Quito vs San Jose, Costa Rica - Cost of Living Comparison

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Livingcost

Quito San Jose
🚶 Cost of living one person
$864
$1574
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2221
$3920
🏠 One person rent
$339
$747
🏘️ Family rent
$572
$1276
🍽️ Food expenses
$326
$579
🚐 Transport expenses
$89.5
$85.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$608
$1063
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
20 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
63
60
😀 Quality of life
60
73
🏙️ Population
1.76M
335K

The cost of living in Quito is 45% less expensive than in San Jose, Costa Rica. Cities ranked 6476th and 3714th ($864 vs $1574) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 2nd in Ecuador and Costa Rica, respectively. Check Ecuador vs Costa Rica comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Quito compared to 0.7 months in San Jose, Costa Rica. Quito ranked 1st best city to live in Ecuador vs San Jose, Costa Rica ranked 1st in Costa Rica, while ranked 5902nd and 2425th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Quito vs San Jose, Costa Rica

Prices for goods and services in Quito and San Jose are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Quito San Jose
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$4.94
$12.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$44.3
$49.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$7.47
$11.8
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.86
$3.36
☕ Cappuccino
$3.45
$5.2
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.13
$2.34
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$415
$821
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$264
$585
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$757
$1456
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$457
$1048
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$19.6
$58.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$29.9
$89.7
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$25.5
$56.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
10.04%
9.32%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1700
$2299
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$731
$1800
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.35
$1.09
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$24
$56.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$11.7
$16
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.8
$1.45
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.09
$2.43
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.5
$3.01
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$2.56
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.17
$3.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.36
$11.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.22
$9.83
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.67
$13.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.04
$5.01
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.2
$1.73
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.29
$4.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.18
$3.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.21
$4.11
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.01
$3.66
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.73
$2.1
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.11
$3.6
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$10.7
$23.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.6
$2.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.84
$5.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.11
$9.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$7.93
$9.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.26
$3.95
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.17
$4.6
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$49.3
$68.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.75
$8.55
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.2
$104
💇 Haircut, simple
$11.8
$16
👖 Brand Jeans
$69.3
$70.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$114
$140
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$385
$814
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$8877
$16872

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Cities near Quito

Distance City Cost of living
74 km or 46 mi Santo Domingo
$592
77 km or 48 mi Ibarra
$557
114 km or 71 mi Ambato
$516
138 km or 86 mi Quevedo
$653
151 km or 94 mi Ipiales
$672
163 km or 101 mi Riobamba
$514
183 km or 114 mi Esmeraldas
$613
210 km or 130 mi Pasto
$675
210 km or 130 mi Babahoyo
$827
227 km or 141 mi Tumaco
$694
235 km or 146 mi Portoviejo
$780
244 km or 152 mi Milagro
$731
258 km or 161 mi Manta
$762
262 km or 163 mi Duran
$842
267 km or 166 mi Guayaquil
$953
303 km or 188 mi Cuenca
$829
307 km or 191 mi Montanita
$704
348 km or 216 mi La Libertad
$707
364 km or 226 mi Popayan
$631
376 km or 233 mi Machala
$584
381 km or 237 mi Florencia
$524
426 km or 265 mi Loja
$559
430 km or 267 mi Tumbes
$577
463 km or 288 mi Cali
$850
484 km or 301 mi Buenaventura
$856
484 km or 301 mi Palmira
$788
501 km or 311 mi Neiva
$606
516 km or 321 mi Mancora
$660
543 km or 337 mi Tulua
$563
574 km or 357 mi Talara
$705
575 km or 357 mi Sullana
$593
602 km or 374 mi Piura
$651
610 km or 379 mi Jaen
$617
611 km or 380 mi Paita
$638
616 km or 383 mi Armenia
$749
623 km or 387 mi Cartago
$769
631 km or 392 mi Salento
$749
635 km or 395 mi Ibague
$537
641 km or 398 mi Pereira
$862
650 km or 404 mi Girardot
$559

Cities near San Jose, Costa Rica

Distance City Cost of living
7.9 km or 4.9 mi Heredia
$1471
17 km or 11 mi Alajuela
$1362
20 km or 12 mi Cartago
$1361
82 km or 51 mi Puntarenas
$872
115 km or 72 mi Limon
$1228
124 km or 77 mi Santa Teresa
$1325
167 km or 104 mi Liberia
$1024
197 km or 122 mi Tamarindo
$1929
244 km or 151 mi San Juan del Sur
$844
246 km or 153 mi David
$909
279 km or 173 mi Juigalpa
$796
302 km or 188 mi Granada
$706
316 km or 196 mi Masaya
$817
343 km or 213 mi Managua
$788
387 km or 241 mi Matagalpa
$665
398 km or 247 mi Santiago de Veraguas
$1112
408 km or 253 mi Jinotega
$503
413 km or 257 mi Leon
$759
429 km or 266 mi Esteli
$716
438 km or 272 mi Penonome
$1147
447 km or 278 mi Chinandega
$791
457 km or 284 mi Chitre
$1144
463 km or 288 mi Colon
$1185
486 km or 302 mi La Chorrera
$982
508 km or 316 mi Balboa
$1396
513 km or 319 mi Panama City
$1590
524 km or 326 mi Tocumen
$1373
535 km or 333 mi Pacora
$1361
574 km or 357 mi Tegucigalpa
$909
596 km or 370 mi San Miguel
$1132
609 km or 378 mi Usulutan
$1123
635 km or 395 mi Comayagua
$678
666 km or 414 mi Yoro
$756
696 km or 432 mi San Salvador
$1291
697 km or 433 mi Soyapango
$1261
701 km or 435 mi Mejicanos
$1254
702 km or 436 mi Apopa
$1231
703 km or 437 mi Santa Tecla
$1183
713 km or 443 mi La Ceiba
$619
729 km or 453 mi El Progreso
$832