Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Embu and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Embu: $517 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Embu
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Embu Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Embu

🇰🇪 Kenya

$517

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $517 in Embu versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Embu $517
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $822 in Embu versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Embu $822
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,127 in Embu versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Embu $1,127
Nosara $3,818

Living in Embu costs roughly 72% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Embu is 62% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.24 KES 809

$12.35 ₡5,539

-49.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.87 KES 4,002

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-49.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.42 KES 702

$7.52 ₡3,373

-27.93%

Cappuccino

$2.35 KES 305

$4.41 ₡1,978

-46.71%

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

$0.36 KES 46.68

$1.74 ₡780

-79.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.24 KES 31.13

$1.31 ₡587

-81.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 KES 296

$3.28 ₡1,471

-30.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.63 KES 341

$4.47 ₡2,004

-41.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.56 KES 72.9

$1.56 ₡701

-64.10%

White Bread (500g)

$0.52 KES 66.8

$3.02 ₡1,355

-82.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.96 KES 124

$2.51 ₡1,125

-61.75%

Eggs

$1.71 KES 222

$3.57 ₡1,603

-52.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.89 KES 504

$7.43 ₡3,333

-47.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.21 KES 416

$10.52 ₡4,717

-69.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.20 KES 544

$13.97 ₡6,265

-69.94%

Apples (1kg)

$3.34 KES 433

$2.35 ₡1,052

42.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 KES 136

$1.61 ₡720

-34.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.06 KES 267

$4.80 ₡2,152

-57.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 KES 53.0

$1.61 ₡724

-74.53%

Potato (1kg)

$0.63 KES 81.5

$3.80 ₡1,703

-83.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.91 KES 118

$3.69 ₡1,657

-75.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 KES 95.8

$1.13 ₡507

-34.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 KES 71.9

$2.66 ₡1,191

-79.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.65 KES 473

$5.18 ₡2,321

-29.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.48 KES 1,489

$19.88 ₡8,916

-42.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 KES 289

$2.90 ₡1,300

-23.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 KES 350

$3.63 ₡1,626

-25.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 KES 148

$1.12 ₡504

1.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.51 KES 196

$2.14 ₡958

-29.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 KES 205

$1.57 ₡703

0.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 KES 382

$8.52 ₡3,823

-65.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 KES 207

$1.52 ₡682

5.26%

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

$21.2K KES 2.7M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-1.95%

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

$12.2K KES 1.6M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-64.79%

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

$57.1 KES 7,400

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-40.72%

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

$15.06 KES 1,952

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-58.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.48 KES 4,470

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-35.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$17.41 KES 2,257

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-75.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.28 KES 555

$7.89 ₡3,539

-45.75%

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

$251 KES 32.5K

$494 ₡221.6K

-49.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K KES 1.6M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

5.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$9.22 KES 1,196

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-82.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.38 KES 3,809

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-46.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.3 KES 9,113

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-9.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$15.37 KES 1,993

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-80.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$76.2 KES 9,876

$788 ₡353.4K

-90.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$53.1 KES 6,886

$794 ₡356.2K

-93.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$91.6 KES 11.9K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-93.55%

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)

$272 KES 35.3K

$864 ₡387.3K

-68.51%

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 Embu: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Embu

$148 28.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 138% $204

Eating Out

Embu

$113 22%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 86.7% $98

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Embu

$107 20.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 74.2% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Embu

$56 10.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 115% $64

Accommodation & Living

Embu

$53 10.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 1396% $741

Sport & Entertainment

Embu

$26 5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 236% $61

Getting Around

Embu

$14 * 2.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 523% $73

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 $76.2 in Embu and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 218% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $31.00 in Embu vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $148 vs $352 per month, with Embu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Embu

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:06 4:06 PM

07:06 7:06 AM

9 h behind Embu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

41,092

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

Embu Nosara 13,640 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Embu
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

Embu vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Embu and Nosara differ by about 256% in total monthly costs ($517 vs $1,839 including rent). Embu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 218% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $76.2 in Embu versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $251 in Embu versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Embu – a meal for two runs $31.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $517 in Embu versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Embu but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Embu 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, Embu 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 Embu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 256% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.