Cost of living comparison

Alajuela, Costa Rica

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Alajuela Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 16.8% more expensive than Alajuela.

Restaurants: pay 22.2% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 1.4% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 6.5% less in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 27.8% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 81.8% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.6% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 9.6% less in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Alajuela Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.2% more for restaurants

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.80 CRC3,416.47	$9.75 CRC4,895.83	+43.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 CRC4,636.64	$9.08 CRC4,561.34	-1.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.52 CRC764.64	$2.01 CRC1,009.86	+32.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 CRC650.76	$1.49 CRC749.16	+15.1%
Average			+22.2%

Alajuela vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.4% less for groceries

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$2.39 CRC1,202.00	$2.53 CRC1,271.84	+5.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,142.07	$3.76 CRC1,889.90	-11.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.04 CRC3,536.21	$6.98 CRC3,503.79	-0.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 CRC1,112.79	$3.21 CRC1,613.39	+45.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 CRC2,210.28	$3.97 CRC1,994.46	-9.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC882.33	$1.79 CRC898.75	+1.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC316.45	$0.62 CRC309.85	-2.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC798.72	$1.22 CRC610.96	-23.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.26 CRC631.43	$1.22 CRC613.60	-2.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 CRC637.81	$1.09 CRC549.63	-13.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 CRC580.11	$1.11 CRC559.39	-3.6%
Average			-1.4%

Alajuela vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.5% less for transportation

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,755.67	$5.63 CRC2,826.29	+2.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$108.83 CRC54,663.54	$49.00 CRC24,610.70	-55.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,546,556.93	$35,063.37 CRC17,611,273.26	-5.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.88 CRC5,966.62	$15.62 CRC7,846.57	+31.5%
Average			-6.5%

Alajuela vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.8% more for housing

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.07 CRC16,106.22	$48.50 CRC24,360.30	+51.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$680.21 CRC341,647.10	$778.04 CRC390,784.84	+14.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.03 CRC292,840.37	$547.50 CRC274,994.38	-6.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.95 CRC22,579.45	$68.26 CRC34,283.79	+51.8%
Average			+27.8%

Alajuela vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 81.8% more for childcare

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$291.52 CRC146,420.19	$519.07 CRC260,711.97	+78.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,920.82 CRC2,973,850.18	$10,987.74 CRC5,518,811.74	+85.6%
Average			+81.8%

Alajuela vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.43 CRC1,220.17	$2.73 CRC1,369.77	+12.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.08 CRC1,545.55	$3.65 CRC1,835.41	+18.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.86 CRC2,440.34	$4.58 CRC2,301.56	-5.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.16 CRC31,724.37	$59.46 CRC29,865.25	-5.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.75 CRC4,392.61	$8.63 CRC4,332.54	-1.4%
Average			+3.6%

Alajuela vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.6% less for clothing

	Alajuela	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.45 CRC36,892.59	$65.32 CRC32,810.10	-11.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.76 CRC25,494.52	$44.54 CRC22,371.27	-12.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.61 CRC58,568.07	$110.39 CRC55,443.32	-5.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.17 CRC48,806.73	$97.22 CRC48,829.09
Average			-9.6%

Alajuela 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: April 2025

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