Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Jaco Beach and Barreiro

For one person, living is cheaper in Jaco Beach: $1,445 a month against $1,652 in Barreiro, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Barreiro outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

70

Cost of Living Index in Jaco Beach
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Jaco Beach Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Barreiro
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Barreiro Living Index

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Jaco Beach

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,445

/mo nomad

Barreiro

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,652

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Jaco Beach and in Barreiro

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

A single person spends $1,445 per month in Jaco Beach vs $1,652 in Barreiro, rent included.

Jaco Beach $1,445
Barreiro $1,652

A couple spends around $2,296 per month in Jaco Beach vs $2,342 in Barreiro, rent included.

Jaco Beach $2,296
Barreiro $2,342

A family of three spends $3,147 per month in Jaco Beach vs $3,032 in Barreiro, rent included.

Jaco Beach $3,147
Barreiro $3,032

Jaco Beach is about 13% cheaper than Barreiro, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Jaco Beach and Barreiro sit above the global median – Jaco Beach by 6%, Barreiro by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.32 ₡5,106

$15.64 €14.05

-27.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.14 ₡19.5K

$44.05 €39.57

-2.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.22 ₡4,612

$9.59 €8.61

6.57%

Cappuccino

$3.99 ₡1,799

$2.57 €2.31

55.25%

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

$2.40 ₡1,085

$2.04 €1.83

17.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 ₡844

$2.19 €1.97

-14.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.19 ₡1,441

$3.39 €3.04

-5.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 ₡1,954

$3.29 €2.95

31.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.98 ₡892

$1.03 €0.93

92.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.19 ₡989

$1.53 €1.37

43.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 ₡1,078

$1.63 €1.47

46.63%

Eggs

$2.60 ₡1,175

$3.30 €2.96

-21.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.78 ₡4,865

$8.72 €7.84

23.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.88 ₡4,008

$7.99 €7.17

11.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.11 ₡5,466

$14.81 €13.31

-18.23%

Apples (1kg)

$4.95 ₡2,233

$2.73 €2.45

81.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 ₡748

$1.26 €1.13

31.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.75 ₡2,141

$1.97 €1.77

141.12%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.42 ₡1,544

$1.45 €1.30

135.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 ₡676

$1.56 €1.40

-3.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 ₡641

$1.70 €1.53

-16.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.99 ₡447

$1.66 €1.49

-40.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 ₡900

$0.67 €0.60

197.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.01 ₡2,711

$5.83 €5.24

3.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.81 ₡6,231

$6.00 €5.39

130.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.64 ₡1,192

$1.22 €1.10

116.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 ₡985

$1.05 €0.95

107.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 €1.27

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.57 €40.93

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.49 ₡1,125

$2.31 €2.07

7.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡735

$0.77 €0.69

111.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.53 ₡3,848

$16.79 €15.08

-49.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$2.16 €1.94

-27.31%

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

$33.9K ₡15.3M

$33.2K €29.8K

2.00%

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

$42.6K ₡19.2M

$37.4K €33.6K

13.94%

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

$79.6 ₡35.9K

$110 €98.9

-27.75%

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

$23.88 ₡10.8K

$21.24 €19.08

12.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.69 ₡21.5K

$35.43 €31.82

34.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.0 ₡23.4K

$36.64 €32.91

41.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.45 €12.09

Cinema Ticket

$7.72 ₡3,483

$8.86 €7.96

-12.87%

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

$479 ₡216.3K

$624 €560

-23.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,442 ₡3.4M

$11.2K €10.1K

-33.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.50 ₡11.5K

$77.1 €69.3

-66.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.2 ₡25.4K

$37.18 €33.39

51.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 ₡57.3K

$83.6 €75.1

51.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$133 ₡59.8K

$105 €94.5

26.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$748 ₡337.6K

$942 €846

-20.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$526 ₡237.2K

$777 €698

-32.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡895.4K

$1,476 €1,326

34.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,099 ₡495.8K

$1,067 €958

3.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,883 €3,488

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,788 €2,505

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$402 ₡181.3K

$917 €823

-56.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.67

134.88%

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

Last update for Jaco Beach: October 25, 2026

Last update for Barreiro: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Jaco Beach

$526 36.4%

Barreiro

$777 47% 47.9% $252

Groceries & Markets

Jaco Beach

$326 22.6%

Barreiro

$235 14.2% 27.8% $91

Eating Out

Jaco Beach

$211 14.6%

Barreiro

$225 13.6% 6.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Jaco Beach

$154 10.6%

Barreiro

$136 8.3% 11.2% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Jaco Beach

$151 10.5%

Barreiro

$167 10.1% 10.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Jaco Beach

$67 4.7%

Barreiro

$54 3.3% 19.3% $13

Getting Around

Jaco Beach

$11 * 0.7%

Barreiro

$57 3.5% 439% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $748 in Jaco Beach versus $942 in Barreiro. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Barreiro are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Jaco Beach versus $44 in Barreiro. Groceries tell a different story – $326 in Jaco Beach vs $235 in Barreiro – so Barreiro wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Jaco Beach

🇵🇹 Barreiro

🕒 Local time

14:36 2:36 PM

20:36 8:36 PM

6 h ahead of Jaco Beach

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,359

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Jaco Beach Barreiro 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Jaco Beach
Barreiro

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

Jaco Beach vs Barreiro: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,445 in Jaco Beach, $1,652 in Barreiro – Jaco Beach comes out roughly 13% cheaper. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,167 per month in Jaco Beach and $2,479 in Barreiro. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jaco Beach, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $748 there versus $942 in Barreiro.

Kindergarten costs $479 per month in Jaco Beach and $624 in Barreiro. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,445 in Jaco Beach and $1,652 in Barreiro. That makes Jaco Beach about 13% cheaper.

Families tend to lean toward Jaco Beach – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both cities have a reputation for safety. In either place, the choice of neighborhood matters more than the choice between the two cities.

If budget matters most, go with Jaco Beach. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Barreiro makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.