Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Badulla and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $543 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
Learn more

Badulla Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$543

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $543 in Badulla versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Badulla $543
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $877 in Badulla versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Badulla $877
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,211 in Badulla versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Badulla $1,211
Nosara $3,818

Living in Badulla costs roughly 70% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Badulla is 60% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 LKR 1,287

$12.35 ₡5,539

-68.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.05 LKR 8,298

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-59.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.37 LKR 2,442

$7.52 ₡3,373

-1.99%

Cappuccino

$2.55 LKR 844

$4.41 ₡1,978

-42.18%

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

$0.71 LKR 236

$1.74 ₡780

-59.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 89.5

$1.31 ₡587

-79.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 LKR 735

$3.28 ₡1,471

-32.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,015

$4.47 ₡2,004

-31.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 LKR 514

$1.56 ₡701

-0.64%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 174

$3.02 ₡1,355

-82.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 LKR 199

$2.51 ₡1,125

-76.10%

Eggs

$1.66 LKR 551

$3.57 ₡1,603

-53.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.97 LKR 4,627

$7.43 ₡3,333

88.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.56 LKR 1,178

$10.52 ₡4,717

-66.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.62 LKR 2,522

$13.97 ₡6,265

-45.45%

Apples (1kg)

$6.65 LKR 2,202

$2.35 ₡1,052

182.98%

Banana (1kg)

$0.87 LKR 288

$1.61 ₡720

-45.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.35 LKR 1,440

$4.80 ₡2,152

-9.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.33 LKR 439

$1.61 ₡724

-17.39%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 LKR 329

$3.80 ₡1,703

-73.95%

Onion (1kg)

$0.77 LKR 255

$3.69 ₡1,657

-79.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 LKR 287

$1.13 ₡507

-23.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.45 LKR 151

$2.66 ₡1,191

-83.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.13 LKR 3,354

$5.18 ₡2,321

95.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.74 LKR 4,221

$19.88 ₡8,916

-35.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 LKR 628

$2.90 ₡1,300

-34.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 LKR 971

$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)

$0.38 LKR 125

$2.14 ₡958

-82.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 123

$1.57 ₡703

-76.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 LKR 293

$8.52 ₡3,823

-89.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 LKR 456

$1.52 ₡682

-9.21%

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

$36.5K LKR 12.1M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

68.99%

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

$40.7K LKR 13.5M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

17.97%

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

$57.9 LKR 19.2K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-39.92%

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

$4.31 LKR 1,429

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-87.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.13 LKR 6,998

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-60.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.49 LKR 1,488

$7.89 ₡3,539

-43.09%

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

$38.34 LKR 12.7K

$494 ₡221.6K

-92.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,205 LKR 399.2K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-89.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.44 LKR 6,108

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-65.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.32 LKR 5,405

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-70.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.2 LKR 26.6K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

2.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.30 LKR 13.7K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-48.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$76.1 LKR 25.2K

$788 ₡353.4K

-90.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$44.45 LKR 14.7K

$794 ₡356.2K

-94.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.9 LKR 29.8K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-93.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,542 LKR 1.5M

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-34.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$742 LKR 245.8K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-39.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$224 LKR 74.3K

$864 ₡387.3K

-74.01%

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 Badulla: 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

Badulla

$229 42.2%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 53.7% $123

Eating Out

Badulla

$105 19.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 102% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Badulla

$83 15.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 123% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Badulla

$70 12.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 70.8% $50

Accommodation & Living

Badulla

$44 8.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 1687% $750

Sport & Entertainment

Badulla

$9 * 1.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 873% $78

Getting Around

Badulla

$2.2 * 0.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 3789% $85

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 $76.1 in Badulla and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 285% 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 Badulla vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $229 vs $352 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Badulla

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:34 4:34 PM

05:04 5:04 AM

11 h 30 min behind Badulla

🌤 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

Badulla Nosara 17,620 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Badulla
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

Badulla vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 238% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 285% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $76.1 in Badulla versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $38.34 in Badulla 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 Badulla – 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 $543 in Badulla versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Badulla 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, Badulla 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 Badulla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 238% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.