Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $3,193 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

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

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,193

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/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.

A single person spends $3,193 per month in Cambridge vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Cambridge $3,193
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $4,497 per month in Cambridge vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Cambridge $4,497
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $5,801 per month in Cambridge vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Cambridge $5,801
Nosara $3,712

Cambridge costs about 74% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cambridge and Nosara sit above the global median – Cambridge by 138%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.44 £16.20

$12.22 ₡5,509

75.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 £67.6

$60.2 ₡27.1K

48.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$7.54 ₡3,399

37.80%

Cappuccino

$4.65 £3.51

$4.31 ₡1,941

7.89%

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

$2.82 £2.13

$1.72 ₡773

63.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.43

$1.35 ₡608

40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.64 £5.77

$3.24 ₡1,459

135.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.93

$4.48 ₡2,018

45.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.57 ₡707

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 £1.37

$3.17 ₡1,429

-42.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.48 £1.88

$2.42 ₡1,091

2.48%

Eggs

$4.56 £3.44

$3.57 ₡1,609

27.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.59 £7.25

$7.43 ₡3,349

29.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 £6.99

$10.42 ₡4,697

-11.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.65

$13.66 ₡6,156

12.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 £2.20

$2.32 ₡1,044

25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.61 ₡728

6.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.66 £2.77

$4.74 ₡2,138

-22.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.43 £2.59

$1.66 ₡747

106.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.33

$3.72 ₡1,679

-52.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 £1.39

$3.57 ₡1,611

-48.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.10 ₡497

18.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.48

$2.55 ₡1,149

-23.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £17.07

$4.95 ₡2,232

356.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 £8.44

$20.01 ₡9,020

-44.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.48

$2.79 ₡1,256

17.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 £3.11

$3.53 ₡1,589

16.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.94

$1.19 ₡537

226.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.4 £70.6

$72.1 ₡32.5K

29.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.05 £6.09

$2.24 ₡1,011

259.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.57 £1.94

$1.55 ₡701

65.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.3 £38.03

$8.86 ₡3,993

468.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.57 ₡708

33.12%

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

$38.2K £28.9K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

75.31%

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

$40.8K £30.8K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

17.79%

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

$336 £254

$93.5 ₡42.1K

259.58%

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

$18.66 £14.10

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-46.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.12 £31.83

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-18.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.6 £48.79

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-9.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.61 £15.57

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-41.85%

Cinema Ticket

$17.06 £12.89

$7.84 ₡3,535

117.60%

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

$2,538 £1,918

$490 ₡220.7K

418.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.2K £26.6K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

195.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 £66.6

$53.5 ₡24.1K

64.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.02 £35.54

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-15.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.3 £70.5

$79.3 ₡35.7K

17.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £97.2

$78.9 ₡35.6K

63.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 £1,572

$786 ₡354.3K

164.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,717 £1,297

$780 ₡351.6K

120.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,168 £2,394

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-17.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,686 £2,030

$1,407 ₡634.4K

90.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,021 £6,817

$6,972 ₡3.1M

29.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,852 £4,422

$1,201 ₡541.3K

387.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,402 £3,327

$876 ₡395.0K

402.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

8.62

-41.53%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4%

Nosara

$780 43% 54.6% $937

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$397 12.6%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 54.6% $217

Eating Out

Cambridge

$329 10.4%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 36.2% $119

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$325 10.3%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 7.7% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$161 5.1%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 25.1% $40

Getting Around

Cambridge

$130 4.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 33.1% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$99 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 11.8% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,080 in Cambridge versus $786 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 402% higher in Cambridge, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Cambridge versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $325 in Cambridge vs $350 in Nosara – so Cambridge wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:05 10:05 AM

03:05 3:05 AM

7 h behind Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Nosara 8,850 km ≈ 12 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

Yes – Cambridge is pricier by about 74%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,790 per month in Cambridge and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $89.0 in Cambridge and $60.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,193 in Cambridge and $1,837 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 74%.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,837, than in Cambridge at $3,193. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cambridge it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Nosara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cambridge makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.