Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Jose and Havana

For one person, living is cheaper in Havana: $862 a month against $2,107 in San Jose, rent and utilities included – about $14,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in San Jose
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San Jose Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Havana
Learn more

Havana Living Index

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San Jose

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$2,107

/mo nomad

Havana

🇨🇺 Cuba

$862

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in San Jose and in Havana

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,107 in San Jose versus $862 in Havana.

San Jose $2,107
Havana $862

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,081 in San Jose versus $1,397 in Havana.

San Jose $3,081
Havana $1,397

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,054 in San Jose versus $1,932 in Havana.

San Jose $4,054
Havana $1,932

Living in San Jose is roughly 145% more expensive than in Havana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Jose is 56% above, Havana is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.37 ₡5,563

$3.67 CUP 88.2

237.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.4 ₡28.0K

$27.84 CUP 668

124.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.71 ₡5,264

$4.85 CUP 116

141.44%

Cappuccino

$4.54 ₡2,040

$1.05 CUP 25.21

332.38%

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

$2.75 ₡1,238

$1.54 CUP 36.92

78.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₡837

$0.94 CUP 22.61

97.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.35 ₡1,505

$1.17 CUP 28.09

186.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.32 ₡1,944

$1.95 CUP 46.75

121.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.36 ₡1,061

$2.78 CUP 66.8

-15.11%

White Bread (500g)

$3.07 ₡1,379

$1.48 CUP 35.55

107.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,128

$1.70 CUP 40.86

47.65%

Eggs

$3.53 ₡1,585

$3.48 CUP 83.6

1.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.54 ₡4,738

$4.32 CUP 104

143.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.57 ₡4,754

$4.81 CUP 115

119.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.92 ₡6,261

$8.67 CUP 208

60.55%

Apples (1kg)

$5.20 ₡2,338

$6.06 CUP 146

-14.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.65 ₡740

$1.01 CUP 24.28

63.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.89 ₡2,198

$3.86 CUP 92.7

26.68%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.84 ₡1,728

$2.24 CUP 53.7

71.43%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,757

$2.81 CUP 67.3

39.15%

Onion (1kg)

$3.76 ₡1,692

$2.72 CUP 65.3

38.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.74 CUP 17.72

51.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.22 ₡1,447

$0.52 CUP 12.57

519.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 ₡2,706

$1.61 CUP 38.62

273.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.84 ₡8,919

$5.28 CUP 127

275.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₡1,264

$1.71 CUP 41.14

64.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.65 ₡1,643

$2.15 CUP 51.6

69.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 ₡487

$0.64 CUP 15.36

68.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.2 ₡29.3K

$22.25 CUP 534

193.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.26 ₡1,018

$2.64 CUP 63.2

-14.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 ₡799

$0.34 CUP 8.04

423.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ₡3,551

$19.86 CUP 477

-60.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ₡673

$1.32 CUP 31.79

13.64%

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

$33.5K ₡15.1M

$60.9K CUP 1.5M

-45.04%

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

$42.3K ₡19.0M

$59.4K CUP 1.4M

-28.81%

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

$93.2 ₡41.9K

$48.26 CUP 1,158

93.10%

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

$36.13 ₡16.2K

$39.55 CUP 949

-8.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$60.6 ₡27.2K

$91.4 CUP 2,193

-33.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.9 ₡31.0K

$15.84 CUP 380

335.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.94 ₡11.2K

$13.06 CUP 313

90.96%

Cinema Ticket

$7.67 ₡3,449

$0.81 CUP 19.51

846.91%

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

$972 ₡436.9K

$159 CUP 3,816

511.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.9K ₡8.5M

$13.1K CUP 315.0K

43.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.6 ₡31.8K

$50.7 CUP 1,216

39.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.7 ₡25.5K

$41.25 CUP 990

37.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 ₡57.8K

$80.3 CUP 1,927

60.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$131 ₡58.8K

$67.6 CUP 1,622

93.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 ₡525.9K

$249 CUP 5,983

369.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$943 ₡424.1K

$216 CUP 5,177

337.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,984 ₡892.0K

$886 CUP 21.3K

123.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,400 ₡629.5K

$515 CUP 12.4K

171.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,681 ₡1.2M

$308 CUP 7,392

770.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,037 ₡915.8K

$401 CUP 9,631

407.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$987 ₡443.6K

$29.32 CUP 704

3265.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

9.1

-5.27%

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

Last update for San Jose: November 2, 2026

Last update for Havana: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Jose

$943 44.8%

Havana

$216 25% 77.1% $728

Groceries & Markets

San Jose

$403 19.1%

Havana

$236 27.4% 41.4% $167

Eating Out

San Jose

$232 11%

Havana

$76 8.9% 67.2% $156

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Jose

$190 9%

Havana

$179 20.8% 5.7% $11

Clothing & Footwear

San Jose

$174 8.3%

Havana

$108 12.5% 38% $66

Sport & Entertainment

San Jose

$84 4%

Havana

$17 2% 79.3% $67

Getting Around

San Jose

$81 3.8%

Havana

$29 3.4% 63.9% $52

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,170 in San Jose and $249 in Havana. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Jose pays about 34 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $62 in San Jose vs $28 in Havana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $403 vs $236 per month, with Havana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 San Jose

🇨🇺 Havana

🕒 Local time

00:50 12:50 AM

01:50 1:50 AM

1 h ahead of San Jose

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

342,188 Capital

2,141,993 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Cuban Peso CUP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.94 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

San Jose Havana 1,480 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

San Jose
Havana

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

San Jose vs Havana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $2,107 in San Jose and $862 in Havana, so Havana is about 59% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in San Jose is about 34 times higher, 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: $1,170 in San Jose versus $249 in Havana. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Havana – a meal for two runs $28 versus $62 in San Jose. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $2,107 per month in San Jose versus $862 in Havana – Havana is about 59% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $862 in Havana versus $2,107 in San Jose, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Havana but tight or insufficient in San Jose. The gap between the two cities makes Havana 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.

Expats usually find Havana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in San Jose. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.