Cost of living comparison

Cuba

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Cuba Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 87.8% more expensive than Cuba overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.9% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 30.9% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 42.6% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 41.9% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.2 times more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 41.3% more in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Cuba Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.9% more for restaurants

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.06 CUC5.06	$9.75 CRC4,870.79	+92.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.75 CUC7.75	$9.08 CRC4,538.01	+17.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.08 CUC2.08	$2.01 CRC1,004.69	-3.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.23 CUC1.23	$1.49 CRC745.33	+21.1%
Average			+31.9%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.9% more for groceries

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.17 CUC1.17	$2.53 CRC1,265.34	+116.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.75 CUC2.75	$3.76 CRC1,880.24	+36.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.92 CUC11.92	$6.98 CRC3,485.87	-41.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.97 CUC2.97	$3.21 CRC1,605.14	+8.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.32 CUC2.32	$3.97 CRC1,984.26	+70.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.27 CUC2.27	$1.79 CRC894.15	-21.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.44 CUC0.44	$0.62 CRC308.26	+39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 CUC0.79	$1.22 CRC607.84	+54.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 CUC0.64	$1.22 CRC610.46	+90.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.86 CUC0.86	$1.09 CRC546.82	+27.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.91 CUC1.91	$1.11 CRC556.53	-41.6%
Average			+30.9%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.6% more for transportation

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.81 CUC4.81	$5.63 CRC2,811.83	+17.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.50 CUC22.50	$49.00 CRC24,484.83	+117.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$65,000.00 CUC65,000.00	$35,063.37 CRC17,521,201.52	-46.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.60 CUC8.60	$15.62 CRC7,806.44	+81.7%
Average			+42.6%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.9% more for housing

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$147.50 CUC147.50	$48.50 CRC24,235.71	-67.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$381.94 CUC381.94	$778.04 CRC388,786.19	+103.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$544.70 CUC544.70	$547.50 CRC273,587.94	+0.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.63 CUC29.63	$68.26 CRC34,108.45	+130.3%
Average			+41.9%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$101.00 CUC101.00	$519.07 CRC259,378.58	+413.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,500.00 CUC12,500.00	$10,987.74 CRC5,490,586.13	-12.1%
Average			+200.9%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.88 CUC2.88	$2.73 CRC1,362.76	-5.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.10 CUC1.10	$3.65 CRC1,826.03	+230.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.85 CUC3.85	$4.58 CRC2,289.78	+19.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.17 CUC40.17	$59.46 CRC29,712.51	+48.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$0.93 CUC0.93	$8.63 CRC4,310.38	+832.5%
Average			+225.0%

Cuba vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.3% more for clothing

	Cuba	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.88 CUC39.88	$65.32 CRC32,642.29	+63.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.83 CUC31.83	$44.54 CRC22,256.86	+39.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.62 CUC75.62	$110.39 CRC55,159.76	+46.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$84.17 CUC84.17	$97.22 CRC48,579.36	+15.5%
Average			+41.3%

Cuba 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

Cuba vs.

Ireland

Cuba vs.

Spain

Cuba vs.

France

Cuba vs.

United Kingdom

Cuba vs.

Egypt

Cuba vs.

Greece

Cuba vs.

Germany

Cuba vs.

Peru

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Havana 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 Cuba

Add prices for Costa Rica

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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