Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caernarfon and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Caernarfon: $1,196 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Caernarfon
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Caernarfon Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Caernarfon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,196

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,196 in Caernarfon versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Caernarfon $1,196
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,704 in Caernarfon versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Caernarfon $2,704
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,212 in Caernarfon versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Caernarfon $4,212
Nosara $3,818

Living in Caernarfon costs roughly 35% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caernarfon is 11% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.08 £9.82

$12.35 ₡5,539

5.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.8 £68.1

$61.2 ₡27.4K

48.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 £6.90

$7.52 ₡3,373

22.21%

Cappuccino

$3.85 £2.89

$4.41 ₡1,978

-12.70%

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

$2.59 £1.95

$1.74 ₡780

48.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.31 ₡587

49.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.72 £3.54

$3.28 ₡1,471

43.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 £2.94

$4.47 ₡2,004

-12.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.56 ₡701

17.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.26

$3.02 ₡1,355

-44.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.51 ₡1,125

-12.35%

Eggs

$2.32 £1.74

$3.57 ₡1,603

-35.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.01 £6.76

$7.43 ₡3,333

21.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.38 £5.53

$10.52 ₡4,717

-29.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 £11.31

$13.97 ₡6,265

7.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 £1.93

$2.35 ₡1,052

9.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.61 ₡720

-20.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 £0.97

$4.80 ₡2,152

-73.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.61 ₡724

-15.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$3.80 ₡1,703

-56.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$3.69 ₡1,657

-52.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.13 ₡507

20.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$2.66 ₡1,191

-41.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.03 £16.53

$5.18 ₡2,321

325.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.08 £6.81

$19.88 ₡8,916

-54.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.58 £2.68

$2.90 ₡1,300

23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 £2.52

$3.63 ₡1,626

-7.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.60 £4.20

$1.12 ₡504

400.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.7 £50.8

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-6.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 £3.83

$2.14 ₡958

138.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 £1.73

$1.57 ₡703

47.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.10 £18.08

$8.52 ₡3,823

182.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.52 ₡682

29.61%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

76.25%

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

$40.3K £30.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.89%

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

$314 £236

$96.3 ₡43.2K

226.45%

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

$20.96 £15.72

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-41.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.31 £29.49

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-26.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.97 £22.48

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-58.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$15.92 £11.94

$7.89 ₡3,539

101.77%

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

$1,570 £1,178

$494 ₡221.6K

217.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K £17.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

98.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 £80.4

$53.9 ₡24.2K

98.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.70 £37.29

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-10.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.4

$77.9 ₡34.9K

37.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.8 £59.9

$79.6 ₡35.7K

0.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 £497

$788 ₡353.4K

-15.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 £1,204

$1,419 ₡636.5K

13.05%

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)

$3,516 £2,638

$864 ₡387.3K

307.15%

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 Caernarfon: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caernarfon

$375 31.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 50.4% $189

Groceries & Markets

Caernarfon

$270 22.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 30.3% $82

Eating Out

Caernarfon

$228 19.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 7.2% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Caernarfon

$155 12.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 22.4% $35

Getting Around

Caernarfon

$107 8.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 18.4% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Caernarfon

$62 5.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 41.4% $26

Accommodation & Living

Caernarfon

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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 $662 in Caernarfon and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caernarfon pays 307% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $91.0 in Caernarfon vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $270 vs $352, with Caernarfon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Caernarfon

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

20:14 8:14 PM

13:14 1:14 PM

7 h behind Caernarfon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,500

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

Caernarfon Nosara 8,550 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Caernarfon
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

Caernarfon vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caernarfon is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and utilities. The 54% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 307% higher in Caernarfon, 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: $662 in Caernarfon versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Caernarfon – a meal for two runs $91.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,196 per month in Caernarfon versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,196 in Caernarfon versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caernarfon but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Caernarfon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Caernarfon 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, Caernarfon 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 Caernarfon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.