Cost of living comparison

 United Arab Emirates
compared to
 Costa Rica
Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Costa Rica is 15.0% more expensive than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants
pay 73.1% more in Costa Rica
Groceries
pay 60.5% more in Costa Rica
Transportation
pay 38.1% more in Costa Rica
Housing
pay 44.7% less in Costa Rica
Childcare
pay 18.4% more in Costa Rica
Entertainment and Sports
pay 38.1% less in Costa Rica
Clothing
pay 2.6% less in Costa Rica

The cost of restaurants, groceries, transportation, and childcare in Costa Rica are more expensive than in United Arab Emirates. Expenses including housing, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Costa Rica instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

pay 73.1% more for restaurants

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.01
AED29.44
$9.75
CRC4,949.32
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$8.22
AED30.19
$9.08
CRC4,611.17
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.02
AED3.73
$2.01
CRC1,020.89

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pay 60.5% more for groceries

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Bread
1 loaf
$1.26
AED4.64
$2.53
CRC1,285.74
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.08
AED18.66
$3.76
CRC1,910.55
Milk (1 gallon) $6.80
AED24.96
$6.98
CRC3,542.07

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pay 38.1% more for transportation

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.06
AED11.23
$5.63
CRC2,857.17
Monthly public transit pass $48.60
AED178.50
$49.00
CRC24,879.59
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $42,240.06
AED155,146.69
$35,063.37
CRC17,803,693.17

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pay 44.7% less for housing

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$95.75
AED351.69
$48.50
CRC24,626.46
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,395.59
AED5,125.95
$778.04
CRC395,054.53
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $985.52
AED3,619.81
$547.50
CRC277,998.96

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pay 18.4% more for childcare

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $507.75
AED1,864.97
$519.07
CRC263,560.50
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,162.28
AED29,979.85
$10,987.74
CRC5,579,110.00

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pay 38.1% less for entertainment and sports

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $10.55
AED38.75
$2.73
CRC1,384.74
Cappuccino in mid-range area $5.03
AED18.46
$3.65
CRC1,855.47
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.23
AED22.87
$4.58
CRC2,326.70

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pay 2.6% less for clothing

 
United Arab Emirates
Costa Rica
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$64.14
AED235.59
$65.32
CRC33,168.58
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$64.91
AED238.42
$44.54
CRC22,615.70
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$93.31
AED342.71
$110.39
CRC56,049.09

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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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