Cost of living comparison

Poland

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Poland Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 44.9% more expensive than Poland overall.

Restaurants: pay 12.7% more in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 86.8% more in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 46.0% more in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 54.4% more in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 73.0% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.9% more in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 16.3% more in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Poland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.7% more for restaurants

	Poland	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.88 PLN34.43	$9.75 CRC4,861.38	+9.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.49 PLN29.06	$9.08 CRC4,529.24	+21.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.74 PLN6.75	$2.01 CRC1,002.75	+15.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.43 PLN5.56	$1.49 CRC743.89	+4.1%
Average			+12.7%

Poland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 86.8% more for groceries

	Poland	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 PLN4.59	$2.53 CRC1,262.89	+113.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 PLN16.70	$3.76 CRC1,876.61	-12.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.58 PLN13.90	$6.98 CRC3,479.13	+94.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.93 PLN11.36	$3.21 CRC1,602.04	+9.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.70 PLN10.45	$3.97 CRC1,980.43	+47.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.43 PLN1.67	$1.79 CRC892.43	+316.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 PLN2.77	$0.62 CRC307.67	-13.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.76 PLN2.93	$1.22 CRC606.66	+60.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 PLN4.22	$1.22 CRC609.28	+12.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 PLN1.42	$1.09 CRC545.77	+198.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 PLN1.90	$1.11 CRC555.45	+127.9%
Average			+86.8%

Poland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.0% more for transportation

	Poland	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.07 PLN23.54	$5.63 CRC2,806.40	-7.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.33 PLN109.89	$49.00 CRC24,437.54	+72.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,111.92 PLN116,790.79	$35,063.37 CRC17,487,364.97	+16.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.74 PLN30.02	$15.62 CRC7,791.37	+101.8%
Average			+46.0%

Poland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.4% more for housing

	Poland	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.40 PLN55.87	$48.50 CRC24,188.91	+236.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$601.98 PLN2,334.80	$778.04 CRC388,035.38	+29.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$478.28 PLN1,855.02	$547.50 CRC273,059.59	+14.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$184.01 PLN713.71	$68.26 CRC34,042.58	-62.9%
Average			+54.4%

Poland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 73.0% more for childcare

	Poland	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$318.05 PLN1,233.57	$519.07 CRC258,877.67	+63.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,011.28 PLN23,315.10	$10,987.74 CRC5,479,982.83	+82.8%
Average			+73.0%

Poland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Poland	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 PLN12.10	$2.73 CRC1,360.13	-12.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.04 PLN11.81	$3.65 CRC1,822.50	+20.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.55 PLN17.63	$4.58 CRC2,285.36	+0.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.52 PLN126.15	$59.46 CRC29,655.13	+82.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.47 PLN25.09	$8.63 CRC4,302.05	+33.3%
Average			+24.9%

Poland vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.3% more for clothing

	Poland	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.63 PLN293.34	$65.32 CRC32,579.25	-13.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.26 PLN136.74	$44.54 CRC22,213.88	+26.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.29 PLN303.67	$110.39 CRC55,053.23	+41.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$87.22 PLN338.30	$97.22 CRC48,485.54	+11.5%
Average			+16.3%

Poland 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

Poland vs.

Russia

Poland vs.

Iceland

Poland vs.

Egypt

Poland vs.

United States

Poland vs.

Ireland

Poland vs.

Greece

Poland vs.

Vietnam

Poland vs.

Spain

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Warsaw 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 Poland

Add prices for Costa Rica

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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