Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cheltenham and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,327 in Cheltenham, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Cheltenham
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Cheltenham Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cheltenham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,327

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,327 in Cheltenham versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cheltenham $2,327
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,528 in Cheltenham versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cheltenham $3,528
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,729 in Cheltenham versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cheltenham $4,729
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cheltenham is roughly 27% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cheltenham 72% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.67 £17.75

$12.35 ₡5,539

91.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$105 £79.1

$61.2 ₡27.4K

72.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.03 £8.28

$7.52 ₡3,373

46.68%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.67

$4.41 ₡1,978

10.88%

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

$2.56 £1.92

$1.74 ₡780

47.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.31 ₡587

32.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.76 £5.82

$3.28 ₡1,471

136.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.54 £4.91

$4.47 ₡2,004

46.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.56 ₡701

10.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.71 £1.29

$3.02 ₡1,355

-43.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$2.51 ₡1,125

-20.72%

Eggs

$4.43 £3.33

$3.57 ₡1,603

24.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 £6.15

$7.43 ₡3,333

10.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.59 £7.19

$10.52 ₡4,717

-8.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.09 £9.82

$13.97 ₡6,265

-6.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.10 £2.32

$2.35 ₡1,052

31.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.61 ₡720

-11.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$4.80 ₡2,152

-59.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.49 £2.62

$1.61 ₡724

116.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 £1.14

$3.80 ₡1,703

-60.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.51 £1.13

$3.69 ₡1,657

-59.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.13 ₡507

7.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 £1.07

$2.66 ₡1,191

-46.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.12 £17.35

$5.18 ₡2,321

346.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.63 £7.98

$19.88 ₡8,916

-46.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.86 £2.15

$2.90 ₡1,300

-1.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.93 £2.20

$3.63 ₡1,626

-19.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.44 £2.58

$1.12 ₡504

207.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.5 £69.4

$72.6 ₡32.6K

27.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.53 £2.65

$2.14 ₡958

64.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.57 ₡703

4.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.85 £20.14

$8.52 ₡3,823

215.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.52 ₡682

23.03%

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

$37.1K £27.8K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

71.61%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

19.30%

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

$341 £256

$96.3 ₡43.2K

253.84%

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

$17.10 £12.83

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-52.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.0 £38.24

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-4.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.28 £33.22

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-38.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$39.01 £29.27

$34.91 ₡15.7K

11.74%

Cinema Ticket

$14.00 £10.50

$7.89 ₡3,539

77.44%

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

$2,020 £1,516

$494 ₡221.6K

308.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £18.9K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

112.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.2 £73.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

82.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.22 £36.18

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-12.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 £79.4

$77.9 ₡34.9K

35.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$96.9 £72.7

$79.6 ₡35.7K

21.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,161 £871

$788 ₡353.4K

47.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$929 £697

$794 ₡356.2K

16.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,149 £1,613

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-45.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,617 £1,213

$1,419 ₡636.5K

13.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,704 £4,279

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-17.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,676 £4,258

$1,224 ₡549.0K

363.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,753 £3,566

$864 ₡387.3K

450.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

8.62

-35.73%

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

Last update for Cheltenham: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cheltenham

$929 39.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 14.5% $134

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cheltenham

$409 17.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 54.6% $223

Eating Out

Cheltenham

$350 15.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 39.5% $138

Groceries & Markets

Cheltenham

$292 12.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 20.6% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Cheltenham

$157 6.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 23.6% $37

Getting Around

Cheltenham

$118 5.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 26.2% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cheltenham

$72 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 20.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,161 in Cheltenham and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cheltenham pays 450% 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: $105 in Cheltenham vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $292 vs $352, with Cheltenham cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cheltenham

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

15:09 3:09 PM

08:09 8:09 AM

7 h behind Cheltenham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

115,300

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

Cheltenham Nosara 8,700 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cheltenham
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

Cheltenham vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and transport. The 27% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 450% higher in Cheltenham, 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: $1,161 in Cheltenham versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nosara – a meal for two runs $61.0 versus $105 in Cheltenham. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $2,327 per month in Cheltenham versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 27% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,327 in Cheltenham, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Cheltenham. 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 Cheltenham, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cheltenham 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 27% less than in Cheltenham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.