Cost of living comparison
Costa Rica is 5.7% more expensive than Italy overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.1% less in Costa Rica
- Groceries
-
pay 13.4% more in Costa Rica
- Transportation
-
pay 2.5% more in Costa Rica
- Housing
-
pay 9.8% more in Costa Rica
- Childcare
-
pay 9.1% more in Costa Rica
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.2% more in Costa Rica
- Clothing
-
pay 6.8% more in Costa Rica
The cost of groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, clothing, and transportation in Costa Rica are more expensive than in Italy.
If you lived in Costa Rica instead of Italy, you would:
pay 12.1% less for restaurants
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.15
€14.79
|
$9.75
CRC4,858.31
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.06
€9.22
|
$9.08
CRC4,526.38
|
|
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.55
€2.34
|
$2.01
CRC1,002.12
|
|
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.22
€1.12
|
$1.49
CRC743.42
|
|
pay 13.4% more for groceries
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.04
€1.87
|
$2.53
CRC1,262.09
|
|
Local cheese (8 oz) |
$6.83
€6.26
|
$3.76
CRC1,875.42
|
|
Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.53
€5.07
|
$6.98
CRC3,476.94
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.41
€3.12
|
$3.21
CRC1,601.03
|
|
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.05
€4.63
|
$3.97
CRC1,979.18
|
|
Apples (1 lb) |
$0.97
€0.89
|
$1.79
CRC891.86
|
|
Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.85
€0.78
|
$0.62
CRC307.47
|
|
Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.04
€0.95
|
$1.22
CRC606.28
|
|
Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.31
€1.20
|
$1.22
CRC608.89
|
|
Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.76
€0.69
|
$1.09
CRC545.42
|
|
Onions (1 lb) |
$0.71
€0.65
|
$1.11
CRC555.10
|
|
pay 2.5% more for transportation
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.22
€6.62
|
$5.63
CRC2,804.63
|
|
Monthly public transit pass |
$38.81
€35.55
|
$49.00
CRC24,422.09
|
|
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,223.13
€25,853.66
|
$35,063.37
CRC17,476,309.95
|
|
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.13
€17.52
|
$15.62
CRC7,786.44
|
|
pay 9.8% more for housing
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$28.87
€26.45
|
$48.50
CRC24,173.62
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$656.19
€601.10
|
$778.04
CRC387,790.07
|
|
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$511.91
€468.93
|
$547.50
CRC272,886.97
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$150.39
€137.76
|
$68.26
CRC34,021.06
|
|
pay 9.1% more for childcare
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$508.72
€466.01
|
$519.07
CRC258,714.02
|
|
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,465.55
€8,670.87
|
$10,987.74
CRC5,476,518.54
|
|
pay 10.2% more for entertainment and sports
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.01
€4.59
|
$2.73
CRC1,359.27
|
|
Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.69
€1.55
|
$3.65
CRC1,821.35
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.20
€5.68
|
$4.58
CRC2,283.92
|
|
Monthly membership at local gym |
$52.12
€47.74
|
$59.46
CRC29,636.38
|
|
Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.39
€8.60
|
$8.63
CRC4,299.33
|
|
pay 6.8% more for clothing
Italy
|
Costa Rica
|
||
---|---|---|---|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$78.41
€71.83
|
$65.32
CRC32,558.66
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.87
€31.02
|
$44.54
CRC22,199.83
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$86.07
€78.84
|
$110.39
CRC55,018.43
|
|
Men's business shoes (leather) |
$115.43
€105.74
|
$97.22
CRC48,454.89
|
|
Change currency:
Help us improve these prices
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Costa Rica or Italy. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.