Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dukhan and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Dukhan: $1,683 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. The total is higher in Nosara despite lower rent and utilities.

81

Cost of Living Index in Dukhan
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Dukhan Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Dukhan

🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,683

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,683 in Dukhan versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Dukhan $1,683
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,331 in Dukhan versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Dukhan $2,331
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,979 in Dukhan versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Dukhan $2,979
Nosara $3,818

Living in Dukhan costs roughly 8% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dukhan 25% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.55 QAR 34.75

$12.35 ₡5,539

-22.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.7 QAR 254

$61.2 ₡27.4K

13.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.09 QAR 29.43

$7.52 ₡3,373

7.58%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$12.07 QAR 43.94

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.42 QAR 48.86

Cappuccino

$5.93 QAR 21.57

$4.41 ₡1,978

34.47%

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

$0.92 QAR 3.34

$1.74 ₡780

-47.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 QAR 1.47

$1.31 ₡587

-69.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$2.16 QAR 7.87

$1.56 ₡701

38.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 QAR 5.17

$3.02 ₡1,355

-52.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.94 QAR 7.04

$2.51 ₡1,125

-22.71%

Eggs

$3.38 QAR 12.32

$3.57 ₡1,603

-5.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.21 QAR 40.79

$7.43 ₡3,333

50.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.96 QAR 28.96

$10.52 ₡4,717

-24.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.35 QAR 41.30

$13.97 ₡6,265

-18.75%

Apples (1kg)

$2.26 QAR 8.23

$2.35 ₡1,052

-3.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 QAR 6.80

$1.61 ₡720

16.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 QAR 5.68

$4.80 ₡2,152

-67.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 QAR 4.37

$1.61 ₡724

-25.47%

Potato (1kg)

$0.92 QAR 3.34

$3.80 ₡1,703

-75.79%

Onion (1kg)

$0.94 QAR 3.44

$3.69 ₡1,657

-74.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 QAR 5.28

$1.13 ₡507

28.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 QAR 1.89

$2.66 ₡1,191

-80.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.45 QAR 34.40

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 QAR 6.99

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 QAR 8.08

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.51 QAR 23.68

$5.18 ₡2,321

25.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.88 QAR 6.83

$2.14 ₡958

-12.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.00 QAR 7.29

$1.57 ₡703

27.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.63 QAR 49.63

$8.52 ₡3,823

59.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.56 QAR 2.02

$1.52 ₡682

-63.16%

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

$28.3K QAR 103.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

30.91%

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

$22.8K QAR 83.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-33.81%

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

$87.0 QAR 317

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-9.64%

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

$34.31 QAR 125

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-4.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$85.3 QAR 310

$53.6 ₡24.0K

59.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$12.59 QAR 45.84

$7.89 ₡3,539

59.57%

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

$658 QAR 2,395

$494 ₡221.6K

33.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,629 QAR 35.1K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-18.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.1 QAR 222

$53.9 ₡24.2K

13.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.1 QAR 193

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-4.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 QAR 368

$77.9 ₡34.9K

29.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.6 QAR 311

$79.6 ₡35.7K

7.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,346 QAR 4,900

$788 ₡353.4K

70.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$911 QAR 3,317

$794 ₡356.2K

14.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,674 QAR 6,095

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-57.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 QAR 4,092

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-20.79%

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)

$4,094 QAR 14.9K

$864 ₡387.3K

374.12%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.92

8.62

-31.32%

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

Last update for Dukhan: 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

Dukhan

$911 54.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 12.8% $117

Groceries & Markets

Dukhan

$216 12.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 63.1% $136

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dukhan

$207 12.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 10.1% $21

Eating Out

Dukhan

$177 10.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 19.7% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Dukhan

$135 8.1%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 11.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Dukhan

$25 * 1.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 247% $62

Getting Around

Dukhan

$12 * 0.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 633% $75

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,346 in Dukhan and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dukhan pays 374% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $70.0 in Dukhan vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $216 vs $352, with Dukhan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇶🇦 Dukhan

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

02:39 2:39 AM

17:39 5:39 PM

9 h behind Dukhan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,000

4,912

💱 Currency

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.244 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to QAR – Qatari Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇶🇦 Qatari Riyal (ر.ق)

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.09 QAR (1 QAR = 0.244 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 QAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Dukhan Nosara 13,870 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Dukhan
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

Dukhan vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Dukhan and Nosara differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,683 vs $1,839 including rent). Dukhan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 374% higher in Dukhan, 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: $1,346 in Dukhan versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,683 per month in Dukhan versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,683 in Dukhan versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Dukhan but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Dukhan 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, Dukhan 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 Dukhan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.