Cost of living comparison

Costa Rica

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 2.3% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.2% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 49.2% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 25.0% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 21.4% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 40.2% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.9% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 14.9% less in South Korea

The cost of groceries and childcare in South Korea are more expensive than in Costa Rica. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, housing, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 38.2% less for restaurants

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.75 CRC4,861.38	$6.16 ₩9,028	-36.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.08 CRC4,529.24	$5.24 ₩7,679	-42.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.01 CRC1,002.75	$1.47 ₩2,158	-26.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.49 CRC743.89	$0.79 ₩1,161	-46.9%
Average			-38.2%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.2% more for groceries

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.53 CRC1,262.89	$3.08 ₩4,510	+21.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.76 CRC1,876.61	$5.40 ₩7,922	+43.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.98 CRC3,479.13	$7.46 ₩10,932	+6.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.21 CRC1,602.04	$2.76 ₩4,042	-14.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.97 CRC1,980.43	$3.32 ₩4,867	-16.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.79 CRC892.43	$3.17 ₩4,643	+77.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC307.67	$1.49 ₩2,182	+141.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 CRC606.66	$2.53 ₩3,711	+108.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 CRC609.28	$2.41 ₩3,539	+97.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 CRC545.77	$1.82 ₩2,675	+66.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.11 CRC555.45	$1.21 ₩1,773	+8.6%
Average			+49.2%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.0% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.63 CRC2,806.40	$4.39 ₩6,438	-21.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.00 CRC24,437.54	$45.32 ₩66,424	-7.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,063.37 CRC17,487,364.97	$27,023.07 ₩39,609,869	-22.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.62 CRC7,791.37	$8.17 ₩11,978	-47.7%
Average			-25.0%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.4% less for housing

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.50 CRC24,188.91	$17.65 ₩25,877	-63.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$778.04 CRC388,035.38	$426.93 ₩625,788	-45.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$547.50 CRC273,059.59	$328.41 ₩481,381	-40.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$68.26 CRC34,042.58	$111.42 ₩163,321	+63.2%
Average			-21.4%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 40.2% more for childcare

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$519.07 CRC258,877.67	$373.40 ₩547,323	-28.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,987.74 CRC5,479,982.83	$22,907.58 ₩33,577,466	+108.5%
Average			+40.2%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73 CRC1,360.13	$3.09 ₩4,535	+13.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.65 CRC1,822.50	$3.39 ₩4,968	-7.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.58 CRC2,285.36	$3.21 ₩4,711	-29.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.46 CRC29,655.13	$45.71 ₩67,003	-23.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.63 CRC4,302.05	$10.10 ₩14,802	+17.1%
Average			-5.9%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.9% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.32 CRC32,579.25	$60.70 ₩88,980	-7.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.54 CRC22,213.88	$44.52 ₩65,260
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$110.39 CRC55,053.23	$72.99 ₩106,991	-33.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.22 CRC48,485.54	$93.73 ₩137,387	-3.6%
Average			-14.9%

Costa Rica vs. South Korea - 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: March 2025

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