Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bedford and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,097 in Bedford, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bedford outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

102

Cost of Living Index in Bedford
Learn more

Bedford Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Bedford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,097

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,097 per month in Bedford vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Bedford $2,097
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,291 per month in Bedford vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Bedford $3,291
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,486 per month in Bedford vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Bedford $4,486
Nosara $3,818

Bedford costs about 14% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bedford and Nosara sit above the global median – Bedford by 55%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.10 £15.08

$12.35 ₡5,539

62.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

41.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$7.52 ₡3,373

41.62%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$4.41 ₡1,978

4.08%

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

$2.03 £1.52

$1.74 ₡780

16.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.31 ₡587

-7.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.45 £4.84

$3.28 ₡1,471

96.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 £4.38

$4.47 ₡2,004

30.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.56 ₡701

8.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 £1.10

$3.02 ₡1,355

-51.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$2.51 ₡1,125

-33.07%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.85

$3.57 ₡1,603

6.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$7.43 ₡3,333

22.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.96 £6.72

$10.52 ₡4,717

-14.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.62 £9.47

$13.97 ₡6,265

-9.66%

Apples (1kg)

$3.26 £2.44

$2.35 ₡1,052

38.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.61 ₡720

-19.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 £1.85

$4.80 ₡2,152

-48.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$1.61 ₡724

98.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$3.80 ₡1,703

-65.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$3.69 ₡1,657

-64.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 £0.77

$1.13 ₡507

-8.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.97

$2.66 ₡1,191

-51.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.05 £17.29

$5.18 ₡2,321

344.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.65 £7.99

$19.88 ₡8,916

-46.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 £1.94

$2.90 ₡1,300

-11.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 £1.77

$3.63 ₡1,626

-34.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.56 £1.92

$1.12 ₡504

128.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.99 £3.74

$2.14 ₡958

133.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.57 ₡703

-8.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.92 £17.95

$8.52 ₡3,823

180.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.52 ₡682

26.32%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

73.39%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

17.40%

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

$316 £237

$96.3 ₡43.2K

228.25%

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

$17.63 £13.22

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-50.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.85 £29.90

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-25.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.86 £27.66

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-48.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £11.93

$7.89 ₡3,539

101.52%

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

$937 £703

$494 ₡221.6K

89.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.6K £16.2K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

81.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.92 £17.95

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-55.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.54 £19.16

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-53.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.6 £59.7

$77.9 ₡34.9K

2.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.7 £65.1

$79.6 ₡35.7K

8.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,115 £837

$788 ₡353.4K

41.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$952 £714

$794 ₡356.2K

19.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,353 £1,766

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-40.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,998 £1,499

$1,419 ₡636.5K

40.75%

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)

$3,170 £2,378

$864 ₡387.3K

267.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.67

8.62

-45.82%

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

Last update for Bedford: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bedford

$952 45.4%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 16.6% $158

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bedford

$374 17.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 50.3% $188

Eating Out

Bedford

$305 14.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 30.5% $93

Groceries & Markets

Bedford

$279 13.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 26.4% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Bedford

$97 4.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 23.7% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Bedford

$69 3.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 27.2% $19

Getting Around

Bedford

$22 * 1.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 289% $65

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,115 in Bedford versus $788 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 267% higher in Bedford, 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 $87.0 in Bedford versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $279 in Bedford vs $352 in Nosara – so Bedford wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bedford

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:06 10:06 AM

03:06 3:06 AM

7 h behind Bedford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,000

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bedford Nosara 8,810 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Bedford
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

Bedford vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bedford costs about 14% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,146 per month in Bedford and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, 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 $2,097 in Bedford and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 14%.

Kindergarten costs $937 per month in Bedford and $494 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Bedford at $2,097. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bedford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nosara costs $1,839 versus $2,097 in Bedford. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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