Cost of Living in Costa Rica

Summary of cost of living in Costa Rica:

Restaurants
Edit Range
Meal, Inexpensive Restaurant 5,000.00 ₡ 3,500.00-10,000.00
Meal for 2 People, Mid-range Restaurant, Three-course 30,000.00 ₡ 18,000.00-52,000.00
McMeal at McDonalds (or Equivalent Combo Meal) 5,000.00 ₡ 4,500.00-6,000.00
Domestic Beer (1 pint draught) 1,500.00 ₡ 1,000.00-2,544.15
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 2,289.73 ₡ 1,500.00-3,052.98
Cappuccino (regular) 2,006.41 ₡ 1,017.66-3,500.00
Coke/Pepsi (12 oz small bottle) 1,090.08 ₡ 800.00-1,600.00
Water (12 oz small bottle) 848.73 ₡ 600.00-1,300.00
Markets
Edit
Milk (regular), (1 gallon) 3,863.46 ₡ 2,346.96-5,678.12
Loaf of Fresh White Bread (1 lb) 1,449.85 ₡ 566.99-2,540.12
Rice (white), (1 lb) 566.54 ₡ 408.23-907.19
Eggs (regular) (12) 1,713.06 ₡ 974.40-3,000.00
Local Cheese (1 lb) 2,059.25 ₡ 907.19-4,535.93
Chicken Fillets (1 lb) 2,121.18 ₡ 907.19-3,175.15
Beef Round (1 lb) (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) 3,043.27 ₡ 2,041.17-4,535.93
Apples (1 lb) 1,030.14 ₡ 453.59-1,814.37
Banana (1 lb) 368.20 ₡ 213.19-725.75
Oranges (1 lb) 706.62 ₡ 226.80-1,360.78
Tomato (1 lb) 681.78 ₡ 310.71-997.90
Potato (1 lb) 671.27 ₡ 272.16-1,133.98
Onion (1 lb) 627.74 ₡ 362.87-1,000.00
Lettuce (1 head) 509.37 ₡ 300.00-800.00
Water (1.5 liter bottle) 1,260.31 ₡ 848.00-2,000.00
Bottle of Wine (Mid-Range) 8,000.00 ₡ 5,000.00-12,610.00
Domestic Beer (0.5 liter bottle) 1,163.40 ₡ 735.00-1,571.43
Imported Beer (12 oz small bottle) 1,389.37 ₡ 1,000.00-2,300.00
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro) 2,500.00 ₡ 2,300.00-3,000.00
Transportation
Edit
One-way Ticket (Local Transport) 500.00 ₡ 400.00-700.00
Monthly Pass (Regular Price) 25,000.00 ₡ 10,000.00-50,000.00
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff) 920.00 ₡ 700.00-1,500.00
Taxi 1 mile (Normal Tariff) 1,569.11 ₡ 1,126.54-2,000.00
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff) 3,845.00 ₡ 3,000.00-5,000.00
Gasoline (1 gallon) 2,825.94 ₡ 2,528.66-3,531.79
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (Or Equivalent New Car) 18,450,000.00 ₡ 15,800,000.00-20,000,000.00
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW Comfort (Or Equivalent New Car) 17,660,636.28 ₡ 16,994,909.37-19,920,045.00
Utilities (Monthly)
Edit
Basic (Electricity, Heating, Cooling, Water, Garbage) for 915 sq ft Apartment 43,745.81 ₡ 25,904.76-100,000.00
Mobile Phone Monthly Plan with Calls and 10GB+ Data 12,964.61 ₡ 10,000.00-25,000.00
Internet (60 Mbps or More, Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL) 27,333.59 ₡ 17,000.00-40,706.37
Sports And Leisure
Edit
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult 29,281.51 ₡ 17,000.00-55,000.00
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour on Weekend) 14,522.18 ₡ 5,088.30-30,000.00
Cinema, International Release, 1 Seat 4,500.00 ₡ 3,500.00-6,000.00
Childcare
Edit
Preschool (or Kindergarten), Full Day, Private, Monthly for 1 Child 277,090.27 ₡ 200,000.00-465,000.00
International Primary School, Yearly for 1 Child 5,052,035.91 ₡ 3,216,000.00-9,600,000.00
Clothing And Shoes
Edit
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar) 36,709.29 ₡ 23,000.00-50,882.96
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, H&M, ...) 27,762.93 ₡ 12,000.00-45,000.00
1 Pair of Nike Running Shoes (Mid-Range) 60,950.37 ₡ 40,000.00-95,000.00
1 Pair of Men Leather Business Shoes 53,464.54 ₡ 25,000.00-100,000.00
Rent Per Month
Edit
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Centre 394,155.88 ₡ 200,000.00-720,000.00
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Centre 265,748.91 ₡ 150,000.00-450,000.00
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Centre 737,385.51 ₡ 425,000.00-1,272,074.05
Apartment (3 bedrooms) Outside of Centre 507,821.23 ₡ 300,000.00-1,017,659.24
Buy Apartment Price
Edit
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment in City Centre 120,687.25 ₡ 56,725.71-235,411.70
Price per Square Feet to Buy Apartment Outside of Centre 65,882.45 ₡ 36,847.13-92,902.27
Salaries And Financing
Edit
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax) 506,764.76 ₡
Mortgage Interest Rate in Percentages (%), Yearly, for 20 Years Fixed-Rate 10.53 7.50-15.00

Prices in Costa Rica

This country had 1393 entries in the past 12 months by 122 different contributors.
Last update: 22 May 2025
Our data for each country are based on all entries from all cities in that country.
Sources and References
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