Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bentota and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $774 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
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Bentota Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$774

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $774 in Bentota versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Bentota $774
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $896 in Bentota versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Bentota $896
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,018 in Bentota versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Bentota $1,018
Nosara $3,818

Living in Bentota costs roughly 58% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bentota is 43% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.29 LKR 1,421

$12.35 ₡5,539

-65.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$11.97 LKR 3,965

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-80.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.73 LKR 2,560

$7.52 ₡3,373

2.79%

Cappuccino

$2.46 LKR 815

$4.41 ₡1,978

-44.22%

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

$0.68 LKR 225

$1.74 ₡780

-60.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 LKR 82.2

$1.31 ₡587

-80.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 LKR 742

$3.28 ₡1,471

-31.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,016

$4.47 ₡2,004

-31.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.62 LKR 535

$1.56 ₡701

3.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 176

$3.02 ₡1,355

-82.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 LKR 244

$2.51 ₡1,125

-70.52%

Eggs

$1.56 LKR 518

$3.57 ₡1,603

-56.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.03 LKR 4,648

$7.43 ₡3,333

88.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 LKR 1,099

$10.52 ₡4,717

-68.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.62 LKR 1,529

$13.97 ₡6,265

-66.93%

Apples (1kg)

$6.81 LKR 2,257

$2.35 ₡1,052

189.79%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 LKR 241

$1.61 ₡720

-54.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.59 LKR 1,519

$4.80 ₡2,152

-4.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.90 LKR 297

$1.61 ₡724

-44.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.00 LKR 331

$3.80 ₡1,703

-73.68%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 LKR 263

$3.69 ₡1,657

-78.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 LKR 312

$1.13 ₡507

-16.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 LKR 143

$2.66 ₡1,191

-83.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.13 LKR 3,356

$5.18 ₡2,321

95.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.36 LKR 4,424

$19.88 ₡8,916

-32.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 LKR 645

$2.90 ₡1,300

-32.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 LKR 963

$3.63 ₡1,626

-19.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.18 LKR 61.0

$1.12 ₡504

-83.93%

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)

$0.31 LKR 103

$1.57 ₡703

-80.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.87 LKR 289

$8.52 ₡3,823

-89.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 LKR 461

$1.52 ₡682

-8.55%

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

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

71.98%

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

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.25%

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

$54.0 LKR 17.9K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-43.88%

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

$2.23 LKR 739

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-93.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.03 LKR 2,990

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-83.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 LKR 1,417

$7.89 ₡3,539

-45.75%

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

$38.08 LKR 12.6K

$494 ₡221.6K

-92.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,230 LKR 407.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-89.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.80 LKR 5,897

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-67.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.82 LKR 5,573

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-69.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 LKR 26.6K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

3.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.09 LKR 13.9K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-47.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$541 LKR 179.2K

$788 ₡353.4K

-31.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$298 LKR 98.7K

$794 ₡356.2K

-62.48%

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)

$864 ₡387.3K

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 Bentota: 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

Bentota

$298 38.5%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 167% $496

Groceries & Markets

Bentota

$220 28.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 59.9% $132

Eating Out

Bentota

$108 14%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 96% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Bentota

$71 9.1%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 69.9% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bentota

$65 8.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 185% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Bentota

$8.6 * 1.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 921% $79

Getting Around

Bentota

$2.7 * 0.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 3126% $84

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 $541 in Bentota and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $12.00 in Bentota vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $220 vs $352 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Bentota

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

11:21 11:21 AM

23:51 11:51 PM

11 h 30 min behind Bentota

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

37,000

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

Bentota Nosara 17,600 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Bentota
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

Bentota vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bentota is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 138% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,160 in Bentota and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $541 in Bentota versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 60% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $774 per month in Bentota versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 138% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $774 in Bentota versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bentota but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Bentota the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bentota 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, Bentota 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 Bentota gentler on the wallet – expenses run 138% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.