Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Croydon and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $3,041 in Croydon, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

149

Cost of Living Index in Croydon
Learn more

Croydon Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Croydon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,041

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,041 per month in Croydon vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Croydon $3,041
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $4,216 per month in Croydon vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Croydon $4,216
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $5,391 per month in Croydon vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Croydon $5,391
Nosara $3,712

Croydon costs about 65% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Croydon and Nosara sit above the global median – Croydon by 127%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.15 £19.76

$12.22 ₡5,509

113.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.8 £70.1

$60.2 ₡27.1K

54.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.06 £7.60

$7.54 ₡3,399

33.42%

Cappuccino

$4.78 £3.61

$4.31 ₡1,941

10.90%

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

$2.84 £2.14

$1.72 ₡773

65.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.35 ₡608

59.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.81 £6.66

$3.24 ₡1,459

171.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.49 £4.91

$4.48 ₡2,018

44.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 £1.28

$1.57 ₡707

7.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 £1.09

$3.17 ₡1,429

-54.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.97 £2.25

$2.42 ₡1,091

22.73%

Eggs

$3.97 £3.00

$3.57 ₡1,609

11.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.26 £8.51

$7.43 ₡3,349

51.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.91 £5.98

$10.42 ₡4,697

-24.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.49 £9.44

$13.66 ₡6,156

-8.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 £2.26

$2.32 ₡1,044

28.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.08

$1.61 ₡728

-11.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.97 £2.25

$4.74 ₡2,138

-37.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.17 £2.40

$1.66 ₡747

90.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 £1.22

$3.72 ₡1,679

-56.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.02

$3.57 ₡1,611

-62.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 £1.11

$1.10 ₡497

33.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$2.55 ₡1,149

-36.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.32 £17.62

$4.95 ₡2,232

371.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.74 £8.87

$20.01 ₡9,020

-41.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.36 £1.78

$2.79 ₡1,256

-15.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.48

$3.53 ₡1,589

-7.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.37 £2.55

$1.19 ₡537

183.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$134 £101

$72.1 ₡32.5K

85.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.79 £5.13

$2.24 ₡1,011

203.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.26 £2.46

$1.55 ₡701

110.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$53.5 £40.42

$8.86 ₡3,993

503.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.57 ₡708

29.94%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

76.65%

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

$40.6K £30.6K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

17.08%

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

$331 £250

$93.5 ₡42.1K

253.75%

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

$18.18 £13.74

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-48.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.47 £30.59

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-21.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.89 £26.37

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-51.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.24 £10.01

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-62.64%

Cinema Ticket

$12.97 £9.80

$7.84 ₡3,535

65.43%

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

$1,787 £1,351

$490 ₡220.7K

265.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.4K £22.2K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

147.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.9 £57.4

$53.5 ₡24.1K

41.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £41.02

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-2.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$90.4 £68.3

$79.3 ₡35.7K

14.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$150 £113

$78.9 ₡35.6K

90.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,837 £1,388

$786 ₡354.3K

133.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,609 £1,216

$780 ₡351.6K

106.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,517 £1,902

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-34.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,255 £1,704

$1,407 ₡634.4K

60.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,691 £6,568

$6,972 ₡3.1M

24.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,838 £5,167

$1,201 ₡541.3K

469.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,413 £3,335

$876 ₡395.0K

403.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-42.00%

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

Last update for Croydon: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Croydon

$1.6K 52.5%

Nosara

$780 43% 51.5% $829

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Croydon

$389 12.7%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 53.7% $209

Eating Out

Croydon

$374 12.2%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 44% $164

Groceries & Markets

Croydon

$296 9.7%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 18.1% $54

Getting Around

Croydon

$171 5.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 49.1% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Croydon

$167 5.4%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 27.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Croydon

$61 2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 43.2% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,837 in Croydon 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 404% higher in Croydon, 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 $93.0 in Croydon versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $296 in Croydon vs $350 in Nosara – so Croydon wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Croydon

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

02:28 2:28 AM

19:28 7:28 PM

7 h behind Croydon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

173,314

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Croydon Nosara 8,830 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Croydon
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

Croydon vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Croydon is pricier by about 65%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,561 per month in Croydon 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,041 in Croydon and $1,837 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 65%.

Public transport costs about 86% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,837, than in Croydon at $3,041. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Croydon 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, Croydon makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.