It can be costly. vs It may be costly.

Both phrases are correct and commonly used in English. They are interchangeable and convey the same meaning.

Last updated: March 15, 2024 • 2745 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"It can be costly."

This phrase is used to indicate that something has the potential to be expensive.

Examples:

Repairing a luxury car can be costly.
Eating out at fancy restaurants can be costly.
Buying designer clothes can be costly.
Traveling first class can be costly.
Purchasing a new smartphone can be costly.

Show examples from the web [+]

Apr 17, 2015 ... It can be costly for a foreign firm. In fact I would assume the suit would be filed in the UK by a UK subsidiary for that very reason. Is that about ...
In your office, if you're not able to quickly establish communication with each and every one of your staffers, it can be costly in terms of time and productivity, ...
While it can be costly for your company to eliminate any single point of failure in your IT infrastructure, it is the only way to insure that a hardware failure doesn't ...
Economic Scene; Women are less likely to negotiate, and it can be costly to them. By Alan B. Krueger. Published: August 21, 2003. Facebook; Twitter; Google+ ...

Alternatives:

it could be costly.
it might be costly.
it is expensive.
it is pricey.
it is high-priced.

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"It may be costly."

This phrase is used to suggest that something is likely to be expensive.

Examples:

Buying organic food may be costly.
Renovating an old house may be costly.
Upgrading to a larger apartment may be costly.
Purchasing a new laptop may be costly.
Investing in high-quality tools may be costly.

Show examples from the web [+]

Dec 10, 2014 ... Notebook: If Red Sox land Cole Hamels, it may be costly. □ Shaughnessy: On Jon Lester watch, stakes are high and information scarce.
Why It May Be Costly to Reject Paying Points. By Dan Melson on April 24, 2015 7 :00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0). I hear it and read it all the time - advice that ...
Restrictive Covenants: Do not be too restrictive.... it may be costly. Apr 16, 2015. 42Views; 3Likes; 2Comments. Share on LinkedIn; Share on Facebook; Share ...
Nov 1, 2011 ... Data protection: The cloud still has a silver lining but it may be costly. By Stephen Pritchard. Share. Print; Clip; Gift Article. Comments.

Alternatives:

it might be costly.
it could be costly.
it can be costly.
it is expensive.
it is pricey.

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It can be costly. vs It may be costly.

"It can be costly."

"It may be costly."

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