Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Banjul and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Banjul: $674 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Banjul
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Banjul Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Banjul

🇬🇲 Gambia

$674

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $674 per month in Banjul vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Banjul $674
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $1,184 per month in Banjul vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Banjul $1,184
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $1,695 per month in Banjul vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Banjul $1,695
Nosara $3,712

Banjul is about 63% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Banjul sits 50% below the global median, while Nosara is 37% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.29 GMD 532

$12.22 ₡5,509

-40.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.0 GMD 5,328

$60.2 ₡27.1K

21.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.91 GMD 578

$7.54 ₡3,399

4.91%

Cappuccino

$3.76 GMD 274

$4.31 ₡1,941

-12.76%

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

$2.66 GMD 194

$1.72 ₡773

54.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.54 GMD 112

$1.35 ₡608

14.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.45 GMD 398

$3.24 ₡1,459

68.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.44 GMD 324

$4.48 ₡2,018

-0.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 GMD 101

$1.57 ₡707

-12.10%

White Bread (500g)

$0.64 GMD 46.87

$3.17 ₡1,429

-79.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 GMD 94.5

$2.42 ₡1,091

-46.69%

Eggs

$1.97 GMD 144

$3.57 ₡1,609

-44.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.16 GMD 450

$7.43 ₡3,349

-17.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.63 GMD 192

$10.42 ₡4,697

-74.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.45 GMD 398

$13.66 ₡6,156

-60.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 GMD 150

$2.32 ₡1,044

-11.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.22 GMD 88.7

$1.61 ₡728

-24.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 GMD 128

$4.74 ₡2,138

-62.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 GMD 96.7

$1.66 ₡747

-20.48%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 GMD 64.4

$3.72 ₡1,679

-76.34%

Onion (1kg)

$1.00 GMD 73.0

$3.57 ₡1,611

-71.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 GMD 18.31

$1.10 ₡497

-77.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 GMD 44.59

$2.55 ₡1,149

-76.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.66 GMD 122

$4.95 ₡2,232

-66.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.29 GMD 459

$20.01 ₡9,020

-68.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 GMD 111

$2.79 ₡1,256

-45.16%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 GMD 123

$3.53 ₡1,589

-52.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 GMD 13.59

$1.19 ₡537

-84.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.40 GMD 468

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-91.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 GMD 51.7

$1.55 ₡701

-54.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.12 GMD 301

$8.86 ₡3,993

-53.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 GMD 79.1

$1.57 ₡708

-31.21%

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

$2,616 GMD 191.0K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

-88.00%

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

$3,205 GMD 233.9K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-90.75%

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

$30.89 GMD 2,255

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-66.94%

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

$14.21 GMD 1,038

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-59.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.37 GMD 3,312

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-11.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.56 GMD 1,720

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-67.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.61 GMD 994

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-61.60%

Cinema Ticket

$3.37 GMD 246

$7.84 ₡3,535

-57.02%

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

$6.59 GMD 481

$490 ₡220.7K

-98.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$136 GMD 9,921

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-98.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 GMD 4,029

$53.5 ₡24.1K

3.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.48 GMD 3,174

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-22.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.0 GMD 7,228

$79.3 ₡35.7K

24.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.6 GMD 6,251

$78.9 ₡35.6K

8.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$101 GMD 7,347

$786 ₡354.3K

-87.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$81.2 GMD 5,924

$780 ₡351.6K

-89.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 GMD 15.6K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-94.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$138 GMD 10.1K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-90.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,438 GMD 104.9K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-79.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,160 GMD 84.7K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

-3.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$60.6 GMD 4,426

$876 ₡395.0K

-93.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

74.01%

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

Last update for Banjul: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Banjul

$180 26.9%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 16.3% $29

Groceries & Markets

Banjul

$149 22.3%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 135% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Banjul

$127 19.1%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 5.6% $7.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Banjul

$90 13.5%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 99% $90

Accommodation & Living

Banjul

$81 12.1%

Nosara

$780 43% 861% $699

Sport & Entertainment

Banjul

$30 4.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 188% $57

Getting Around

Banjul

$11 * 1.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 712% $76

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $101 in Banjul versus $786 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1345% higher in Nosara, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73.0 in Banjul versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $149 in Banjul vs $350 in Nosara – so Banjul wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇲 Banjul

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

06:24 6:24 AM

00:24 12:24 AM

6 h behind Banjul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,356 Capital

4,912

💱 Currency

Gambian Dalasi GMD D

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 GMD = 1.37 USD

100 GMD = 1.22 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GMD – Gambian Dalasi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇲 Gambian Dalasi (D)

Gambian Dalasi exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 73 GMD (100 GMD = 1.37 USD). 1 EUR = 81.88 GMD (100 GMD = 1.22 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GMD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Banjul Nosara 7,510 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Banjul
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

Banjul vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nosara is pricier by about 173%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,010 per month in Banjul and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Banjul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $674 in Banjul and $1,837 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 173%.

Public transport costs about 1026% less in Banjul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Banjul, where all-in costs run around $674, than in Nosara at $1,837. In Banjul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Banjul – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Banjul. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.