Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Costa Rica and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Costa Rica: $1,735 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barcelona outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
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Costa Rica Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Costa Rica is 7.1% more expensive than Barcelona without rent, and 27.8% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Costa Rica is 1.5% more expensive than Barcelona without rent, and 19% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 ₡5,312

$17.98 €16.05

-34.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.5 ₡25.0K

$67.4 €60.2

-17.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.72 ₡4,831

$13.37 €11.93

-19.82%

Cappuccino

$4.49 ₡2,023

$3.34 €2.98

34.43%

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

$2.33 ₡1,051

$2.95 €2.64

-21.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ₡815

$1.90 €1.69

-4.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.23 ₡1,455

$3.88 €3.46

-16.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 ₡1,992

$4.57 €4.08

-3.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.30 ₡1,037

$1.27 €1.13

81.10%

White Bread (500g)

$3.55 ₡1,600

$1.96 €1.75

81.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.71 ₡1,221

$1.75 €1.56

54.86%

Eggs

$4.05 ₡1,825

$4.89 €4.36

-17.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.92 ₡4,473

$17.47 €15.59

-43.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.49 ₡4,729

$9.06 €8.09

15.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.56 ₡6,111

$20.18 €18.01

-32.80%

Apples (1kg)

$5.13 ₡2,312

$3.08 €2.75

66.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 ₡758

$2.03 €1.81

-17.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 ₡1,639

$2.60 €2.32

39.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.24 ₡1,463

$2.71 €2.42

19.56%

Potato (1kg)

$3.40 ₡1,534

$2.15 €1.92

58.14%

Onion (1kg)

$3.09 ₡1,394

$2.21 €1.97

39.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ₡501

$1.54 €1.38

-27.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 ₡1,192

$0.93 €0.83

183.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.43 ₡2,446

$7.09 €6.32

-23.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.63 ₡7,048

$7.63 €6.81

104.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.49 €1.33

84.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 ₡1,472

$2.73 €2.43

19.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 ₡480

$2.95 €2.63

-63.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.3 ₡29.4K

$25.91 €23.13

151.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 ₡981

$3.13 €2.80

-30.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 ₡916

$1.45 €1.29

40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.82 ₡3,977

$34.17 €30.49

-74.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.53 ₡688

$1.79 €1.60

-14.53%

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

$32.8K ₡14.8M

$34.7K €31.0K

-5.51%

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

$36.0K ₡16.2M

$30.3K €27.0K

18.75%

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

$93.4 ₡42.1K

$181 €161

-48.31%

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

$30.19 ₡13.6K

$13.56 €12.10

122.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$57.1 ₡25.7K

$35.12 €31.34

62.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$65.1 ₡29.3K

$53.2 €47.44

22.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.13 ₡9,976

$16.05 €14.33

37.88%

Cinema Ticket

$8.09 ₡3,645

$11.37 €10.14

-28.85%

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

$740 ₡333.8K

$939 €838

-21.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K ₡5.7M

$16.5K €14.7K

-24.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.5 ₡34.0K

$88.2 €78.7

-14.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.6 ₡24.6K

$39.77 €35.49

37.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.4K

$103 €92.3

23.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 ₡48.3K

$119 €107

-10.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$833 ₡375.3K

$1,695 €1,513

-50.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$641 ₡289.1K

$1,301 €1,161

-50.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,776 ₡800.8K

$2,576 €2,299

-31.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 ₡536.9K

$1,941 €1,732

-38.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,437 ₡1.1M

$7,470 €6,666

-67.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,631 ₡735.2K

$5,195 €4,636

-68.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,033 ₡465.8K

$2,299 €2,052

-55.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.56

3.28

191.46%

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

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Costa Rica

$641 36.7%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54% 103% $659

Groceries & Markets

Costa Rica

$379 21.7%

Barcelona

$325 13.5% 14.3% $54

Eating Out

Costa Rica

$222 12.7%

Barcelona

$272 11.3% 22.6% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Costa Rica

$181 10.3%

Barcelona

$229 9.5% 27% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Costa Rica

$164 9.4%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 3.8% $6.2

Getting Around

Costa Rica

$82 4.7%

Barcelona

$48 2% 41.3% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Costa Rica

$81 4.6%

Barcelona

$76 3.2% 6.6% $5.4

Good to know

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:55 2:55 AM

10:55 10:55 AM

8 h ahead of Costa Rica

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,044,197

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Costa Rica Barcelona 8,970 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Costa Rica
Barcelona

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

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EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

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