Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gzira and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,240 in Gzira, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

109

Cost of Living Index in Gzira
Learn more

Gzira Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Gzira

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,240

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,240 in Gzira versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Gzira $2,240
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,299 in Gzira versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Gzira $3,299
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,358 in Gzira versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Gzira $4,358
Nosara $3,818

Living in Gzira is roughly 22% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Gzira 66% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.08 €19.63

$12.35 ₡5,539

78.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.8 €63.8

$61.2 ₡27.4K

17.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.63 €12.12

$7.52 ₡3,373

81.25%

Cappuccino

$3.14 €2.79

$4.41 ₡1,978

-28.80%

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

$2.32 €2.06

$1.74 ₡780

33.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.31 ₡587

45.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.55 €4.05

$3.28 ₡1,471

38.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.48 €4.88

$4.47 ₡2,004

22.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.56 ₡701

-8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 €1.30

$3.02 ₡1,355

-51.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.43 €3.05

$2.51 ₡1,125

36.65%

Eggs

$4.43 €3.94

$3.57 ₡1,603

24.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.27 €9.14

$7.43 ₡3,333

38.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.00 €9.78

$10.52 ₡4,717

4.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.83 €15.86

$13.97 ₡6,265

27.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 €2.79

$2.35 ₡1,052

33.19%

Banana (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$1.61 ₡720

66.46%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.39 €3.01

$4.80 ₡2,152

-29.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 €3.31

$1.61 ₡724

131.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.67

$3.80 ₡1,703

-50.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.83 €2.52

$3.69 ₡1,657

-23.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.13 ₡507

34.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 €0.91

$2.66 ₡1,191

-61.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 €5.40

$5.18 ₡2,321

17.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.09 €5.42

$19.88 ₡8,916

-69.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 €2.16

$2.90 ₡1,300

-16.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 €1.95

$3.63 ₡1,626

-39.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.12 ₡504

143.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 €3.57

$2.14 ₡958

87.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 €1.56

$1.57 ₡703

11.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.42 €28.83

$8.52 ₡3,823

280.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.52 ₡682

-2.63%

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

$27.8K €24.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

28.61%

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

$39.2K €34.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

13.42%

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

$137 €122

$96.3 ₡43.2K

42.20%

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

$25.54 €22.72

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-28.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.74 €26.45

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-44.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$81.7 €72.7

$71.6 ₡32.1K

14.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.29 €25.16

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-18.96%

Cinema Ticket

$11.36 €10.11

$7.89 ₡3,539

43.98%

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

$280 €249

$494 ₡221.6K

-43.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K €11.1K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

5.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.7 €50.4

$53.9 ₡24.2K

5.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 €47.75

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-3.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 €100

$77.9 ₡34.9K

44.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.2 €88.2

$79.6 ₡35.7K

24.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,390 €1,236

$788 ₡353.4K

76.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,146 €1,020

$794 ₡356.2K

44.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,081 €1,851

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-47.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,782 €1,585

$1,419 ₡636.5K

25.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,226 €5,538

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-9.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,453 €3,961

$1,224 ₡549.0K

263.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,418 €2,150

$864 ₡387.3K

179.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

8.62

-53.02%

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

Last update for Gzira: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gzira

$1.1K 51.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 30.7% $352

Groceries & Markets

Gzira

$322 14.4%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 9.4% $30

Eating Out

Gzira

$306 13.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 30.7% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gzira

$192 8.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 3.4% $6.5

Clothing & Footwear

Gzira

$145 6.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 17.3% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Gzira

$104 4.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 16.3% $17

Getting Around

Gzira

$24 * 1.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 268% $63

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 $1,390 in Gzira and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gzira pays 180% 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: $72.0 in Gzira vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $322 vs $352, with Gzira cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Gzira

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

10:36 10:36 AM

8 h behind Gzira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Gzira Nosara 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Gzira
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

Gzira vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and leisure. The 22% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 180% higher in Gzira, 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: $1,390 in Gzira versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Gzira pay roughly 9% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,240 per month in Gzira versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 22% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,240 in Gzira, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Gzira. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nosara is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Gzira, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Gzira 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 22% less than in Gzira. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.