Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico and Costa Rica Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

🙂 Solo nomad: Mexico is 22.5% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 20.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Mexico is 23.7% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 22.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.38 MX$183

$10.19 ₡5,052

1.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.10 MX$743

$60.5 ₡30.0K

-30.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.87 MX$139

$10.17 ₡5,041

-22.62%

Cappuccino

$3.24 MX$57.2

$3.90 ₡1,933

-16.92%

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

$1.32 MX$23.33

$2.19 ₡1,086

-39.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 MX$16.06

$1.65 ₡819

-44.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 MX$41.17

$2.95 ₡1,460

-21.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 MX$75.7

$4.32 ₡2,142

-0.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 MX$26.55

$2.03 ₡1,005

-26.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 MX$44.81

$3.18 ₡1,576

-20.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 MX$30.78

$2.49 ₡1,234

-30.12%

Eggs

$2.38 MX$42.06

$3.41 ₡1,688

-30.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.69 MX$153

$9.25 ₡4,584

-6.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.81 MX$138

$9.42 ₡4,670

-17.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.79 MX$190

$13.28 ₡6,583

-18.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 MX$49.48

$4.51 ₡2,235

-37.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 MX$26.69

$1.54 ₡763

-1.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 MX$33.56

$3.37 ₡1,673

-43.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.78 MX$31.37

$2.94 ₡1,458

-39.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 MX$34.41

$2.97 ₡1,475

-34.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 MX$34.82

$2.83 ₡1,403

-30.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 MX$22.20

$1.01 ₡502

24.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 MX$17.97

$2.54 ₡1,257

-59.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.19 MX$73.9

$5.03 ₡2,494

-16.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.20 MX$198

$15.31 ₡7,589

-26.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 MX$29.21

$2.31 ₡1,145

-28.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 MX$51.6

$2.72 ₡1,347

7.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.65 MX$11.55

$0.96 ₡475

-32.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.48 MX$467

$48.97 ₡24.3K

-45.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.57 MX$45.33

$1.80 ₡893

42.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 MX$33.65

$2.01 ₡995

-4.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.47 MX$185

$7.51 ₡3,723

39.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$23.07

$1.52 ₡752

-13.82%

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

$20.5K MX$361.4K

$36.6K ₡18.2M

-44.12%

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

$22.7K MX$400.8K

$36.0K ₡17.9M

-36.96%

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

$63.3 MX$1,117

$85.9 ₡42.6K

-26.27%

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

$23.14 MX$409

$25.46 ₡12.6K

-9.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.47 MX$502

$53.9 ₡26.7K

-47.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.44 MX$626

$57.3 ₡28.4K

-38.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.02 MX$318

$29.36 ₡14.6K

-38.62%

Cinema Ticket

$4.66 MX$82.3

$9.01 ₡4,466

-48.28%

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

$248 MX$4,377

$540 ₡267.8K

-54.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,750 MX$101.5K

$10.1K ₡5.0M

-42.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.8 MX$914

$71.5 ₡35.5K

-27.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.92 MX$722

$54.9 ₡27.2K

-25.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.9 MX$1,657

$117 ₡58.2K

-20.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.7 MX$1,583

$103 ₡50.8K

-12.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$636 MX$11.2K

$810 ₡401.7K

-21.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$439 MX$7,755

$551 ₡272.9K

-20.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,225 MX$21.6K

$1,488 ₡737.8K

-17.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$848 MX$15.0K

$1,043 ₡516.9K

-18.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,594 MX$45.8K

$2,335 ₡1.2M

11.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,559 MX$27.5K

$1,607 ₡796.5K

-2.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$805 MX$14.2K

$981 ₡486.2K

-17.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.45

10.53

8.74%

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

Last update for Mexico: January 11, 2026

Last update for Costa Rica: January 12, 2026

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico and Costa Rica Cost of Living Comparison Between Mexico and Costa Rica

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