Cost of living comparison

Alajuela, Costa Rica

compared to

Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa vs. Alajuela Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 70.1% more expensive than Alajuela.

Restaurants: pay 60.4% more in Ottawa
Groceries: pay 20.6% more in Ottawa
Transportation: pay 3.8% less in Ottawa
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Ottawa
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in Ottawa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.0% more in Ottawa
Clothing: pay 9.2% less in Ottawa

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

Ottawa vs. Alajuela Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Ottawa instead of Alajuela, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 60.4% more for restaurants

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.80 CRC3,434.00	$17.96 CA$24.45	+164.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.23 CRC4,660.42	$10.78 CA$14.67	+16.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.52 CRC768.56	$2.17 CA$2.95	+42.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.30 CRC654.09	$1.53 CA$2.08	+18.2%
Average			+60.4%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.6% more for groceries

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.39 CRC1,208.17	$2.65 CA$3.61	+10.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.26 CRC2,153.06	$6.28 CA$8.55	+47.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.04 CRC3,554.35	$9.92 CA$13.51	+40.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.22 CRC1,118.50	$3.31 CA$4.51	+49.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 CRC2,221.62	$5.89 CA$8.02	+33.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.76 CRC886.86	$1.93 CA$2.63	+10.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 CRC318.07	$0.64 CA$0.87	+1.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 CRC802.82	$1.44 CA$1.96	-9.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.26 CRC634.67	$1.69 CA$2.30	+34.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 CRC641.08	$1.20 CA$1.64	-5.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.15 CRC583.09	$1.31 CA$1.78	+13.1%
Average			+20.6%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.8% less for transportation

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 CRC2,769.80	$4.15 CA$5.65	-24.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$108.83 CRC54,943.94	$92.50 CA$125.92	-15.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,925.49 CRC18,641,693.93	$24,412.64 CA$33,231.71	-33.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.88 CRC5,997.23	$18.80 CA$25.59	+58.2%
Average			-3.8%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$32.07 CRC16,188.84	$50.21 CA$68.35	+56.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$680.21 CRC343,399.63	$1,425.51 CA$1,940.48	+109.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$583.03 CRC294,342.54	$1,269.57 CA$1,728.20	+117.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.95 CRC22,695.27	$131.33 CA$178.78	+192.1%
Average			+119.0%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing

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pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$291.52 CRC147,171.27	$999.72 CA$1,360.87	+242.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,920.82 CRC2,989,104.93	$19,936.07 CA$27,137.98	+236.7%
Average			+239.8%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.43 CRC1,226.43	$5.75 CA$7.82	+136.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.08 CRC1,553.47	$3.71 CA$5.05	+20.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.86 CRC2,452.85	$12.93 CA$17.60	+166.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$63.16 CRC31,887.11	$46.27 CA$62.99	-26.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.75 CRC4,415.14	$10.78 CA$14.67	+23.2%
Average			+64.0%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.2% less for clothing

	Alajuela	Ottawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$73.45 CRC37,081.83	$57.20 CA$77.86	-22.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.76 CRC25,625.29	$44.39 CA$60.43	-12.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.61 CRC58,868.51	$97.78 CA$133.10	-16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.17 CRC49,057.09	$110.86 CA$150.90	+14.1%
Average			-9.2%

Alajuela vs. Ottawa - 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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