Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cesena and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cesena: $1,646 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Cesena
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Cesena Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cesena

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,646

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Cesena versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cesena $1,646
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,537 in Cesena versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cesena $2,537
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,428 in Cesena versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cesena $3,428
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cesena costs roughly 10% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cesena 22% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.83 €14.97

$12.35 ₡5,539

36.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 €79.6

$61.2 ₡27.4K

46.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.22 €10.87

$7.52 ₡3,373

62.50%

Cappuccino

$2.21 €1.96

$4.41 ₡1,978

-49.89%

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

$2.72 €2.42

$1.74 ₡780

56.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.31 ₡587

-16.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.04 €5.37

$3.28 ₡1,471

84.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.10 €4.53

$4.47 ₡2,004

14.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 €1.20

$1.56 ₡701

-13.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 €1.21

$3.02 ₡1,355

-54.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$2.51 ₡1,125

-21.51%

Eggs

$2.77 €2.47

$3.57 ₡1,603

-22.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.63 €15.68

$7.43 ₡3,333

137.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.91 €10.60

$10.52 ₡4,717

13.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.03 €15.15

$13.97 ₡6,265

21.90%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$2.35 ₡1,052

-17.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.61 ₡720

53.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.39 €2.12

$4.80 ₡2,152

-50.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.99 €3.55

$1.61 ₡724

147.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 €1.43

$3.80 ₡1,703

-57.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.65 €1.47

$3.69 ₡1,657

-55.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.13 ₡507

65.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 €0.30

$2.66 ₡1,191

-87.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.52 €5.80

$5.18 ₡2,321

25.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.79 €6.04

$19.88 ₡8,916

-65.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.22 €1.09

$2.90 ₡1,300

-57.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.53

$3.63 ₡1,626

-52.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.12 ₡504

93.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.55 €34.29

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-46.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.20 €7.30

$2.14 ₡958

283.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.57 ₡703

26.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.88 €30.13

$8.52 ₡3,823

297.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.03 €1.81

$1.52 ₡682

33.55%

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

$36.5K €32.5K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

68.85%

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

$34.9K €31.0K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

1.07%

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

$189 €168

$96.3 ₡43.2K

96.12%

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

$9.75 €8.67

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-72.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.74 €27.34

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-42.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 €45.16

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-29.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.22 €12.65

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-59.27%

Cinema Ticket

$9.99 €8.89

$7.89 ₡3,539

26.62%

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

$537 €478

$494 ₡221.6K

8.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,900 €8,806

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-16.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.7 €80.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

68.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.93 €32.85

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-33.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 €73.3

$77.9 ₡34.9K

5.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.7 €70.0

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-1.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$660 €587

$788 ₡353.4K

-16.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$591 €525

$794 ₡356.2K

-25.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,174 €1,045

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-70.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$925 €823

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-34.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,953 €2,627

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-57.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,583 €2,298

$1,224 ₡549.0K

111.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,750 €1,557

$864 ₡387.3K

102.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.3

8.62

-61.72%

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

Last update for Cesena: 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

Cesena

$591 35.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 34.5% $204

Groceries & Markets

Cesena

$306 18.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 15% $46

Eating Out

Cesena

$253 15.4%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 16.4% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cesena

$229 13.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 19% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Cesena

$130 7.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 7.6% $9.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cesena

$71 4.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 23.5% $17

Getting Around

Cesena

$65 4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 33.3% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $660 in Cesena and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cesena pays 103% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $89.0 in Cesena vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $306 vs $352, with Cesena cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cesena

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

22:26 10:26 PM

14:26 2:26 PM

8 h behind Cesena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

96,758

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cesena Nosara 9,860 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cesena
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

Cesena vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cesena and Nosara differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $1,839 including rent). Cesena is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 103% higher in Cesena, 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: $660 in Cesena versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cesena – a meal for two runs $89.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,646 per month in Cesena versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,646 in Cesena versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Cesena but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Cesena 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, Cesena 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 Cesena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.