Data Centers in Costa Rica

Costa Rica – Stable Hub with Green Power

Executive Summary

Costa Rica is the premier choice for companies requiring a stable, secure, and sustainable data center presence in Central America. Its combination of a highly renewable power grid, political stability, and a favorable tax climate allows businesses to mitigate operational risk and meet ESG goals. This market is ideal for regional content delivery, financial services, and disaster recovery for North and South American operations.

Costa Rica: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The market includes 8 data centers with access to over a dozen regional and international carriers, as of September 2025. This provides sufficient options for creating redundant, carrier-neutral network architectures.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There are no direct cloud on-ramps in Costa Rica. Businesses connect to major cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure through network hubs in Miami. Private network extensions via submarine cables can establish dedicated, low-latency links for demanding workloads.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The Costa Rica Internet Exchange (CRIX) is the primary IXP in the country. Peering at CRIX keeps local traffic within national borders, significantly improving performance and reducing latency for domestic users.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server solutions are available from providers focused on the Latin American market. Companies like Hivelocity offer dedicated server infrastructure for workloads requiring direct hardware access.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power rates average around $0.11/kWh, as of December 2024. This competitive price, combined with a world-leading renewable energy supply, makes Costa Rica highly attractive for organizations with sustainability mandates and a need for predictable energy costs.

Power Grid Reliability: Costa Rica's power grid is one of the most reliable and green in the Americas, with approximately 99% of its electricity generated from renewable sources. The infrastructure supporting the primary data center clusters in the San José area is modern and well-engineered, ensuring high levels of uptime.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are concentrated in and around the capital, San José. This location provides low-latency connectivity to the country's financial, technology, and government sectors, supporting real-time applications and services.

Regional Market Reach: With its stable infrastructure and central location, Costa Rica serves as an effective hub for delivering services throughout Central America. It is also an excellent disaster recovery location for businesses with primary operations in North or South America.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Costa Rica offers a specific VAT exemption for qualifying data center services. This incentive directly reduces the operational expense of colocation and related services, making the country a more financially attractive option.

Natural Disaster Risk

Costa Rica has a Medium overall disaster risk profile (3.3/10), as of September 2025. While the country is politically stable, facility selection and business continuity planning must account for specific environmental threats.

The primary natural hazards are:

• Earthquake: 9.1/10
• Tsunami: 8.3/10
• Epidemic: 5.4/10
• Coastal Flood: 4.1/10
• River Flood: 2.4/10

The high scores for seismic and tsunami activity require that critical infrastructure be located in facilities engineered to modern structural standards and situated away from high-risk coastal zones.