Cost of living comparison

Paramaribo, Suriname

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Paramaribo Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 4.3 times more expensive than Paramaribo.

Restaurants: pay 67.8% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 32.5% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 2.0% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 77.3% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 20.5 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 63.6% more in San Jose

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in San Jose are more expensive than in Paramaribo. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and housing are significantly more expensive in San Jose.

San Jose vs. Paramaribo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in San Jose instead of Paramaribo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 67.8% more for restaurants

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.97 SRD270.82	$10.83 CRC5,470.79	+55.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.16 SRD355.95	$9.72 CRC4,908.52	+6.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.29 SRD50.29	$1.99 CRC1,007.12	+54.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 SRD22.18	$1.46 CRC737.98	+155.9%
Average			+67.8%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.5% more for groceries

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.23 SRD47.65	$2.60 CRC1,311.64	+111.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.24 SRD242.23	$4.26 CRC2,154.29	-31.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.52 SRD214.49	$7.23 CRC3,653.45	+31.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.27 SRD127.06	$3.26 CRC1,648.02	-0.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.34 SRD91.02	$4.41 CRC2,225.97	+88.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.04 SRD79.32	$1.95 CRC985.32	-4.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 SRD31.92	$0.63 CRC318.37	-23.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.18 SRD45.85	$1.59 CRC803.69	+34.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 SRD72.43	$1.35 CRC680.98	-27.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 SRD22.92	$1.30 CRC656.43	+120.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.75 SRD29.12	$1.19 CRC601.60	+58.9%
Average			+32.5%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.0% less for transportation

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.14 SRD160.65	$5.49 CRC2,772.12	+32.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.00 SRD3,496.50	$38.02 CRC19,207.25	-57.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SRD971,250.00	$36,925.49 CRC18,652,370.75	+47.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.00 SRD893.55	$15.94 CRC8,052.42	-30.7%
Average			-2.0%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 77.3% more for housing

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.02 SRD1,205.29	$53.59 CRC27,072.55	+72.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$516.42 SRD20,062.78	$742.08 CRC374,850.51	+43.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$194.83 SRD7,569.11	$463.60 CRC234,181.43	+138.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$40.77 SRD1,583.81	$63.06 CRC31,851.62	+54.7%
Average			+77.3%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 20.5 times more for childcare

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$63.03 SRD2,448.59	$521.49 CRC263,423.83	+727.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$380.51 SRD14,783.00	$12,425.72 CRC6,276,669.22	+3165.5%
Average			+1946.5%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SRD77.70	$2.92 CRC1,472.56	+45.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 SRD87.53	$3.69 CRC1,864.61	+63.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.04 SRD234.79	$5.05 CRC2,552.43	-16.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$12.63 SRD490.54	$59.70 CRC30,157.12	+372.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SRD194.25	$9.72 CRC4,908.52	+94.3%
Average			+112.1%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 63.6% more for clothing

	Paramaribo	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$36.30 SRD1,410.09	$73.59 CRC37,170.98	+102.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.44 SRD1,104.95	$50.81 CRC25,667.13	+78.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.41 SRD2,929.86	$125.98 CRC63,638.76	+67.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.56 SRD4,295.37	$117.31 CRC59,259.31	+6.1%
Average			+63.6%

Paramaribo vs. San Jose - 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: June 2025

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