Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ely, Cambridgeshire and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,350 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Ely, Cambridgeshire
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Ely, Cambridgeshire Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Ely, Cambridgeshire

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,350

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,350 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Ely, Cambridgeshire $2,350
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,545 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Ely, Cambridgeshire $3,545
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,740 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Ely, Cambridgeshire $4,740
Nosara $3,818

Ely, Cambridgeshire costs about 28% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ely, Cambridgeshire and Nosara sit above the global median – Ely, Cambridgeshire by 74%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.60 £17.70

$12.35 ₡5,539

91.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.9 £70.5

$61.2 ₡27.4K

53.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.23 £9.93

$7.52 ₡3,373

75.93%

Cappuccino

$5.04 £3.78

$4.41 ₡1,978

14.29%

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

$2.45 £1.84

$1.74 ₡780

40.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.31 ₡587

34.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.14 £3.86

$3.28 ₡1,471

56.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.48

$4.47 ₡2,004

-25.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 £0.93

$1.56 ₡701

-21.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.64 £1.23

$3.02 ₡1,355

-45.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.66 £1.99

$2.51 ₡1,125

5.98%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.64

$3.57 ₡1,603

-1.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.60 £7.95

$7.43 ₡3,333

42.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.14 £8.35

$10.52 ₡4,717

5.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.97 £12.73

$13.97 ₡6,265

21.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.99 £2.99

$2.35 ₡1,052

69.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.61 ₡720

-18.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$4.80 ₡2,152

-46.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.23 £3.17

$1.61 ₡724

162.73%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$3.80 ₡1,703

-57.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 £1.22

$3.69 ₡1,657

-56.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.86

$1.13 ₡507

0.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.11

$2.66 ₡1,191

-44.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.82 £15.62

$5.18 ₡2,321

301.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.68 £8.01

$19.88 ₡8,916

-46.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 £1.63

$2.90 ₡1,300

-25.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 £2.07

$3.63 ₡1,626

-23.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.70 £4.27

$1.12 ₡504

408.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.3 £42.25

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-22.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.19 £3.14

$2.14 ₡958

95.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.37 £1.78

$1.57 ₡703

50.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.52 ₡682

40.79%

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

$40.3K £30.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

86.58%

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

$41.7K £31.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

20.74%

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

$274 £205

$96.3 ₡43.2K

184.31%

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

$16.82 £12.62

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-53.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.97 £24.73

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-38.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.38 £32.54

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-39.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.58 £11.69

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-55.37%

Cinema Ticket

$15.96 £11.97

$7.89 ₡3,539

102.28%

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

$1,716 £1,288

$494 ₡221.6K

247.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.6K £11.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

23.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.5 £71.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

77.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 £41.57

$55.4 ₡24.8K

0.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 £92.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

58.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 £78.0

$79.6 ₡35.7K

30.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,130 £848

$788 ₡353.4K

43.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,029 £772

$794 ₡356.2K

29.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,860 £1,396

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-52.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,753 £1,315

$1,419 ₡636.5K

23.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,848 £4,387

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-15.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,049 £3,788

$1,224 ₡549.0K

312.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,284 £2,464

$864 ₡387.3K

280.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.62

8.62

-46.40%

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

Last update for Ely, Cambridgeshire: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$1K 43.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 22.8% $235

Eating Out

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$338 14.4%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 37.4% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$324 13.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 42.6% $138

Groceries & Markets

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$319 13.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 10.4% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$170 7.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 29.4% $50

Getting Around

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$95 4.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 8.4% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Ely, Cambridgeshire

$75 3.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 16% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,130 in Ely, Cambridgeshire versus $788 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 280% higher in Ely, Cambridgeshire, 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 $94.0 in Ely, Cambridgeshire versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $319 in Ely, Cambridgeshire vs $352 in Nosara – so Ely, Cambridgeshire wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ely, Cambridgeshire

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

03:49 3:49 AM

20:49 8:49 PM

7 h behind Ely, Cambridgeshire

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

20,574

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ely, Cambridgeshire Nosara 8,850 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ely, Cambridgeshire
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

Ely, Cambridgeshire vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Ely, Cambridgeshire is pricier by about 28%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,525 per month in Ely, Cambridgeshire and $2,758 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 $2,350 in Ely, Cambridgeshire and $1,839 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 28%.

Public transport costs about 29% 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 $1,839, than in Ely, Cambridgeshire at $2,350. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ely, Cambridgeshire 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, Ely, Cambridgeshire makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.