Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ar-rass and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Ar-rass: $1,154 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Ar-rass
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Ar-rass Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Ar-rass

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,154

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Ar-rass $1,154
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,690 in Ar-rass versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Ar-rass $1,690
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,226 in Ar-rass versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Ar-rass $2,226
Nosara $3,818

Living in Ar-rass costs roughly 37% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ar-rass is 15% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.16 SAR 23.12

$12.35 ₡5,539

-50.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.47 SAR 141

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-38.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.65

$7.52 ₡3,373

5.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 SAR 8.58

Cappuccino

$3.25 SAR 12.18

$4.41 ₡1,978

-26.30%

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

$0.91 SAR 3.41

$1.74 ₡780

-47.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.26 SAR 0.98

$1.31 ₡587

-80.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 SAR 6.81

$1.56 ₡701

16.03%

White Bread (500g)

$0.39 SAR 1.45

$3.02 ₡1,355

-87.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 SAR 7.19

$2.51 ₡1,125

-23.51%

Eggs

$3.60 SAR 13.52

$3.57 ₡1,603

0.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.00 SAR 26.28

$7.43 ₡3,333

-5.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.05 SAR 30.20

$10.52 ₡4,717

-23.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.79 SAR 47.99

$13.97 ₡6,265

-8.45%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 SAR 8.41

$2.35 ₡1,052

-4.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 SAR 6.60

$1.61 ₡720

9.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.91

$4.80 ₡2,152

-67.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 SAR 5.89

$1.61 ₡724

-2.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 SAR 4.37

$3.80 ₡1,703

-69.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.36 SAR 5.11

$3.69 ₡1,657

-63.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 SAR 4.79

$1.13 ₡507

13.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.14

$2.66 ₡1,191

-78.57%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.26 SAR 12.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.99 SAR 7.46

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 SAR 8.49

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.27

$5.18 ₡2,321

45.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 SAR 3.69

$1.12 ₡504

-12.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$34.39 SAR 129

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-52.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.59 SAR 9.72

$2.14 ₡958

21.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.87 SAR 7.02

$1.57 ₡703

19.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.84 SAR 44.42

$8.52 ₡3,823

38.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.44

$1.52 ₡682

-57.24%

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

$43.1K SAR 161.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

99.47%

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

$20.9K SAR 78.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-39.58%

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

$110 SAR 414

$96.3 ₡43.2K

14.52%

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

$23.87 SAR 89.6

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-33.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$59.0 SAR 221

$53.6 ₡24.0K

10.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.88 SAR 168

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-37.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 SAR 50.4

$7.89 ₡3,539

70.22%

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

$425 SAR 1,595

$494 ₡221.6K

-14.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,688 SAR 32.6K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-26.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.84 SAR 161

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-20.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$62.4 SAR 234

$55.4 ₡24.8K

12.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.1 SAR 360

$77.9 ₡34.9K

23.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.6 SAR 329

$79.6 ₡35.7K

10.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$579 SAR 2,174

$788 ₡353.4K

-26.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 SAR 1,480

$794 ₡356.2K

-50.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$388 SAR 1,456

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-90.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$563 SAR 2,111

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-60.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,625 SAR 9,851

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-62.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,188 SAR 4,460

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-2.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,765 SAR 6,622

$864 ₡387.3K

104.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

8.62

-35.73%

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

Last update for Ar-rass: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ar-rass

$394 34.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 101% $400

Groceries & Markets

Ar-rass

$198 17.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 78.1% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ar-rass

$193 16.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 3.8% $7.3

Clothing & Footwear

Ar-rass

$130 11.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 7.6% $9.9

Eating Out

Ar-rass

$117 10.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 81.6% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Ar-rass

$72 6.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 21.8% $16

Getting Around

Ar-rass

$50 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 73.3% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $579 in Ar-rass and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ar-rass pays 104% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Ar-rass vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $352 per month, with Ar-rass cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Ar-rass

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

18:11 6:11 PM

09:11 9:11 AM

9 h behind Ar-rass

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,359

4,912

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Ar-rass Nosara 13,230 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Ar-rass
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

Ar-rass vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ar-rass and Nosara differ by about 59% in total monthly costs ($1,154 vs $1,839 including rent). Ar-rass is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 104% higher in Ar-rass, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $579 in Ar-rass versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $425 in Ar-rass versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 78% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,154 in Ar-rass versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Ar-rass but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Ar-rass the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Ar-rass 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 Ar-rass gentler on the wallet – expenses run 59% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.