Data Centers in Costa Rica

Costa Rica – Central America’s Sustainable Digital Gateway

Executive Summary

Costa Rica is the premier choice for organizations requiring high-uptime deployments powered by nearly 100% renewable energy. This market provides a uniquely stable environment for regional headquarters and disaster recovery sites serving both North and South American traffic. Its combination of political neutrality and grid sustainability makes it a reliable bridge for long-term infrastructure investment.

Costa Rica: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Costa Rica functions as a stable interconnection point for Central American traffic, balancing local demand with international transit needs.

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: Carrier count: over 10 as of September 2025. The market features a mix of regional incumbents and international fiber providers. Most facilities operate with a neutral stance, allowing for competitive cross-connect pricing and diverse path options for resilient architecture.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: 0, enabling access to 0 cloud regions as of September 2025. No direct on-ramps for major cloud providers reside locally. Traffic reaches global cloud services via private extensions into Miami or Panama City, which serve as the primary peering points for the region.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The CRIX (Costa Rica Internet Exchange) serves as the primary hub for domestic traffic. It ensures that local data remains in-country, reducing latency for domestic users and improving regional efficiency.

Bare Metal: Physical server deployments are readily available through regional specialists like Latitude.sh. These services provide dedicated hardware for workloads that require predictable performance without the overhead of a hypervisor.

Power Analysis

Energy availability in Costa Rica is defined by a deep commitment to environmental standards and grid stability.

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial electricity is priced at $0.11/kWh as of December 2024. This stable rate, combined with a grid that is roughly 99% renewable, makes the region a prime spot for sustainable deployments. Reliable power at this price point provides a clear financial advantage for heavy compute workloads.

Power Grid Reliability: The national grid is well-engineered with heavy reliance on hydroelectric and geothermal sources. Redundant substation support in major data center corridors like San Jose and Alajuela ensures steady uptime for mission-critical hardware.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Costa Rica offers a sophisticated business environment that attracts multinational tech firms and financial institutions.

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers are concentrated near San Jose and Alajuela. This proximity provides low-latency access to the nation's financial core and several high-tech free trade zones.

Regional Market Reach: Costa Rica acts as a stable jumping-off point for Central American operations. It offers a more predictable business environment than many neighboring jurisdictions while maintaining efficient connectivity to the Caribbean and North American markets.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Qualifying providers benefit from specific VAT exemptions on specialized services. This financial incentive reduces the total cost of ownership for long-term colocation commitments.

Natural Disaster Risk

Moderate (3.3/10) as of September 2025: The risk profile for this region is characterized by geological factors rather than atmospheric ones.

• Earthquake (9.1): High seismic risk requires facilities built to stringent structural standards with advanced dampening.
• Tsunami (8.3): This is a regional concern for coastal assets; however, most primary data centers are located safely inland.
• Epidemic (5.4): This score reflects regional health preparedness and historical response metrics.
• Coastal Flood (4.1): This is an indirect risk that primarily affects landing stations and coastal transit fiber.
• River Flood (2.4): Localized flooding is managed through site-specific elevation and drainage engineering.