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 26% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 21.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Mexico is 25.2% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 21.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.46 MX$198

$9.65 ₡4,833

8.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.67 MX$807

$58.6 ₡29.3K

-27.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.15 MX$154

$9.9 ₡4,957

-17.68%

Cappuccino

$3.32 MX$62.7

$3.9 ₡1,954

-14.87%

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

$1.29 MX$24.34

$2.2 ₡1,100

-41.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 MX$18.47

$1.65 ₡827

-40.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.33 MX$44.09

$3.03 ₡1,517

-23.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 MX$80.7

$4.55 ₡2,278

-6.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 MX$28.95

$2.06 ₡1,033

-25.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.61 MX$49.42

$3.06 ₡1,530

-14.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 MX$32.3

$2.52 ₡1,261

-32.14%

Eggs

$2.46 MX$46.46

$3.29 ₡1,646

-25.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.8 MX$166

$9.29 ₡4,650

-5.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.84 MX$148

$9.54 ₡4,775

-17.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 MX$205

$13.6 ₡6,808

-20.22%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 MX$51.9

$4.67 ₡2,337

-41.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 MX$27.16

$1.56 ₡782

-7.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 MX$34.7

$3.34 ₡1,672

-44.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.8 MX$34.07

$3.01 ₡1,507

-40.20%

Potato (1kg)

$2 MX$37.78

$3.04 ₡1,524

-34.21%

Onion (1kg)

$2.05 MX$38.71

$2.85 ₡1,426

-28.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 MX$24.02

$1.01 ₡506

25.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.06 MX$19.99

$2.54 ₡1,273

-58.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.35 MX$82.3

$4.86 ₡2,434

-10.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.69 MX$202

$14.87 ₡7,442

-28.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 MX$31.16

$2.27 ₡1,137

-27.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 MX$55.8

$2.73 ₡1,366

8.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.66 MX$12.48

$0.95 ₡476

-30.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.9 MX$508

$49.46 ₡24.8K

-45.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.71 MX$51.2

$1.81 ₡904

49.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2 MX$37.8

$1.93 ₡969

3.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.54 MX$199

$7.69 ₡3,850

37.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 MX$24.69

$1.47 ₡735

-10.88%

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

$20K MX$377.7K

$37.4K ₡18.7M

-46.57%

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

$23.4K MX$441.6K

$34.8K ₡17.4M

-32.88%

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

$62.3 MX$1,177

$86.9 ₡43.5K

-28.30%

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

$23.41 MX$442

$25.46 ₡12.7K

-8.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.74 MX$524

$54.7 ₡27.4K

-49.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.15 MX$664

$57.8 ₡28.9K

-39.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.96 MX$339

$28.42 ₡14.2K

-36.81%

Cinema Ticket

$4.65 MX$87.9

$9.08 ₡4,546

-48.79%

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

$254 MX$4,795

$551 ₡275.9K

-53.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,582 MX$105.5K

$9,816 ₡4.9M

-43.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.2 MX$1,006

$72.3 ₡36.2K

-26.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.56 MX$786

$55.2 ₡27.6K

-24.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 MX$1,744

$118 ₡59.3K

-22.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.7 MX$1,658

$104 ₡52.1K

-15.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$651 MX$12.3K

$817 ₡408.8K

-20.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$453 MX$8,561

$539 ₡269.6K

-15.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,248 MX$23.6K

$1,495 ₡748.3K

-16.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$856 MX$16.2K

$1,019 ₡510.2K

-16.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,146 MX$40.6K

$2,511 ₡1.3M

-14.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,480 MX$28K

$1,384 ₡693K

6.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$743 MX$14.1K

$996 ₡498.8K

-25.39%

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: October 28, 2025

Last update for Costa Rica: October 28, 2025

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