Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

Reykjavik, Iceland

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Reykjavik is 56.2% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 76.8% more in Reykjavik
Groceries: pay 45.2% more in Reykjavik
Transportation: pay 44.8% more in Reykjavik
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Reykjavik
Childcare: pay 48.4% less in Reykjavik
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in Reykjavik
Clothing: pay 53.9% more in Reykjavik

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

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 76.8% more for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.75 CRC4,895.83	$20.00 ISK2,552	+105.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.08 CRC4,561.34	$18.02 ISK2,299	+98.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 CRC1,009.86	$3.15 ISK402	+56.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 CRC749.16	$2.19 ISK279	+46.5%
Average			+76.8%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.2% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Bread 1 loaf	$2.53 CRC1,271.84	$3.61 ISK461	+42.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 CRC1,889.90	$7.76 ISK990	+106.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.98 CRC3,503.79	$6.40 ISK817	-8.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.21 CRC1,613.39	$5.76 ISK735	+79.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.97 CRC1,994.46	$9.45 ISK1,206	+137.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.79 CRC898.75	$1.40 ISK179	-21.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC309.85	$1.01 ISK129	+63.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 CRC610.96	$1.22 ISK155	+0.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 CRC613.60	$2.22 ISK284	+82.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 CRC549.63	$1.43 ISK183	+31.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.11 CRC559.39	$0.93 ISK119	-16.1%
Average			+45.2%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - Cost of groceries

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pay 44.8% more for transportation

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.63 CRC2,826.29	$8.50 ISK1,085	+51.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.00 CRC24,610.70	$74.95 ISK9,565	+53.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,063.37 CRC17,611,273.26	$42,450.45 ISK5,417,102	+21.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.62 CRC7,846.57	$24.05 ISK3,069	+54.0%
Average			+44.8%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.50 CRC24,360.30	$69.87 ISK8,916	+44.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$778.04 CRC390,784.84	$1,971.17 ISK251,541	+153.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$547.50 CRC274,994.38	$1,803.44 ISK230,137	+229.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.26 CRC34,283.79	$53.95 ISK6,885	-21.0%
Average			+101.5%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - Cost of housing

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pay 48.4% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$519.07 CRC260,711.97	$252.14 ISK32,176	-51.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,987.74 CRC5,518,811.74	$5,993.99 ISK764,894	-45.4%
Average			-48.4%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73 CRC1,369.77	$10.81 ISK1,380	+296.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.65 CRC1,835.41	$5.31 ISK677	+45.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.58 CRC2,301.56	$12.25 ISK1,563	+167.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.46 CRC29,865.25	$69.95 ISK8,926	+17.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.63 CRC4,332.54	$14.77 ISK1,885	+71.3%
Average			+119.5%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.9% more for clothing

	Costa Rica	Reykjavik
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.32 CRC32,810.10	$108.97 ISK13,906	+66.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.54 CRC22,371.27	$49.72 ISK6,345	+11.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$110.39 CRC55,443.32	$151.85 ISK19,378	+37.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.22 CRC48,829.09	$194.16 ISK24,776	+99.7%
Average			+53.9%

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik - 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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