Cost of living comparison

Tirana, Albania

compared to

San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose vs. Tirana Cost of Living Summary

San Jose is 45.7% more expensive than Tirana.

Restaurants: pay 28.7% more in San Jose
Groceries: pay 60.3% more in San Jose
Transportation: pay 16.8% more in San Jose
Housing: pay 53.1% more in San Jose
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in San Jose
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.4% more in San Jose
Clothing: pay 8.5% more in San Jose

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

San Jose vs. Tirana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.7% more for restaurants

	Tirana	San Jose
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.92 ALL948	$10.83 CRC5,499.19	-0.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.73 ALL759	$9.72 CRC4,934.00	+11.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ALL137	$1.99 CRC1,012.34	+26.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ALL71	$1.46 CRC741.82	+77.9%
Average			+28.7%

Tirana vs. San Jose - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.3% more for groceries

	Tirana	San Jose
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ALL86	$2.60 CRC1,318.45	+160.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.31 ALL548	$4.26 CRC2,165.48	-32.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.59 ALL659	$7.23 CRC3,672.41	-4.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.59 ALL312	$3.26 CRC1,656.57	-9.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.54 ALL307	$4.41 CRC2,237.52	+24.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 ALL64	$1.95 CRC990.43	+164.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.15 ALL100	$0.63 CRC320.02	-45.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 ALL71	$1.59 CRC807.86	+93.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.87 ALL76	$1.35 CRC684.51	+54.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ALL44	$1.30 CRC659.83	+158.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ALL52	$1.19 CRC604.73	+98.1%
Average			+60.3%

Tirana vs. San Jose - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.8% more for transportation

	Tirana	San Jose
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.84 ALL681	$5.49 CRC2,786.51	-30.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$17.47 ALL1,517	$38.02 CRC19,306.95	+117.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,474.40 ALL2,560,187	$36,925.49 CRC18,749,195.70	+25.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$29.47 ALL2,560	$15.94 CRC8,094.23	-45.9%
Average			+16.8%

Tirana vs. San Jose - Cost of transportation

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pay 53.1% more for housing

	Tirana	San Jose
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$18.21 ALL1,582	$53.59 CRC27,213.08	+194.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$594.90 ALL51,674	$742.08 CRC376,796.37	+24.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$412.58 ALL35,837	$463.60 CRC235,397.07	+12.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$78.02 ALL6,777	$63.06 CRC32,016.96	-19.2%
Average			+53.1%

Tirana vs. San Jose - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Tirana	San Jose
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$257.35 ALL22,354	$521.49 CRC264,791.27	+102.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,375.91 ALL466,959	$12,425.72 CRC6,309,251.58	+131.1%
Average			+116.8%

Tirana vs. San Jose - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Tirana	San Jose
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.73 ALL237	$2.92 CRC1,480.20	+6.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.85 ALL161	$3.69 CRC1,874.29	+99.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.82 ALL332	$5.05 CRC2,565.68	+32.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.89 ALL4,073	$59.70 CRC30,313.67	+27.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.73 ALL759	$9.72 CRC4,934.00	+11.3%
Average			+35.4%

Tirana vs. San Jose - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.5% more for clothing

	Tirana	San Jose
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.35 ALL5,589	$73.59 CRC37,363.93	+14.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$47.77 ALL4,150	$50.81 CRC25,800.37	+6.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$100.14 ALL8,699	$125.98 CRC63,969.11	+25.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.06 ALL11,644	$117.31 CRC59,566.93	-12.5%
Average			+8.5%

Tirana 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: June 2025

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