Cost of living comparison

 Thailand
compared to
 Costa Rica
Costa Rica vs. Thailand Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 79.3% more expensive than Thailand overall.

Restaurants
pay 3.1 times more in Costa Rica
Groceries
pay 60.1% more in Costa Rica
Transportation
pay 48.0% more in Costa Rica
Housing
pay 2.1 times more in Costa Rica
Childcare
pay 29.1% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports
pay 43.3% more in Costa Rica
Clothing
pay 50.6% more in Costa Rica

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

Costa Rica vs. Thailand Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.33
THB79.49
$9.75
CRC4,951.06
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.02
THB205.11
$9.08
CRC4,612.79
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.70
THB24.01
$2.01
CRC1,021.25

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pay 60.1% more for groceries

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Bread
1 loaf
$1.40
THB47.67
$2.53
CRC1,286.19
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.16
THB278.09
$3.76
CRC1,911.23
Milk (1 gallon) $6.68
THB227.74
$6.98
CRC3,543.31

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pay 48.0% more for transportation

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.47
THB152.20
$5.63
CRC2,858.17
Monthly public transit pass $25.43
THB866.50
$49.00
CRC24,888.34
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $31,362.48
THB1,068,517.07
$35,063.37
CRC17,809,952.89

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$17.13
THB583.77
$48.50
CRC24,635.12
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $389.22
THB13,260.69
$778.04
CRC395,193.43
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $225.23
THB7,673.72
$547.50
CRC278,096.70

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pay 29.1% more for childcare

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $341.66
THB11,640.27
$519.07
CRC263,653.17
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $10,344.18
THB352,425.28
$10,987.74
CRC5,581,071.60

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pay 43.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.20
THB74.94
$2.73
CRC1,385.22
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.90
THB64.71
$3.65
CRC1,856.12
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.85
THB131.08
$4.58
CRC2,327.52

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pay 50.6% more for clothing

 
Thailand
Costa Rica
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$38.62
THB1,315.71
$65.32
CRC33,180.24
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$29.36
THB1,000.31
$44.54
CRC22,623.65
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$82.78
THB2,820.36
$110.39
CRC56,068.79

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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: January 2025
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