Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bridgend and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,403 in Bridgend, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Bridgend
Learn more

Bridgend Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Bridgend

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,403

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,403 in Bridgend versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Bridgend $2,403
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,539 in Bridgend versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Bridgend $3,539
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,675 in Bridgend versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Bridgend $4,675
Nosara $3,818

Living in Bridgend is roughly 31% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bridgend 78% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.59 £15.44

$12.35 ₡5,539

66.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 £64.6

$61.2 ₡27.4K

40.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.60 £7.95

$7.52 ₡3,373

40.96%

Cappuccino

$4.86 £3.64

$4.41 ₡1,978

10.20%

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

$2.52 £1.89

$1.74 ₡780

44.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.31 ₡587

36.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.75 £5.06

$3.28 ₡1,471

105.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.37 £4.78

$4.47 ₡2,004

42.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.56 ₡701

4.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.37

$3.02 ₡1,355

-39.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.73 £2.05

$2.51 ₡1,125

8.76%

Eggs

$6.25 £4.69

$3.57 ₡1,603

75.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 £6.93

$7.43 ₡3,333

24.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.63 £8.72

$10.52 ₡4,717

10.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.48 £10.87

$13.97 ₡6,265

3.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$2.35 ₡1,052

25.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.61 ₡720

-3.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.74 £2.05

$4.80 ₡2,152

-42.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.30 £2.48

$1.61 ₡724

104.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$3.80 ₡1,703

-56.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$3.69 ₡1,657

-58.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.13 ₡507

7.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$2.66 ₡1,191

-40.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.75 £17.82

$5.18 ₡2,321

358.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.44 £7.83

$19.88 ₡8,916

-47.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.97 £2.23

$2.90 ₡1,300

2.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.19 £2.40

$3.63 ₡1,626

-12.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.40 £2.55

$1.12 ₡504

203.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.9 £73.4

$72.6 ₡32.6K

34.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.84 £3.63

$2.14 ₡958

126.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.57 ₡703

29.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.85 £19.39

$8.52 ₡3,823

203.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.52 ₡682

32.89%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.42%

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

$50.8K £38.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

47.22%

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

$360 £270

$96.3 ₡43.2K

273.90%

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

$25.43 £19.08

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-29.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.20 £26.40

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-34.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.82 £35.88

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-33.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.51 £7.89

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-69.89%

Cinema Ticket

$13.12 £9.85

$7.89 ₡3,539

66.29%

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

$1,617 £1,213

$494 ₡221.6K

227.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.9K £16.5K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

85.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.5 £65.6

$53.9 ₡24.2K

62.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.20 £33.91

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-18.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 £66.1

$77.9 ₡34.9K

13.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.1 £68.3

$79.6 ₡35.7K

14.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,219 £914

$788 ₡353.4K

54.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$998 £749

$794 ₡356.2K

25.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 £856

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-71.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 £1,253

$1,419 ₡636.5K

17.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,014 £3,761

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-27.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,889

$1,224 ₡549.0K

214.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,290 £1,718

$864 ₡387.3K

165.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

8.62

-40.95%

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

Last update for Bridgend: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bridgend

$998 41.5%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 20.4% $203

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bridgend

$421 17.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 55.8% $235

Groceries & Markets

Bridgend

$325 13.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 8.3% $27

Eating Out

Bridgend

$318 13.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 33.5% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Bridgend

$140 5.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 14.4% $20

Getting Around

Bridgend

$126 5.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 31.1% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Bridgend

$74 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 18% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,219 in Bridgend and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bridgend pays 165% 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: $86.0 in Bridgend vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $325 vs $352, with Bridgend cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bridgend

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

19:42 7:42 PM

12:42 12:42 PM

7 h behind Bridgend

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

46,757

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 19, 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 19, 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

Bridgend Nosara 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Bridgend
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

Bridgend vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bridgend and Nosara differ by about 31% in total monthly costs ($2,403 vs $1,839 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 165% higher in Bridgend, 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: $1,219 in Bridgend versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,617 in Bridgend versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bridgend pay roughly 8% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,403 in Bridgend, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Bridgend. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara 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, Bridgend 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 31% less than in Bridgend. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.