Cost of living comparison

Reykjavik, Iceland

compared to

Costa Rica

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 15.7% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 42.2% less in Costa Rica
Groceries: pay 21.4% less in Costa Rica
Transportation: pay 30.2% less in Costa Rica
Housing: pay 33.5% less in Costa Rica
Childcare: pay 94.6% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.0% less in Costa Rica
Clothing: pay 31.9% less in Costa Rica

Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, clothing, transportation, and groceries are lower in Costa Rica. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 42.2% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00 ISK2,436	$9.75 CRC4,914.81	-51.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.02 ISK2,195	$9.08 CRC4,579.02	-49.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.15 ISK384	$2.01 CRC1,013.78	-36.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 ISK266	$1.49 CRC752.06	-31.7%
Average			-42.2%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.4% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Bread 1 loaf	$3.61 ISK440	$2.53 CRC1,276.77	-29.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.76 ISK945	$3.76 CRC1,897.23	-51.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 ISK780	$6.98 CRC3,517.37	+8.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 ISK701	$3.21 CRC1,619.65	-44.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.45 ISK1,151	$3.97 CRC2,002.20	-58.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 ISK171	$1.79 CRC902.23	+27.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 ISK123	$0.62 CRC311.05	-38.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK148	$1.22 CRC613.33	-0.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.22 ISK271	$1.22 CRC615.98	-45.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ISK175	$1.09 CRC551.77	-23.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 ISK114	$1.11 CRC561.56	+19.2%
Average			-21.4%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.2% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.50 ISK1,036	$5.63 CRC2,837.24	-33.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 ISK9,130	$49.00 CRC24,706.13	-34.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,450.45 ISK5,170,889	$35,063.37 CRC17,679,564.44	-17.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.05 ISK2,930	$15.62 CRC7,877.00	-35.0%
Average			-30.2%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.5% less for housing

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.87 ISK8,510	$48.50 CRC24,454.77	-30.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,971.17 ISK240,108	$778.04 CRC392,300.18	-60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,803.44 ISK219,677	$547.50 CRC276,060.73	-69.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.95 ISK6,572	$68.26 CRC34,416.73	+26.5%
Average			-33.5%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - Cost of housing

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pay 94.6% more for childcare

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.14 ISK30,713	$519.07 CRC261,722.93	+105.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK730,128	$10,987.74 CRC5,540,212.02	+83.3%
Average			+94.6%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 ISK1,317	$2.73 CRC1,375.08	-74.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 ISK646	$3.65 CRC1,842.53	-31.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.25 ISK1,492	$4.58 CRC2,310.48	-62.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.95 ISK8,520	$59.46 CRC29,981.06	-15.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.77 ISK1,800	$8.63 CRC4,349.34	-41.6%
Average			-45.0%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.9% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	Costa Rica
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.97 ISK13,274	$65.32 CRC32,937.33	-40.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.72 ISK6,056	$44.54 CRC22,458.02	-10.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$151.85 ISK18,497	$110.39 CRC55,658.31	-27.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.16 ISK23,650	$97.22 CRC49,018.44	-49.9%
Average			-31.9%

Reykjavik vs. Costa Rica - 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: July 2025

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