Cost of living comparison

 Costa Rica
compared to
 Netherlands
Netherlands vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Netherlands is 49.7% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants
pay 57.4% more in Netherlands
Groceries
pay 8.1% more in Netherlands
Transportation
pay 42.8% more in Netherlands
Housing
pay 80.5% more in Netherlands
Childcare
pay 98.0% more in Netherlands
Entertainment and Sports
pay 56.2% more in Netherlands
Clothing
pay 5.2% more in Netherlands

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

Netherlands vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

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

pay 57.4% more for restaurants

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.75
CRC4,861.38
$18.74
€17.24
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.08
CRC4,529.24
$12.22
€11.24
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.01
CRC1,002.75
$2.94
€2.71

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pay 8.1% more for groceries

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Bread
1 loaf
$2.53
CRC1,262.89
$1.79
€1.65
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.76
CRC1,876.61
$6.20
€5.70
Milk (1 gallon) $6.98
CRC3,479.13
$4.40
€4.05

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pay 42.8% more for transportation

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.63
CRC2,806.40
$7.80
€7.17
Monthly public transit pass $49.00
CRC24,437.54
$95.88
€88.17
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $35,063.37
CRC17,487,364.97
$31,938.58
€29,370.17

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pay 80.5% more for housing

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$48.50
CRC24,188.91
$43.11
€39.65
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $778.04
CRC388,035.38
$1,289.16
€1,185.49
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $547.50
CRC273,059.59
$1,051.87
€967.28

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pay 98.0% more for childcare

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $519.07
CRC258,877.67
$1,627.96
€1,497.05
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,987.74
CRC5,479,982.83
$9,050.97
€8,323.12

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pay 56.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.73
CRC1,360.13
$5.55
€5.10
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.65
CRC1,822.50
$3.60
€3.31
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.58
CRC2,285.36
$11.52
€10.59

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pay 5.2% more for clothing

 
Costa Rica
Netherlands
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$65.32
CRC32,579.25
$84.34
€77.56
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$44.54
CRC22,213.88
$38.25
€35.18
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$110.39
CRC55,053.23
$92.60
€85.15

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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: March 2025
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