Cost of living comparison

Pretoria, South Africa

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Pretoria Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 67.1% more expensive than Pretoria.

Restaurants: pay 78.1% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 85.1% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 35.5% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 27.7% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 55.4% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 38.1% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Pretoria Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 78.1% more for restaurants

	Pretoria	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.52 ZAR155.83	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	+27.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.68 ZAR85.65	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+107.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.01 ZAR18.44	$1.99 CRC996.28	+97.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 ZAR14.85	$1.46 CRC730.05	+79.9%
Average			+78.1%

Pretoria vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 85.1% more for groceries

	Pretoria	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR19.64	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	+141.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.70 ZAR67.61	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	+15.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.91 ZAR89.86	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+47.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.35 ZAR42.93	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	+39.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 ZAR37.98	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	+112.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.69 ZAR12.63	$1.95 CRC974.72	+182.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.52	$0.63 CRC314.94	-8.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR13.27	$1.59 CRC795.04	+119.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 ZAR13.78	$1.35 CRC673.65	+79.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR11.70	$1.30 CRC649.37	+103.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 ZAR10.66	$1.19 CRC595.13	+104.3%
Average			+85.1%

Pretoria vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.5% more for transportation

	Pretoria	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.05 ZAR92.45	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	+8.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.32 ZAR1,194.70	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	-41.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,084.78 ZAR349,060.57	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	+93.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.78 ZAR160.51	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	+81.7%
Average			+35.5%

Pretoria vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.7% more for housing

	Pretoria	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.13 ZAR715.72	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	+37.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$416.34 ZAR7,614.92	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	+78.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$379.25 ZAR6,936.46	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	+22.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$86.03 ZAR1,573.48	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	-26.7%
Average			+27.7%

Pretoria vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	Pretoria	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$216.65 ZAR3,962.55	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+140.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,800.41 ZAR87,799.42	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+158.8%
Average			+149.8%

Pretoria vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 55.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Pretoria	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.39 ZAR43.63	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	+22.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 ZAR36.50	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	+85.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 ZAR54.02	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	+71.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.21 ZAR625.71	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	+74.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR142.84	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	+24.4%
Average			+55.4%

Pretoria vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 38.1% more for clothing

	Pretoria	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.09 ZAR897.79	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	+49.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.65 ZAR633.71	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+46.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.30 ZAR1,688.16	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	+36.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.31 ZAR1,798.05	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	+19.3%
Average			+38.1%

Pretoria 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: April 2025

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