Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Ejido and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in El Ejido: $1,634 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $2,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in El Ejido
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El Ejido Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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El Ejido

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,634

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,634 in El Ejido versus $1,835 in Nosara.

El Ejido $1,634
Nosara $1,835

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,449 in El Ejido versus $2,825 in Nosara.

El Ejido $2,449
Nosara $2,825

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,264 in El Ejido versus $3,814 in Nosara.

El Ejido $3,264
Nosara $3,814

Living in El Ejido costs roughly 11% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: El Ejido 21% above, Nosara 35% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.73 €14.88

$12.34 ₡5,535

35.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.6 €60.2

$61.3 ₡27.5K

10.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.10 €9.87

$7.76 ₡3,481

43.04%

Cappuccino

$2.17 €1.93

$4.44 ₡1,992

-51.13%

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

$2.31 €2.06

$1.79 ₡803

29.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$1.29 ₡580

3.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.29 €2.92

$3.24 ₡1,451

1.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 €2.91

$4.43 ₡1,985

-26.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.55 ₡696

-27.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 €1.39

$3.08 ₡1,380

-49.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.53 ₡1,133

-35.57%

Eggs

$3.40 €3.02

$3.45 ₡1,546

-1.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.79 €14.93

$7.32 ₡3,284

129.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.56 €8.51

$10.24 ₡4,594

-6.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.46 €15.53

$14.10 ₡6,326

23.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 €2.30

$2.29 ₡1,027

12.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.64 ₡737

18.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.95 €1.74

$4.79 ₡2,149

-59.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.64 ₡735

64.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 €1.71

$3.85 ₡1,727

-49.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$3.75 ₡1,681

-48.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 €1.11

$1.09 ₡488

13.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.71 €0.63

$2.59 ₡1,160

-72.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.66 €5.92

$5.12 ₡2,295

30.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.77 €5.13

$19.92 ₡8,931

-71.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.08

$2.80 ₡1,255

-56.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 €1.88

$3.52 ₡1,580

-39.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.22 ₡549

40.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$36.17 €32.17

$73.9 ₡33.1K

-51.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 €2.73

$2.17 ₡973

41.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.56 ₡698

-16.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.86 €15.00

$8.67 ₡3,886

94.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.86 €1.65

$1.55 ₡697

20.00%

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

$31.3K €27.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-9.36%

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

$31.3K €27.8K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-19.20%

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

$142 €126

$94.8 ₡42.5K

49.79%

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

$18.78 €16.71

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-48.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.88 €26.58

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-43.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.99 €37.35

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-43.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.57 €14.74

$35.63 ₡16.0K

-53.49%

Cinema Ticket

$9.00 €8.01

$7.91 ₡3,548

13.78%

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

$689 €613

$490 ₡219.9K

40.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,454 €8,410

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-20.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.4 €76.0

$54.8 ₡24.6K

55.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.45 €31.53

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-36.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.2 €82.9

$80.4 ₡36.0K

16.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 €94.0

$77.9 ₡34.9K

35.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$902 €802

$801 ₡359.1K

12.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$668 €594

$790 ₡354.1K

-15.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,326 €1,179

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-66.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$994 €884

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-29.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,015 €2,682

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-57.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,239 €1,992

$1,236 ₡554.3K

81.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.99

8.62

-65.31%

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

Last update for El Ejido: October 18, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Ejido

$668 40.9%

Nosara

$790 43% 18.2% $122

Groceries & Markets

El Ejido

$288 17.7%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 21.2% $61

Eating Out

El Ejido

$231 14.1%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 7.8% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Ejido

$191 11.7%

Nosara

$184 10% 3.5% $6.7

Clothing & Footwear

El Ejido

$144 8.8%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 15.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

El Ejido

$60 3.7%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 49.4% $30

Getting Around

El Ejido

$53 3.2%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 68.6% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $902 in El Ejido and $801 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $68.0 in El Ejido vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $288 vs $350, with El Ejido cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇪🇸 El Ejido

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:31 2:31 PM

06:31 6:31 AM

8 h behind El Ejido

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,975

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 24, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Between locations

El Ejido Nosara 8,710 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

El Ejido
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

El Ejido vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

El Ejido is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, leisure, and transport. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,451 in El Ejido and $2,753 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: $902 in El Ejido versus $801 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in El Ejido – a meal for two runs $68.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,634 per month in El Ejido versus $1,835 in Nosara – a 12% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,634 in El Ejido versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $2,500 budget is realistic in El Ejido but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes El Ejido the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, El Ejido 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, El Ejido 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 El Ejido gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.