Cost of living comparison

Alajuela, Costa Rica

compared to

Mexico City, Mexico

Mexico City vs. Alajuela Cost of Living Summary

Mexico City is 12.2% cheaper than Alajuela.

Restaurants: pay 10.7% less in Mexico City
Groceries: pay 17.7% less in Mexico City
Transportation: pay 54.9% less in Mexico City
Housing: pay 8.0% less in Mexico City
Childcare: pay 36.5% more in Mexico City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.5% less in Mexico City
Clothing: pay 17.2% less in Mexico City

Expenses including transportation, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and housing are lower in Mexico City.

Mexico City vs. Alajuela Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Mexico City instead of Alajuela, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.7% less for restaurants

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.80 CRC3,429.72	$9.93 MX$185.06	+46.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 CRC4,654.62	$7.45 MX$138.80	-19.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.52 CRC767.60	$1.08 MX$20.12	-29.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 CRC653.28	$0.77 MX$14.40	-40.4%
Average			-10.7%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.7% less for groceries

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Bread 1 loaf	$2.39 CRC1,206.66	$2.45 MX$45.70	+2.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,150.38	$4.87 MX$90.71	+14.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.04 CRC3,549.92	$5.51 MX$102.65	-21.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 CRC1,117.11	$2.18 MX$40.68	-1.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 CRC2,218.85	$3.57 MX$66.55	-18.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC885.75	$1.22 MX$22.77	-30.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC317.68	$0.67 MX$12.47	+6.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC801.82	$0.80 MX$14.89	-49.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.26 CRC633.88	$0.83 MX$15.42	-34.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 CRC640.28	$0.85 MX$15.86	-33.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 CRC582.36	$0.83 MX$15.43	-28.3%
Average			-17.7%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.9% less for transportation

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,766.35	$4.64 MX$86.44	-15.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$108.83 CRC54,875.50	$17.87 MX$333.11	-83.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,618,474.85	$18,615.02 MX$346,987.66	-49.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.88 CRC5,989.76	$3.47 MX$64.77	-70.7%
Average			-54.9%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.0% less for housing

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.07 CRC16,168.68	$24.38 MX$454.43	-24.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$680.21 CRC342,971.91	$893.52 MX$16,655.41	+31.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.03 CRC293,975.92	$544.24 MX$10,144.66	-6.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.95 CRC22,667.00	$30.31 MX$565.01	-32.6%
Average			-8.0%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - Cost of housing

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pay 36.5% more for childcare

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$291.52 CRC146,987.96	$381.33 MX$7,107.99	+30.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,920.82 CRC2,985,381.87	$8,426.99 MX$157,080.76	+42.3%
Average			+36.5%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.43 CRC1,224.90	$2.73 MX$50.89	+12.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.08 CRC1,551.54	$3.01 MX$56.03	-2.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.86 CRC2,449.80	$3.92 MX$73.10	-19.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.16 CRC31,847.39	$53.69 MX$1,000.74	-15.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.75 CRC4,409.64	$4.96 MX$92.53	-43.2%
Average			-13.5%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.2% less for clothing

	Alajuela	Mexico City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.45 CRC37,035.65	$56.36 MX$1,050.48	-23.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.76 CRC25,593.38	$41.06 MX$765.35	-19.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.61 CRC58,795.18	$91.99 MX$1,714.76	-21.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.17 CRC48,995.99	$91.93 MX$1,713.58	-5.4%
Average			-17.2%

Alajuela vs. Mexico City - 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: July 2025

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