Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Al `arish and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Al `arish: $449 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Al `arish
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Al `arish Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Al `arish

🇪🇬 Egypt

$449

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Al `arish and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Al `arish and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $449 in Al `arish versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Al `arish $449
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $735 in Al `arish versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Al `arish $735
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,022 in Al `arish versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Al `arish $1,022
Nosara $3,818

Living in Al `arish costs roughly 76% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Al `arish is 67% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.07 E£218

$12.35 ₡5,550

-67.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.03 E£750

$61.2 ₡27.5K

-77.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.79 E£256

$7.52 ₡3,379

-36.30%

Cappuccino

$1.23 E£65.9

$4.41 ₡1,982

-72.11%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 E£19.82

$1.74 ₡781

-78.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 E£6.23

$1.31 ₡588

-90.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 E£77.3

$3.28 ₡1,474

-55.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 E£157

$4.47 ₡2,008

-34.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 E£45.54

$1.56 ₡702

-45.51%

White Bread (500g)

$0.37 E£19.97

$3.02 ₡1,358

-87.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 E£33.44

$2.51 ₡1,127

-74.90%

Eggs

$1.43 E£76.2

$3.57 ₡1,606

-59.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.53 E£135

$7.43 ₡3,340

-65.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.64 E£194

$10.52 ₡4,727

-65.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 E£417

$13.97 ₡6,277

-44.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.46 E£77.9

$2.35 ₡1,054

-37.87%

Banana (1kg)

$0.62 E£33.01

$1.61 ₡721

-61.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.39 E£20.85

$4.80 ₡2,156

-91.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.32 E£16.95

$1.61 ₡725

-80.12%

Potato (1kg)

$0.44 E£23.49

$3.80 ₡1,706

-88.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 E£24.45

$3.69 ₡1,660

-87.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.29 E£15.55

$1.13 ₡508

-74.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.52

$2.66 ₡1,193

-93.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.96 E£105

$5.18 ₡2,326

-62.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.72 E£252

$19.88 ₡8,934

-76.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 E£54.0

$2.90 ₡1,303

-65.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 E£87.8

$3.63 ₡1,629

-54.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 E£10.54

$1.12 ₡505

-82.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 E£15.53

$2.14 ₡960

-86.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.39 E£21.00

$1.57 ₡705

-75.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.21 E£64.4

$8.52 ₡3,830

-85.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.46 E£24.55

$1.52 ₡683

-69.74%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.7K E£1.7M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

51.23%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$24.6K E£1.3M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-28.75%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$14.84 E£793

$96.3 ₡43.3K

-84.59%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.99 E£373

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-80.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.08 E£1,340

$53.6 ₡24.1K

-53.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.29 E£977

$71.6 ₡32.2K

-74.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$3.90 E£208

$7.89 ₡3,546

-50.57%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$85.2 E£4,555

$494 ₡222.0K

-82.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,336 E£124.8K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-80.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.30 E£550

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-80.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.64 E£2,546

$55.4 ₡24.9K

-14.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$157 E£8,375

$77.9 ₡35.0K

101.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$56.4 E£3,013

$79.6 ₡35.8K

-29.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$132 E£7,035

$788 ₡354.1K

-83.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$66.7 E£3,563

$794 ₡356.9K

-91.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$234 E£12.5K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-94.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$164 E£8,785

$1,419 ₡637.7K

-88.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$846 E£45.2K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-87.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$375 E£20.1K

$1,224 ₡550.0K

-69.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡388.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

22.5

8.62

161.02%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Al `arish: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Clothing & Footwear

Al `arish

$122 27.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 1.5% $1.9

Groceries & Markets

Al `arish

$107 23.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 229% $245

Eating Out

Al `arish

$77 17.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 176% $135

Accommodation & Living

Al `arish

$67 14.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 1091% $728

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Al `arish

$47 10.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 296% $139

Sport & Entertainment

Al `arish

$26 5.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 235% $61

Getting Around

Al `arish

$3 * 0.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 2766% $84

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $132 in Al `arish and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $14.00 in Al `arish vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $107 vs $352 per month, with Al `arish cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Al `arish

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

21:58 9:58 PM

12:58 12:58 PM

9 h behind Al `arish

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

199,243

4,912

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Al `arish Nosara 12,120 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Al `arish
Nosara

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Al `arish vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al `arish wins on cost – living expenses run 310% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Al `arish the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $673 in Al `arish and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $132 in Al `arish versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 229% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $449 per month in Al `arish versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 310% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $449 in Al `arish versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al `arish but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Al `arish the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Al `arish delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $449 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Al `arish hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Al `arish and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Al `arish gentler on the wallet – expenses run 310% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.