Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cesis and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cesis: $1,102 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Cesis
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Cesis Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cesis

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,102

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,102 in Cesis versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cesis $1,102
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,829 in Cesis versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cesis $1,829
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,556 in Cesis versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cesis $2,556
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cesis costs roughly 40% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cesis is 18% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.49 €14.67

$12.35 ₡5,539

33.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.9 €59.5

$61.2 ₡27.4K

9.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.00 €8.01

$7.52 ₡3,373

19.68%

Cappuccino

$3.68 €3.28

$4.41 ₡1,978

-16.55%

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

$1.62 €1.44

$1.74 ₡780

-6.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.31 ₡587

-9.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 €5.00

$3.28 ₡1,471

71.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.08 €4.52

$4.47 ₡2,004

13.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.56 ₡701

-23.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 €1.31

$3.02 ₡1,355

-50.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 €2.21

$2.51 ₡1,125

-0.80%

Eggs

$2.73 €2.43

$3.57 ₡1,603

-23.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.66 €9.48

$7.43 ₡3,333

43.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.42 €7.49

$10.52 ₡4,717

-19.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.46 €11.98

$13.97 ₡6,265

-3.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.35 ₡1,052

-12.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 €1.60

$1.61 ₡720

11.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$4.80 ₡2,152

-48.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.97 €2.65

$1.61 ₡724

84.47%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 €0.73

$3.80 ₡1,703

-78.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.90 €0.80

$3.69 ₡1,657

-75.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.13 ₡507

53.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 €0.82

$2.66 ₡1,191

-65.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$5.18 ₡2,321

31.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.92 €7.05

$19.88 ₡8,916

-60.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.52

$2.90 ₡1,300

-41.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.80

$3.63 ₡1,626

-44.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.28 €2.92

$2.14 ₡958

53.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.57 ₡703

-37.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.96 €15.97

$8.52 ₡3,823

110.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.81

$1.52 ₡682

34.21%

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

$27.3K €24.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

26.44%

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

$30.3K €27.0K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-12.22%

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

$368 €328

$96.3 ₡43.2K

282.67%

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

$19.14 €17.02

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-46.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.72 €17.54

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-63.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$11.34 €10.09

$7.89 ₡3,539

43.73%

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

$683 €608

$494 ₡221.6K

38.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.2K €16.2K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

53.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.9 €60.4

$53.9 ₡24.2K

25.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.0 €45.32

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-8.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 €75.2

$77.9 ₡34.9K

8.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 €121

$79.6 ₡35.7K

70.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

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)

$283 €252

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-80.06%

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)

$1,095 €974

$864 ₡387.3K

26.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

8.62

-44.66%

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

Last update for Cesis: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cesis

$407 37%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 54.4% $222

Groceries & Markets

Cesis

$259 23.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 36.3% $94

Eating Out

Cesis

$253 22.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 16.1% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Cesis

$153 13.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 21.4% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Cesis

$23 * 2.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 285% $65

Getting Around

Cesis

$8.2 * 0.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 969% $79

Accommodation & Living

Cesis

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Cesis pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $67.0 in Cesis vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $259 vs $352, with Cesis cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇱🇻 Cesis

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

15:46 3:46 PM

9 h behind Cesis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,673

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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Highest

Between locations

Cesis Nosara 10,290 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cesis
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

Cesis vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cesis is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, utilities, and leisure. The 67% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 27% higher in Cesis, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Childcare runs $683 in Cesis versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cesis – a meal for two runs $67.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,102 in Cesis versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cesis but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Cesis the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cesis 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, Cesis 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 Cesis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.