Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chilanga and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Chilanga: $592 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

29

Cost of Living Index in Chilanga
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Chilanga Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Chilanga

🇿🇲 Zambia

$592

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $592 in Chilanga versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Chilanga $592
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $941 in Chilanga versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Chilanga $941
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,290 in Chilanga versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Chilanga $1,290
Nosara $3,818

Living in Chilanga costs roughly 68% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Chilanga is 56% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.68 ZMW 113

$12.35 ₡5,539

-54.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.64 ZMW 610

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-49.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 ZMW 99.5

$7.52 ₡3,373

-33.51%

Cappuccino

$2.86 ZMW 56.9

$4.41 ₡1,978

-35.15%

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

$0.80 ZMW 15.85

$1.74 ₡780

-54.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ZMW 9.21

$1.31 ₡587

-64.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 ZMW 24.63

$3.28 ₡1,471

-62.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 ZMW 44.19

$4.47 ₡2,004

-50.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 ZMW 34.30

$1.56 ₡701

10.26%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 ZMW 24.46

$3.02 ₡1,355

-59.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.14 ZMW 42.58

$2.51 ₡1,125

-14.74%

Eggs

$2.01 ZMW 39.92

$3.57 ₡1,603

-43.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.58 ZMW 211

$7.43 ₡3,333

42.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.27 ZMW 125

$10.52 ₡4,717

-40.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.61 ZMW 132

$13.97 ₡6,265

-52.68%

Apples (1kg)

$3.43 ZMW 68.3

$2.35 ₡1,052

45.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 ZMW 47.42

$1.61 ₡720

47.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 ZMW 74.0

$4.80 ₡2,152

-22.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.54 ZMW 30.59

$1.61 ₡724

-4.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.64 ZMW 52.5

$3.80 ₡1,703

-30.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 ZMW 35.83

$3.69 ₡1,657

-51.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 ZMW 22.01

$1.13 ₡507

-1.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ZMW 15.11

$2.66 ₡1,191

-71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 ZMW 61.4

$5.18 ₡2,321

-40.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.33 ZMW 205

$19.88 ₡8,916

-48.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 ZMW 28.40

$2.90 ₡1,300

-50.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 ZMW 47.15

$3.63 ₡1,626

-34.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.60 ZMW 51.8

$2.14 ₡958

21.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 ZMW 30.51

$1.57 ₡703

-2.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.22 ZMW 104

$8.52 ₡3,823

-38.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.50 ZMW 29.91

$1.52 ₡682

-1.32%

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

$7,599 ZMW 151.1K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-64.83%

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

$27.6K ZMW 549.7K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-19.93%

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

$82.5 ZMW 1,640

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-14.36%

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

$10.31 ZMW 205

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-71.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$54.4 ZMW 1,082

$53.6 ₡24.0K

1.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$6.23 ZMW 124

$7.89 ₡3,539

-21.04%

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

$140 ZMW 2,786

$494 ₡221.6K

-71.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.6K ZMW 330.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

39.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.42 ZMW 466

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-56.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.73 ZMW 313

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-71.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$44.76 ZMW 890

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-42.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.9 ZMW 1,450

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-8.43%

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)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

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)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

236.43%

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

Last update for Chilanga: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Chilanga

$241 40.7%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 46.4% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chilanga

$147 24.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 26.2% $39

Eating Out

Chilanga

$110 18.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 91.8% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Chilanga

$71 11.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 70.2% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Chilanga

$12 * 2.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 601% $75

Getting Around

Chilanga

$10 * 1.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 748% $77

Accommodation & Living

Chilanga

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $31.00 in Chilanga vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $241 vs $352 per month, with Chilanga cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇲 Chilanga

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

23:07 11:07 PM

15:07 3:07 PM

8 h behind Chilanga

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

107,051

4,912

💱 Currency

Zambian Kwacha ZMW ZK

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZMW = 5.03 USD

100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to ZMW – Zambian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇲 Zambian Kwacha (ZK)

Zambian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 19.89 ZMW (100 ZMW = 5.03 USD). 1 EUR = 22.36 ZMW (100 ZMW = 4.47 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to ZMW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chilanga Nosara 12,850 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Chilanga
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

Chilanga vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chilanga and Nosara differ by about 211% in total monthly costs ($592 vs $1,839 including rent). Chilanga is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $887 in Chilanga and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $140 in Chilanga 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 Chilanga – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $592 in Chilanga versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Chilanga but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Chilanga 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, Chilanga 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 Chilanga gentler on the wallet – expenses run 211% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.