Cost of living comparison

Reykjavik, Iceland

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Reykjavik Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 11.3% cheaper than Reykjavik.

Restaurants: pay 40.5% less in San Jose
Groceries: pay 13.3% less in San Jose
Transportation: pay 32.9% less in San Jose
Housing: pay 35.8% less in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.2% less in San Jose
Clothing: pay 21.7% less in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Reykjavik Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.5% less for restaurants

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$20.00 ISK2,632	$10.83 CRC5,411.93	-45.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.02 ISK2,371	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	-46.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.15 ISK415	$1.99 CRC996.28	-36.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.19 ISK288	$1.46 CRC730.05	-33.1%
Average			-40.5%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.3% less for groceries

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$3.61 ISK475	$2.60 CRC1,297.53	-28.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.76 ISK1,021	$4.26 CRC2,131.12	-45.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.40 ISK843	$7.23 CRC3,614.14	+12.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.76 ISK757	$3.26 CRC1,630.29	-43.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.45 ISK1,243	$4.41 CRC2,202.02	-53.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 ISK185	$1.95 CRC974.72	+39.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.01 ISK133	$0.63 CRC314.94	-37.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.22 ISK160	$1.59 CRC795.04	+30.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.22 ISK293	$1.35 CRC673.65	-39.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.43 ISK189	$1.30 CRC649.37	-9.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 ISK123	$1.19 CRC595.13	+27.5%
Average			-13.3%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.9% less for transportation

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.50 ISK1,119	$5.49 CRC2,742.30	-35.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.95 ISK9,863	$38.02 CRC19,000.61	-49.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$42,450.45 ISK5,585,630	$36,925.49 CRC18,451,701.73	-13.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.05 ISK3,165	$15.94 CRC7,965.79	-33.7%
Average			-32.9%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.8% less for housing

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$69.87 ISK9,193	$53.59 CRC26,781.29	-23.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,971.17 ISK259,367	$742.08 CRC370,817.73	-62.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,803.44 ISK237,297	$463.60 CRC231,662.02	-74.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$53.95 ISK7,099	$63.06 CRC31,508.95	+16.9%
Average			-35.8%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$252.14 ISK33,177	$521.49 CRC260,589.82	+106.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,993.99 ISK788,690	$12,425.72 CRC6,209,142.52	+107.3%
Average			+107.0%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 ISK1,422	$2.92 CRC1,456.71	-73.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 ISK698	$3.69 CRC1,844.55	-30.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.25 ISK1,611	$5.05 CRC2,524.97	-58.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.95 ISK9,204	$59.70 CRC29,832.68	-14.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.77 ISK1,944	$9.72 CRC4,855.71	-34.2%
Average			-42.2%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.7% less for clothing

	Reykjavik	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$108.97 ISK14,339	$73.59 CRC36,771.08	-32.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.72 ISK6,542	$50.81 CRC25,391.00	+2.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$151.85 ISK19,981	$125.98 CRC62,954.11	-17.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$194.16 ISK25,547	$117.31 CRC58,621.78	-39.6%
Average			-21.7%

Reykjavik vs. San Jose - 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: April 2025

More cost comparisons

Reykjavik vs.

Phnom Penh

Reykjavik vs.

Dodoma

Reykjavik vs.

Hong Kong

Reykjavik vs.

Ottawa

Reykjavik vs.

Beijing

Reykjavik vs.

Hanoi

Reykjavik vs.

Lima

Reykjavik vs.

Delhi

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Iceland vs. Costa Rica. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iceland and Costa Rica.

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 Reykjavik

Add prices for San Jose

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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