.62
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.32
£0.99
|
$1.78
CRC871.36
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.73
£0.55
|
$0.62
CRC300.41
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.28
£0.96
|
$1.65
CRC804.74
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.49
£1.12
|
$1.24
CRC606.70
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.72
£0.54
|
$1.28
CRC624.18
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
£0.53
|
$1.10
CRC537.59
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries
pay 24.4% less for transportation
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
£5.41
|
$5.47
CRC2,671.86
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$99.05
£74.25
|
$54.59
CRC26,665.03
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,224.29
£27,154.63
|
$36,444.91
CRC17,802,336.11
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.08
£16.55
|
$15.68
CRC7,658.69
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation
pay 35.1% less for housing
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$41.90
£31.41
|
$49.17
CRC24,020.20
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,285.79
£963.86
|
$805.28
CRC393,355.72
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,062.09
£796.17
|
$555.89
CRC271,535.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$233.57
£175.09
|
$63.57
CRC31,052.11
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing
pay 58.5% less for childcare
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$1,530.71
£1,147.46
|
$517.09
CRC252,582.05
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$19,375.12
£14,524.07
|
$9,552.94
CRC4,666,349.20
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare
pay 33.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$6.35
£4.76
|
$2.59
CRC1,263.41
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.54
£3.40
|
$3.84
CRC1,875.13
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$19.18
£14.38
|
$4.70
CRC2,295.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$49.26
£36.92
|
$58.68
CRC28,663.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.88
£10.41
|
$9.11
CRC4,448.49
|
|
United Kingdom vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.1% less for clothing
|
United Kingdom
|
Costa Rica
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$86.00
£64.47
|
$58.22
CRC28,437.03
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.20
£33.13
|
$44.70
CRC21,835.84
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.21
£71.37
|
$112.79
CRC55,095.43
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$101.36
£75.98
|
$93.41
CRC45,626.70
|
|
United Kingdom 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: December 2025
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