Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cartago and Le Bardo

For one person, living is cheaper in Le Bardo: $696 a month against $1,713 in Cartago, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Le Bardo
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Le Bardo Living Index

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Cartago

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,713

/mo nomad

Le Bardo

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$696

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cartago and in Le Bardo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cartago and in Le Bardo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,713 in Cartago versus $696 in Le Bardo.

Cartago $1,713
Le Bardo $696

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,362 in Cartago versus $1,090 in Le Bardo.

Cartago $2,362
Le Bardo $1,090

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,011 in Cartago versus $1,484 in Le Bardo.

Cartago $3,011
Le Bardo $1,484

Living in Cartago is roughly 146% more expensive than in Le Bardo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cartago is 27% above, Le Bardo is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.64 ₡3,875

$3.96 TND 11.87

118.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.53 ₡15.5K

$22.90 TND 68.6

50.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.92 ₡4,449

$4.60 TND 13.79

115.65%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,036

$1.32 TND 3.95

243.94%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ₡955

$0.66 TND 1.98

222.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 ₡610

$0.26 TND 0.77

423.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 ₡964

$1.70 TND 5.08

26.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 ₡1,820

$2.39 TND 7.16

69.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.39 ₡1,073

$0.52 TND 1.57

359.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 ₡1,065

$0.19 TND 0.58

1147.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.47 ₡1,110

$1.70 TND 5.08

45.29%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,601

$1.50 TND 4.50

138.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.61 ₡3,860

$10.34 TND 30.97

-16.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.38 ₡4,654

$5.93 TND 17.76

75.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 ₡6,252

$15.00 TND 44.93

-7.07%

Apples (1kg)

$5.24 ₡2,351

$1.59 TND 4.76

229.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.29 ₡579

$4.45 TND 13.32

-71.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.49 ₡2,014

$1.12 TND 3.34

300.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.91 ₡1,307

$0.93 TND 2.77

212.90%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 ₡1,004

$0.96 TND 2.88

133.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 ₡972

$0.80 TND 2.38

171.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡487

$0.50 TND 1.48

118.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.18 ₡977

$0.31 TND 0.92

603.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 ₡2,722

$3.42 TND 10.25

77.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.16 ₡6,797

$5.00 TND 14.98

203.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.89 ₡1,296

$1.27 TND 3.80

127.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 ₡912

$1.38 TND 4.12

47.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 ₡613

$0.34 TND 1.03

302.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.2 ₡32.8K

$9.89 TND 29.62

640.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.33 ₡598

$0.32 TND 0.96

315.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡702

$0.33 TND 0.99

372.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.95 ₡4,015

$1.86 TND 5.58

381.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 ₡677

$0.83 TND 2.48

81.93%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$21.7K ₡9.7M

$36.8K TND 110.3K

-41.10%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.1K ₡15.7M

$35.7K TND 106.8K

-1.52%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$52.4 ₡23.5K

$61.1 TND 183

-14.12%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$35.12 ₡15.8K

$10.42 TND 31.22

237.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.9 ₡26.8K

$20.51 TND 61.4

191.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$41.66 TND 125

77.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$77.8 ₡34.9K

$12.13 TND 36.34

541.06%

Cinema Ticket

$7.27 ₡3,262

$5.34 TND 16.00

36.14%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$549 ₡246.2K

$67.2 TND 201

717.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,878 ₡3.5M

$2,799 TND 8,383

181.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.1 ₡31.5K

$43.47 TND 130

61.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.5 ₡25.3K

$36.88 TND 110

53.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ₡54.4K

$73.1 TND 219

65.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 ₡39.3K

$87.7 TND 263

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 ₡414.2K

$245 TND 733

277.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$704 ₡315.9K

$153 TND 458

360.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,869 ₡838.0K

$396 TND 1,187

371.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 ₡324.7K

$252 TND 755

187.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$961 TND 2,879

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$616 TND 1,844

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,344 ₡602.9K

$382 TND 1,145

251.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

10.28

-16.15%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Last update for Le Bardo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cartago

$704 41.1%

Le Bardo

$153 22% 78.3% $551

Groceries & Markets

Cartago

$348 20.3%

Le Bardo

$199 28.5% 43% $150

Eating Out

Cartago

$186 10.9%

Le Bardo

$78 11.3% 57.9% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Cartago

$151 8.8%

Le Bardo

$109 15.6% 28.1% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cartago

$147 8.6%

Le Bardo

$92 13.2% 37.6% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cartago

$88 5.2%

Le Bardo

$52 7.5% 40.7% $36

Getting Around

Cartago

$88 5.1%

Le Bardo

$13 1.9% 84.9% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $923 in Cartago and $245 in Le Bardo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cartago pays 252% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $35.00 in Cartago vs $23.00 in Le Bardo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $348 vs $199 per month, with Le Bardo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Cartago

🇹🇳 Le Bardo

🕒 Local time

03:29 3:29 AM

10:29 10:29 AM

7 h ahead of Cartago

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

71,961

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cartago Le Bardo 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cartago
Le Bardo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cartago vs Le Bardo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Le Bardo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 146% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 252% higher in Cartago, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $923 in Cartago versus $245 in Le Bardo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Le Bardo runs roughly 640% less than in Cartago. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $549 in Cartago versus $67.2 in Le Bardo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $696 in Le Bardo versus $1,713 in Cartago, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Le Bardo but tight or insufficient in Cartago. The gap between the two cities makes Le Bardo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cartago and Le Bardo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Le Bardo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 146% less than in Cartago. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.