Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Amparai and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Amparai: $501 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $16,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Amparai
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Amparai Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Amparai

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$501

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Amparai 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 Amparai and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $501 in Amparai versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Amparai $501
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $815 in Amparai versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Amparai $815
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,128 in Amparai versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Amparai $1,128
Nosara $3,818

Living in Amparai costs roughly 73% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Amparai is 63% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.34 LKR 1,437

$12.35 ₡5,539

-64.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.60 LKR 8,148

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-59.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.64 LKR 2,532

$7.52 ₡3,373

1.60%

Cappuccino

$2.50 LKR 829

$4.41 ₡1,978

-43.31%

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

$0.73 LKR 242

$1.74 ₡780

-58.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.6

$1.31 ₡587

-79.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 LKR 737

$3.28 ₡1,471

-32.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 LKR 1,033

$4.47 ₡2,004

-30.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 LKR 542

$1.56 ₡701

5.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.54 LKR 178

$3.02 ₡1,355

-82.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 LKR 245

$2.51 ₡1,125

-70.52%

Eggs

$1.57 LKR 521

$3.57 ₡1,603

-56.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.64 LKR 4,517

$7.43 ₡3,333

83.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 LKR 1,582

$10.52 ₡4,717

-54.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.58 LKR 2,512

$13.97 ₡6,265

-45.74%

Apples (1kg)

$6.65 LKR 2,201

$2.35 ₡1,052

182.98%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 262

$1.61 ₡720

-50.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.61 LKR 1,527

$4.80 ₡2,152

-3.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 LKR 405

$1.61 ₡724

-24.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 LKR 339

$3.80 ₡1,703

-73.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 265

$3.69 ₡1,657

-78.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 LKR 308

$1.13 ₡507

-17.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.46 LKR 153

$2.66 ₡1,191

-82.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.32 LKR 3,420

$5.18 ₡2,321

99.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.38 LKR 4,433

$19.88 ₡8,916

-32.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 LKR 630

$2.90 ₡1,300

-34.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 972

$3.63 ₡1,626

-19.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 133

$2.14 ₡958

-81.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 LKR 115

$1.57 ₡703

-77.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 311

$8.52 ₡3,823

-88.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 456

$1.52 ₡682

-9.21%

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

$37.3K LKR 12.4M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

72.68%

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

$40.3K LKR 13.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.79%

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

$54.2 LKR 18.0K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-43.69%

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

$4.14 LKR 1,372

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-88.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.40 LKR 6,756

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-61.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$1.81 LKR 598

$7.89 ₡3,539

-77.06%

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

$37.41 LKR 12.4K

$494 ₡221.6K

-92.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,223 LKR 404.9K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-89.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.96 LKR 5,948

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-66.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.50 LKR 5,464

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-70.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.4 LKR 26.0K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

0.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.66 LKR 14.1K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-46.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$90.4 LKR 29.9K

$864 ₡387.3K

-89.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

8.62

47.22%

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

Last update for Amparai: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Amparai

$237 47.4%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 48.6% $115

Eating Out

Amparai

$109 21.8%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 94.3% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Amparai

$79 15.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 136% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Amparai

$70 14%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 71.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Amparai

$3.6 * 0.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 2320% $84

Getting Around

Amparai

$2.1 * 0.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 3990% $85

Accommodation & Living

Amparai

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Nosara pays 855% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $25.00 in Amparai vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $237 vs $352 per month, with Amparai cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Amparai

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

17:48 5:48 PM

06:18 6:18 AM

11 h 30 min behind Amparai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

110,000

4,912

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Amparai Nosara 17,640 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Amparai
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

Amparai vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Amparai is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 267% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 855% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $37.41 in Amparai versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Amparai – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $501 in Amparai versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Amparai but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Amparai the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Amparai is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Nosara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Amparai 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 Amparai gentler on the wallet – expenses run 267% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.