Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,398 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

118

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cambridge

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,398

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,398 in Cambridge versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cambridge $2,398
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,402 in Cambridge versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cambridge $3,402
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,406 in Cambridge versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cambridge $4,406
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cambridge is roughly 30% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.30 CA$24.45

$12.35 ₡5,539

40.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.8 CA$78.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-8.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.96 CA$14.07

$7.52 ₡3,373

32.45%

Cappuccino

$3.51 CA$4.96

$4.41 ₡1,978

-20.41%

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

$1.98 CA$2.79

$1.74 ₡780

13.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 CA$1.86

$1.31 ₡587

0.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.11 CA$7.22

$3.28 ₡1,471

55.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.24 CA$8.82

$4.47 ₡2,004

39.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.06 CA$2.91

$1.56 ₡701

32.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 CA$3.36

$3.02 ₡1,355

-21.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 CA$4.36

$2.51 ₡1,125

23.11%

Eggs

$3.20 CA$4.53

$3.57 ₡1,603

-10.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.84 CA$15.33

$7.43 ₡3,333

45.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.33 CA$16.02

$10.52 ₡4,717

7.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.30 CA$20.22

$13.97 ₡6,265

2.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.95 CA$5.58

$2.35 ₡1,052

68.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 CA$1.67

$1.61 ₡720

-26.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.00 CA$5.66

$4.80 ₡2,152

-16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.68 CA$5.20

$1.61 ₡724

128.57%

Potato (1kg)

$2.61 CA$3.69

$3.80 ₡1,703

-31.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 CA$2.79

$3.69 ₡1,657

-46.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 CA$2.88

$1.13 ₡507

80.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 CA$2.00

$2.66 ₡1,191

-46.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.82 CA$18.13

$5.18 ₡2,321

147.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.20 CA$17.25

$19.88 ₡8,916

-38.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.57 CA$3.63

$2.90 ₡1,300

-11.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.85 CA$5.44

$3.63 ₡1,626

6.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.44 CA$3.44

$1.12 ₡504

117.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.9 CA$90.3

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-12.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.42 CA$3.42

$2.14 ₡958

13.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 CA$2.52

$1.57 ₡703

13.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.60 CA$31.95

$8.52 ₡3,823

165.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.16 CA$1.63

$1.52 ₡682

-23.68%

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

$25.8K CA$36.5K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

19.60%

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

$18.5K CA$26.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-46.32%

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

$149 CA$211

$96.3 ₡43.2K

54.70%

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

$42.05 CA$59.5

$35.89 ₡16.1K

17.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.52 CA$70.0

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-7.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.59 CA$40.42

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-60.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$10.28 CA$14.53

$7.89 ₡3,539

30.29%

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

$528 CA$746

$494 ₡221.6K

6.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K CA$22.8K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

36.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 CA$76.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

0.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.82 CA$42.16

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-46.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.3 CA$105

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-4.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 CA$146

$79.6 ₡35.7K

29.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,305 CA$1,845

$788 ₡353.4K

65.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,299 CA$1,837

$794 ₡356.2K

63.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,509 CA$3,547

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-36.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,989 CA$2,812

$1,419 ₡636.5K

40.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,236 CA$5,989

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-38.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,850 CA$5,443

$1,224 ₡549.0K

214.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,938 CA$4,153

$864 ₡387.3K

240.18%

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 Cambridge: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.3K 54.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 38.9% $505

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$345 14.4%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 2.2% $7.6

Eating Out

Cambridge

$262 10.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 19% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$241 10%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 22.8% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$118 4.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 2% $2.4

Getting Around

Cambridge

$85 3.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 2.5% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$49 2.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 77.8% $38

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,305 in Cambridge and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 240% 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: $56.0 in Cambridge vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $345 vs $352 per month, with Cambridge cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Cambridge

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

17:49 5:49 PM

15:49 3:49 PM

2 h behind Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

138,479

4,912

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.707 USD

1 CAD = 0.629 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1.41 CAD (1 CAD = 0.707 USD). 1 EUR = 1.59 CAD (1 CAD = 0.629 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 CAD in detail →

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Between locations

Cambridge Nosara 3,750 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

Cambridge vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara is cheaper overall, especially in eating out and utilities. The 30% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 240% higher in Cambridge, 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: $1,305 in Cambridge versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Cambridge pay roughly 2% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Nosara – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $56.0 in Cambridge. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,398 in Cambridge, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Cambridge. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nosara is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cambridge, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cambridge 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 30% less than in Cambridge. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.