Cost of living comparison

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 16.5% more expensive than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 84.1% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 58.2% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 59.8% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 48.5% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 12.7% less in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.9% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 7.3% more in San Jose

The cost of restaurants, transportation, groceries, and clothing in San Jose are more expensive than in Abu Dhabi. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and childcare are lower in San Jose. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 84.1% more for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.89 AED40.00	$10.83 CRC5,499.19	-0.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$9.72 CRC4,934.00	+2.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 AED3.95	$1.99 CRC1,012.34	+85.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$1.46 CRC741.82	+249.8%
Average			+84.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.2% more for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.37 AED5.03	$2.60 CRC1,318.45	+89.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.80 AED17.63	$4.26 CRC2,165.48	-11.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.85 AED25.17	$7.23 CRC3,672.41	+5.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.16 AED11.62	$3.26 CRC1,656.57	+3.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.61 AED13.24	$4.41 CRC2,237.52	+22.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.00 AED3.67	$1.95 CRC990.43	+95.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 AED3.00	$0.63 CRC320.02	-22.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.81 AED2.97	$1.59 CRC807.86	+96.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 AED2.52	$1.35 CRC684.51	+96.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 AED1.83	$1.30 CRC659.83	+161.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 AED2.13	$1.19 CRC604.73	+105.0%
Average			+58.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 59.8% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.03 AED11.11	$5.49 CRC2,786.51	+81.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.50 AED90.00	$38.02 CRC19,306.95	+55.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$45,026.41 AED165,380.87	$36,925.49 CRC18,749,195.70	-18.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.23 AED26.56	$15.94 CRC8,094.23	+120.5%
Average			+59.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.5% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$103.04 AED378.46	$53.59 CRC27,213.08	-48.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,349.31 AED4,955.97	$742.08 CRC376,796.37	-45.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,005.59 AED3,693.52	$463.60 CRC235,397.07	-53.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$119.02 AED437.14	$63.06 CRC32,016.96	-47.0%
Average			-48.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 12.7% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$669.40 AED2,458.68	$521.49 CRC264,791.27	-22.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,841.46 AED47,166.35	$12,425.72 CRC6,309,251.58	-3.2%
Average			-12.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.89 AED40.00	$2.92 CRC1,480.20	-73.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.88 AED21.61	$3.69 CRC1,874.29	-37.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.13 AED22.50	$5.05 CRC2,565.68	-17.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.83 AED238.13	$59.70 CRC30,313.67	-7.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.61 AED50.00	$9.72 CRC4,934.00	-28.6%
Average			-32.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.3% more for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.20 AED246.81	$73.59 CRC37,363.93	+9.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$62.59 AED229.90	$50.81 CRC25,800.37	-18.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$103.06 AED378.55	$125.98 CRC63,969.11	+22.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.93 AED370.71	$117.31 CRC59,566.93	+16.2%
Average			+7.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. San Jose - 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: June 2025

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