Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toronto and Turrialba

For one person, living is cheaper in Turrialba: $1,726 a month against $2,610 in Toronto, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Toronto
Learn more

Toronto Living Index
84

Cost of Living Index in Turrialba
Learn more

Turrialba Living Index

Jump to prices

Toronto

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,610

/mo nomad

Turrialba

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Toronto and in Turrialba

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,610 in Toronto versus $1,726 in Turrialba.

Toronto $2,610
Turrialba $1,726

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,727 in Toronto versus $2,753 in Turrialba.

Toronto $3,727
Turrialba $2,753

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,844 in Toronto versus $3,779 in Turrialba.

Toronto $4,844
Turrialba $3,779

Living in Toronto is roughly 51% more expensive than in Turrialba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Toronto 93% above, Turrialba 27% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 CA$24.87

$11.97 ₡5,370

46.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.8 CA$111

$60.9 ₡27.3K

29.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 CA$15.16

$11.78 ₡5,283

-8.91%

Cappuccino

$4.09 CA$5.78

$4.34 ₡1,946

-5.76%

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

$2.10 CA$2.97

$2.75 ₡1,233

-23.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 CA$2.43

$1.94 ₡871

-11.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.36 CA$8.99

$3.32 ₡1,488

91.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.08 CA$10.01

$4.40 ₡1,973

60.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.54 CA$3.59

$2.35 ₡1,052

8.09%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 CA$3.85

$3.06 ₡1,372

-11.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.18 CA$3.09

$2.53 ₡1,134

-13.83%

Eggs

$3.63 CA$5.13

$3.60 ₡1,612

0.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.46 CA$13.37

$10.54 ₡4,726

-10.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.54 CA$16.32

$10.32 ₡4,630

11.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.37 CA$20.32

$14.16 ₡6,352

1.48%

Apples (1kg)

$3.70 CA$5.23

$5.07 ₡2,273

-27.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 CA$1.68

$1.57 ₡705

-24.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.46 CA$4.90

$4.74 ₡2,124

-27.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.22 CA$5.97

$3.97 ₡1,782

6.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 CA$2.52

$3.91 ₡1,754

-54.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 CA$2.33

$3.71 ₡1,663

-55.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.20 CA$3.11

$1.13 ₡505

94.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 CA$1.78

$3.19 ₡1,431

-60.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.97 CA$19.75

$6.07 ₡2,724

130.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.20 CA$20.07

$20.24 ₡9,076

-29.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.25 CA$3.18

$2.84 ₡1,274

-20.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.53 CA$3.58

$3.60 ₡1,613

-29.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.32 CA$3.28

$1.28 ₡574

81.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$112 CA$158

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 CA$4.33

$2.45 ₡1,101

24.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.22 CA$1.72

$1.57 ₡704

-22.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.69 CA$30.66

$8.80 ₡3,948

146.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 CA$1.72

$1.50 ₡671

-19.33%

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

$26.1K CA$37.0K

$22.2K ₡10.0M

17.52%

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

$21.1K CA$29.9K

$34.6K ₡15.5M

-38.86%

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

$120 CA$169

$96.4 ₡43.2K

24.06%

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

$32.21 CA$45.54

$35.27 ₡15.8K

-8.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.88 CA$69.1

$59.2 ₡26.5K

-17.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.34 CA$55.6

$73.7 ₡33.0K

-46.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.58 CA$33.34

Cinema Ticket

$12.58 CA$17.79

$7.87 ₡3,527

59.85%

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

$832 CA$1,176

$993 ₡445.3K

-16.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K CA$33.4K

$17.3K ₡7.8M

36.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.3 CA$73.9

$72.0 ₡32.3K

-27.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.44 CA$55.8

$56.4 ₡25.3K

-30.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 CA$140

$128 ₡57.5K

-22.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 CA$172

$134 ₡60.1K

-8.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,631 CA$2,306

$808 ₡362.3K

101.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,448 CA$2,048

$626 ₡280.7K

131.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,737 CA$3,869

$1,870 ₡838.7K

46.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,129 CA$3,010

$1,287 ₡577.2K

65.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,206 CA$11.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,838 CA$9,666

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,520 CA$4,976

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.47

8.62

-48.14%

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

Last update for Toronto: October 18, 2026

Last update for Turrialba: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toronto

$1.4K 55.5%

Turrialba

$626 36.3% 56.8% $823

Groceries & Markets

Toronto

$343 13.1%

Turrialba

$402 23.3% 17.1% $59

Eating Out

Toronto

$283 10.9%

Turrialba

$227 13.2% 19.7% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toronto

$201 7.7%

Turrialba

$191 11.1% 4.9% $9.8

Clothing & Footwear

Toronto

$141 5.4%

Turrialba

$176 10.2% 24.9% $35

Getting Around

Toronto

$130 5%

Turrialba

$15 * 0.9% 88.1% $115

Sport & Entertainment

Toronto

$65 2.5%

Turrialba

$89 5.2% 38.6% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,631 in Toronto and $808 in Turrialba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $79.0 in Toronto vs $61.0 in Turrialba. Groceries flip the comparison at $343 vs $402, with Toronto cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Toronto

🇨🇷 Turrialba

🕒 Local time

08:36 8:36 AM

06:36 6:36 AM

2 h behind Toronto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,731,571

27,000

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Toronto Turrialba 3,780 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Toronto
Turrialba

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

Toronto vs Turrialba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Turrialba is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and transport. The 51% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $3,916 in Toronto and $2,589 in Turrialba to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,631 in Toronto versus $808 in Turrialba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $832 in Toronto versus $993 in Turrialba. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Turrialba – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $79.0 in Toronto. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,726 in Turrialba versus $2,610 in Toronto, a $2,500 budget is realistic in Turrialba but tight or insufficient in Toronto. The gap between the two cities makes Turrialba 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.

Safety-wise, Toronto and Turrialba are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Turrialba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 51% less than in Toronto. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.