Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Eldoret and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Eldoret: $505 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Eldoret
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Eldoret Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Eldoret

🇰🇪 Kenya

$505

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $505 in Eldoret versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Eldoret $505
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $869 in Eldoret versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Eldoret $869
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,233 in Eldoret versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Eldoret $1,233
Nosara $3,818

Living in Eldoret costs roughly 73% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Eldoret is 63% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.52 KES 198

$12.35 ₡5,539

-87.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.76 KES 4,507

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-43.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.21 KES 805

$7.52 ₡3,373

-17.42%

Cappuccino

$2.59 KES 336

$4.41 ₡1,978

-41.27%

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

$0.30 KES 38.85

$1.74 ₡780

-82.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 KES 52.6

$1.31 ₡587

-68.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 KES 296

$3.28 ₡1,471

-30.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 KES 348

$4.47 ₡2,004

-39.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.72 KES 93.4

$1.56 ₡701

-53.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 KES 63.9

$3.02 ₡1,355

-83.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 KES 203

$2.51 ₡1,125

-37.85%

Eggs

$1.56 KES 203

$3.57 ₡1,603

-56.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.79 KES 491

$7.43 ₡3,333

-48.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.16 KES 539

$10.52 ₡4,717

-60.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.34 KES 563

$13.97 ₡6,265

-68.93%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 KES 295

$2.35 ₡1,052

-3.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 KES 143

$1.61 ₡720

-31.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.72 KES 93.6

$4.80 ₡2,152

-85.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 KES 119

$1.61 ₡724

-42.86%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 KES 72.9

$3.80 ₡1,703

-85.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 KES 58.0

$3.69 ₡1,657

-87.80%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 KES 89.7

$1.13 ₡507

-38.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 KES 81.6

$2.66 ₡1,191

-76.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 KES 447

$5.18 ₡2,321

-33.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 KES 739

$19.88 ₡8,916

-71.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 KES 271

$2.90 ₡1,300

-27.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 KES 198

$3.63 ₡1,626

-57.85%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 KES 183

$1.12 ₡504

25.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.58 KES 204

$2.14 ₡958

-26.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 KES 198

$1.57 ₡703

-3.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.97 KES 385

$8.52 ₡3,823

-65.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 KES 199

$1.52 ₡682

1.32%

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

$21.8K KES 2.8M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

0.69%

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

$20.0K KES 2.6M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-42.16%

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

$39.37 KES 5,105

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-59.11%

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

$15.13 KES 1,962

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-57.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.19 KES 4,562

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-34.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.92 KES 5,045

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-45.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 KES 978

$7.89 ₡3,539

-4.44%

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

$63.5 KES 8,232

$494 ₡221.6K

-87.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

3.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.52 KES 1,494

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-78.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.96 KES 3,754

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-47.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$19.43 KES 2,519

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-75.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.06 KES 4,545

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-55.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$93.2 KES 12.1K

$788 ₡353.4K

-88.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.1 KES 11.5K

$794 ₡356.2K

-88.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 KES 34.8K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-81.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$609 KES 78.9K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-91.19%

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 %)

14.71

8.62

70.65%

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

Last update for Eldoret: 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

Eldoret

$133 26.4%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 165% $219

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Eldoret

$90 17.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 107% $96

Accommodation & Living

Eldoret

$89 17.6%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 792% $705

Eating Out

Eldoret

$81 16.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 160% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Eldoret

$54 10.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 61.8% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Eldoret

$43 8.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 181% $77

Getting Around

Eldoret

$15 * 2.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 487% $72

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 $93.2 in Eldoret and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $35.00 in Eldoret vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $133 vs $352 per month, with Eldoret cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Eldoret

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:43 2:43 PM

05:43 5:43 AM

9 h behind Eldoret

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193,830

4,912

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Eldoret Nosara 13,380 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Eldoret
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

Eldoret vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Eldoret wins on cost – living expenses run 264% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Eldoret the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $757 in Eldoret 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: $93.2 in Eldoret versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 165% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $505 per month in Eldoret versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 264% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $505 in Eldoret versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Eldoret but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Eldoret the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Eldoret delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $505 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Eldoret hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Eldoret 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 Eldoret gentler on the wallet – expenses run 264% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.