Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Botswana Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 87.9% more expensive than Botswana overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 74.6% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 35.4% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.1% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 49.6% more in Costa Rica

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and entertainment and sports in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Botswana. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Botswana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.50 BWP101.94	$9.75 CRC4,861.38	+30.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.00 BWP81.55	$9.08 CRC4,529.24	+51.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.83 BWP11.32	$2.01 CRC1,002.75	+141.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.49 BWP6.64	$1.49 CRC743.89	+205.7%
Average			+107.1%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 74.6% more for groceries

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 BWP11.05	$2.53 CRC1,262.89	+211.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.37 BWP45.81	$3.76 CRC1,876.61	+11.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.06 BWP68.82	$6.98 CRC3,479.13	+37.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.29 BWP31.16	$3.21 CRC1,602.04	+40.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.27 BWP30.92	$3.97 CRC1,980.43	+74.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.77 BWP10.53	$1.79 CRC892.43	+131.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 BWP8.42	$0.62 CRC307.67	-0.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.22 CRC606.66	+37.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.65 BWP8.78	$1.22 CRC609.28	+89.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 BWP8.12	$1.09 CRC545.77	+83.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 BWP7.45	$1.11 CRC555.45	+103.4%
Average			+74.6%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.4% more for transportation

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.27 BWP58.12	$5.63 CRC2,806.40	+31.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.18 BWP383.30	$49.00 CRC24,437.54	+73.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,486.26 BWP305,825.54	$35,063.37 CRC17,487,364.97	+55.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.49 BWP265.05	$15.62 CRC7,791.37	-19.8%
Average			+35.4%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$90.60 BWP1,232.22	$48.50 CRC24,188.91	-46.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$254.84 BWP3,466.02	$778.04 CRC388,035.38	+205.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$149.91 BWP2,038.84	$547.50 CRC273,059.59	+265.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$49.21 BWP669.30	$68.26 CRC34,042.58	+38.7%
Average			+115.7%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$180.24 BWP2,451.38	$519.07 CRC258,877.67	+188.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,740.68 BWP50,875.35	$10,987.74 CRC5,479,982.83	+193.7%
Average			+190.8%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 BWP30.58	$2.73 CRC1,360.13	+21.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 BWP32.22	$3.65 CRC1,822.50	+54.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.75 BWP50.97	$4.58 CRC2,285.36	+22.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.19 BWP437.78	$59.46 CRC29,655.13	+84.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.75 BWP91.75	$8.63 CRC4,302.05	+27.9%
Average			+42.1%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.6% more for clothing

	Botswana	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.14 BWP600.32	$65.32 CRC32,579.25	+48.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.17 BWP301.46	$44.54 CRC22,213.88	+100.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.20 BWP1,036.41	$110.39 CRC55,053.23	+44.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.16 BWP1,266.99	$97.22 CRC48,485.54	+4.4%
Average			+49.6%

Botswana vs. Costa Rica - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: March 2025

More cost comparisons

Botswana vs.

Greece

Botswana vs.

Russia

Botswana vs.

Ireland

Botswana vs.

Thailand

Botswana vs.

United States

Botswana vs.

France

Botswana vs.

Egypt

Botswana vs.

Iceland

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Gaborone vs. San Jose

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Botswana

Add prices for Costa Rica

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Botswana. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.

Ask a question about Botswana

Ask a question about Costa Rica