Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bujumbura and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Bujumbura: $659 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Bujumbura
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Bujumbura Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Bujumbura

🇧🇮 Burundi

$659

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $659 in Bujumbura versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Bujumbura $659
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,170 in Bujumbura versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Bujumbura $1,170
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,681 in Bujumbura versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Bujumbura $1,681
Nosara $3,712

Living in Bujumbura costs roughly 64% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bujumbura is 51% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 BIF 11.6K

$12.22 ₡5,509

-68.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.9 BIF 193.3K

$60.2 ₡27.1K

7.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.76 BIF 11.2K

$7.54 ₡3,399

-50.13%

Cappuccino

$3.08 BIF 9,190

$4.31 ₡1,941

-28.54%

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

$1.79 BIF 5,323

$1.72 ₡773

4.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 BIF 4,099

$1.35 ₡608

2.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 BIF 6,656

$3.24 ₡1,459

-31.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.49 BIF 19.4K

$4.48 ₡2,018

44.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 BIF 3,094

$1.57 ₡707

-33.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 BIF 6,146

$3.17 ₡1,429

-35.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 BIF 5,813

$2.42 ₡1,091

-19.42%

Eggs

$3.56 BIF 10.6K

$3.57 ₡1,609

-0.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.30 BIF 24.7K

$7.43 ₡3,349

11.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.40 BIF 34.0K

$10.42 ₡4,697

9.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.50 BIF 34.3K

$13.66 ₡6,156

-15.81%

Apples (1kg)

$5.81 BIF 17.3K

$2.32 ₡1,044

150.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 BIF 6,156

$4.74 ₡2,138

-56.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 BIF 4,906

$1.66 ₡747

-0.60%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.00 BIF 5,958

$2.55 ₡1,149

-21.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 BIF 33.2K

$20.01 ₡9,020

-44.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.20 BIF 6,563

$2.79 ₡1,256

-21.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 BIF 12.3K

$3.53 ₡1,589

16.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 BIF 3,131

$1.19 ₡537

-11.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.29 BIF 90.3K

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-57.97%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 BIF 15.0K

$2.24 ₡1,011

125.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.41 BIF 10.2K

$1.55 ₡701

120.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$29.83 BIF 88.9K

$8.86 ₡3,993

236.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 BIF 4,041

$1.57 ₡708

-13.38%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

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

$7.83 BIF 23.3K

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-77.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.3 BIF 203.4K

$51.5 ₡23.2K

32.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.83 BIF 80.0K

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-62.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$1.66 BIF 4,947

$7.84 ₡3,535

-78.83%

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

$102 BIF 303.3K

$490 ₡220.7K

-79.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,953 BIF 29.7M

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-16.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$427 BIF 1.3M

$786 ₡354.3K

-45.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.7 BIF 267.2K

$780 ₡351.6K

-88.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,337 BIF 4.0M

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-65.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$264 BIF 785.6K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-81.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,055 BIF 6.1M

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-70.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,616 BIF 4.8M

$1,201 ₡541.3K

34.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$374 BIF 1.1M

$876 ₡395.0K

-57.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.17

8.62

64.39%

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

Last update for Bujumbura: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bujumbura

$280 * 43.2%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 24.6% $69

Eating Out

Bujumbura

$116 17.9%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 80.1% $93

Accommodation & Living

Bujumbura

$90 13.8%

Nosara

$780 43% 770% $690

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bujumbura

$76 * 11.7%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 137% $104

Getting Around

Bujumbura

$57 8.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 53.5% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Bujumbura

$30 4.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 189% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Bujumbura

- * 0%

Nosara

$120 6.6%

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 $427 in Bujumbura and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 135% 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: $65.0 in Bujumbura vs $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $280 vs $350, with Bujumbura cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇮 Bujumbura

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:17 4:17 PM

08:17 8:17 AM

8 h behind Bujumbura

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

658,859

4,912

💱 Currency

Burundian Franc BIF Fr

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 BIF = 3.36 USD

10,000 BIF = 2.99 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to BIF – Burundian Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇮 Burundian Franc (Fr)

Burundian Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,980 BIF (10,000 BIF = 3.36 USD). 1 EUR = 3,339 BIF (10,000 BIF = 2.99 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to BIF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bujumbura Nosara 12,810 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Bujumbura
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

Bujumbura vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bujumbura wins on cost – living expenses run 179% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bujumbura the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 135% 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: $427 in Bujumbura versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $659 per month in Bujumbura versus $1,837 in Nosara – a 179% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Bujumbura runs roughly 138% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $659 in Bujumbura versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bujumbura but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Bujumbura the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bujumbura delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $659 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bujumbura hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bujumbura 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 Bujumbura gentler on the wallet – expenses run 179% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.