🇬🇧 United Kingdom vs 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Side by side on the data that actually changes your life: prices, taxes, climate, air, safety. Every number has a source and a date.
Climate (capital)
Open-Meteo historical weather
—
Jan 20° · Jul 21° · San José
Sunny days (capital)
Open-Meteo, days with over 4.5h of sunshine
—
341 days / yr
Air quality (capital)
WAQI, capital station
AQI 35 · Good
AQI 21 · Good
Big Mac price
The Economist Big Mac index (euro-area countries share one euro-area price)
$7.08
$6.04
Living costs · single, excl. rent (capital)
Reloka cost research, excludes rent
$950–$1,400 / mo
—
Living costs · family of four, excl. rent (capital)
Reloka cost research, excludes rent
$3,400–$4,400 / mo
—
Employment taxes (not your rate)
OECD tax wedge, single average worker
~32% of what a job costs goes to tax (2025)
~28% of what a job costs goes to tax (2025)
Special tax regimes
Official tax authorities, verified June 2026
4-year FIG regime (ex non-dom)
Territorial taxation
Inflation
World Bank
3.9% / yr (2025)
-0.1% / yr (2025)
Unemployment
World Bank, ILO-modelled estimate
4.8% (2025)
6.8% (2025)
Internet (median fixed)
Ookla Speedtest Global Index
~120 Mbps
—
English proficiency
EF English Proficiency Index
native
—
Messenger apps
OONI network measurements, last 6 months
No known issues
No known issues
Safety advisory
U.S. State Department travel advisory
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Level 2 · Exercise Increased Caution
Population
World Bank total population
69.5M (2025)
5.2M (2025)
Population density
World Bank, people per km²
283 / km² (2023)
100 / km² (2023)
Foreign-born residents
World Bank migrant stock
17.1% of population (2024)
12.2% of population (2024)
Life expectancy
WHO
80 yrs
79 yrs
Currency
ISO 4217
GBP
CRC
Timezone (capital)
Open-Meteo
UTC+1
UTC-6
Legal
Crypto-friendly
Short-term gains
24%
0%
Long-term gains
18%
0%
Long-term holding period
—
—
Staking income
45%
—
Mining income
45%
—
General rates, not personal tax advice.
Climate, inflation and life expectancy verified 12 July 2026. Prices, taxes and air quality verified 7 July 2026. Sources shown per row.
Bottom line: which should you choose?
Pick 🇨🇷 Costa Rica if you want
lower day-to-day costs and lighter employment taxes.
Based only on the sourced metrics above. Visa eligibility and paperwork depend on your passport — build a free plan for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
Is United Kingdom or Costa Rica cheaper?
Costa Rica is the cheaper of the two on our comparable cost measure (Big Mac $6.04 vs $7.08). Your real cost depends on the city and lifestyle — see the full table above, then generate a free plan for a budget matched to your exact move.
Special tax regimes, verified
Regimes change often and many sites still advertise closed ones. We link the official source for each.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Foreign income & gains tax-free for the first 4 years
Verified June 2026 · HMRC
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Foreign-source income untaxed
Verified June 2026 · Ministerio de Hacienda
Numbers are half the story
Your visa route, paperwork and deadlines depend on where you hold a passport. Get a free checklist personalized to your exact move.