Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dien Bien Phu and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Dien Bien Phu: $770 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Dien Bien Phu
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Dien Bien Phu Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Dien Bien Phu

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$770

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $770 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Dien Bien Phu $770
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,231 in Dien Bien Phu versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Dien Bien Phu $1,231
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,692 in Dien Bien Phu versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Dien Bien Phu $1,692
Nosara $3,818

Living in Dien Bien Phu costs roughly 58% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Dien Bien Phu is 43% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.03 ₫52.6K

$12.35 ₡5,539

-83.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.34 ₫500.7K

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-68.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.39 ₫113.6K

$7.52 ₡3,373

-41.62%

Cappuccino

$1.64 ₫42.5K

$4.41 ₡1,978

-62.81%

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

$0.51 ₫13.1K

$1.74 ₡780

-70.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 ₫8,660

$1.31 ₡587

-74.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.88 ₫22.7K

$3.28 ₡1,471

-73.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 ₫37.0K

$4.47 ₡2,004

-68.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 ₫38.5K

$1.56 ₡701

-4.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 ₫27.2K

$3.02 ₡1,355

-65.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.94 ₫24.3K

$2.51 ₡1,125

-62.55%

Eggs

$1.51 ₫39.0K

$3.57 ₡1,603

-57.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.24 ₫291.0K

$7.43 ₡3,333

51.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.73 ₫96.6K

$10.52 ₡4,717

-64.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.86 ₫255.2K

$13.97 ₡6,265

-29.42%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 ₫79.3K

$2.35 ₡1,052

30.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.12 ₫29.0K

$1.61 ₡720

-30.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 ₫34.5K

$4.80 ₡2,152

-72.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 ₫32.9K

$1.61 ₡724

-21.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 ₫27.7K

$3.80 ₡1,703

-71.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ₫29.7K

$3.69 ₡1,657

-68.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.65 ₫16.8K

$1.13 ₡507

-42.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 ₫13.1K

$2.66 ₡1,191

-81.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.36 ₫35.2K

$5.18 ₡2,321

-73.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.16 ₫314.8K

$19.88 ₡8,916

-38.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 ₫22.9K

$2.90 ₡1,300

-69.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 ₫42.5K

$3.63 ₡1,626

-54.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 ₫8,151

$1.12 ₡504

-72.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.45 ₫167.1K

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-91.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 ₫18.8K

$2.14 ₡958

-65.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 ₫15.7K

$1.57 ₡703

-61.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.39 ₫62.0K

$8.52 ₡3,823

-71.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.95 ₫24.7K

$1.52 ₡682

-37.50%

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

$30.4K ₫786.3M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

40.55%

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

$30.4K ₫786.0M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-12.05%

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

$77.2 ₫2.0M

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-19.84%

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

$5.79 ₫149.9K

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-83.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.56 ₫221.6K

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-84.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.91 ₫567.2K

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-69.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.83 ₫202.6K

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-77.57%

Cinema Ticket

$3.06 ₫79.3K

$7.89 ₡3,539

-61.22%

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

$159 ₫4.1M

$494 ₡221.6K

-67.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K ₫320.6M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

4.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.80 ₫1.2M

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-15.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.91 ₫670.9K

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-53.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.3 ₫2.2M

$77.9 ₡34.9K

6.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.7 ₫2.1M

$79.6 ₡35.7K

0.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$413 ₫10.7M

$788 ₡353.4K

-47.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$276 ₫7.2M

$794 ₡356.2K

-65.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 ₫19.1M

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-81.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$607 ₫15.7M

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-57.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,783 ₫72.0M

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-59.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,324 ₫34.3M

$1,224 ₡549.0K

8.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.46

8.62

-1.86%

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

Last update for Dien Bien Phu: 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

Dien Bien Phu

$276 35.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 188% $518

Groceries & Markets

Dien Bien Phu

$197 25.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 78.8% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Dien Bien Phu

$106 13.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 13.7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dien Bien Phu

$92 11.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 103% $94

Eating Out

Dien Bien Phu

$60 7.8%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 255% $152

Sport & Entertainment

Dien Bien Phu

$28 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 212% $59

Getting Around

Dien Bien Phu

$11 1.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 660% $76

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $413 in Dien Bien Phu and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $19.00 in Dien Bien Phu vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $352 per month, with Dien Bien Phu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇳 Dien Bien Phu

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

06:49 6:49 AM

17:49 5:49 PM

13 h behind Dien Bien Phu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,366

4,912

💱 Currency

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to VND – Vietnamese Dong Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇳 Vietnamese Dong (₫)

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,105 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 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 VND in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dien Bien Phu Nosara 16,400 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Dien Bien Phu
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

Dien Bien Phu vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dien Bien Phu is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 139% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,154 in Dien Bien Phu 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $413 in Dien Bien Phu versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Dien Bien Phu – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $770 per month in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 139% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $770 in Dien Bien Phu versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dien Bien Phu but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Dien Bien Phu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Dien Bien Phu 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, Dien Bien Phu 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 Dien Bien Phu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 139% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.