Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hikkaduwa and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Hikkaduwa: $509 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 Hikkaduwa
Learn more

Hikkaduwa Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Hikkaduwa

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$509

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $509 in Hikkaduwa versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Hikkaduwa $509
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $826 in Hikkaduwa versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Hikkaduwa $826
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,144 in Hikkaduwa versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Hikkaduwa $1,144
Nosara $3,818

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.45 LKR 1,475

$12.35 ₡5,547

-63.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.59 LKR 8,144

$61.2 ₡27.5K

-59.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.57 LKR 2,507

$7.52 ₡3,377

0.66%

Cappuccino

$2.50 LKR 827

$4.41 ₡1,981

-43.31%

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

$0.72 LKR 238

$1.74 ₡781

-58.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.1

$1.31 ₡588

-79.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.16 LKR 716

$3.28 ₡1,473

-34.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 LKR 998

$4.47 ₡2,007

-32.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 LKR 520

$1.56 ₡702

0.64%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 175

$3.02 ₡1,357

-82.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.80 LKR 266

$2.51 ₡1,127

-68.13%

Eggs

$1.60 LKR 530

$3.57 ₡1,605

-55.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.00 LKR 4,636

$7.43 ₡3,338

88.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.88 LKR 1,618

$10.52 ₡4,724

-53.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.26 LKR 2,405

$13.97 ₡6,274

-48.03%

Apples (1kg)

$6.84 LKR 2,265

$2.35 ₡1,054

191.06%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 LKR 281

$1.61 ₡721

-47.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.46 LKR 1,478

$4.80 ₡2,155

-7.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.23 LKR 406

$1.61 ₡725

-23.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 LKR 339

$3.80 ₡1,706

-73.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 LKR 270

$3.69 ₡1,659

-77.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 LKR 306

$1.13 ₡507

-18.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 LKR 145

$2.66 ₡1,193

-83.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.32 LKR 3,418

$5.18 ₡2,324

99.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.70 LKR 4,536

$19.88 ₡8,929

-31.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.89 LKR 625

$2.90 ₡1,302

-34.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 LKR 998

$3.63 ₡1,628

-17.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡505

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.38 LKR 126

$2.14 ₡959

-82.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 123

$1.57 ₡704

-76.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.88 LKR 293

$8.52 ₡3,828

-89.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 LKR 441

$1.52 ₡683

-12.50%

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

$37.8K LKR 12.5M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.72%

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

$40.9K LKR 13.5M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

18.51%

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

$54.8 LKR 18.2K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-43.07%

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

$4.14 LKR 1,371

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-88.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.01 LKR 6,959

$53.6 ₡24.1K

-60.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.2K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.45 LKR 1,474

$7.89 ₡3,544

-43.60%

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

$37.63 LKR 12.5K

$494 ₡221.9K

-92.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,227 LKR 406.4K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-89.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.35 LKR 6,077

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-65.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.80 LKR 5,564

$55.4 ₡24.9K

-69.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.6 LKR 25.7K

$77.9 ₡35.0K

-0.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.92 LKR 14.2K

$79.6 ₡35.8K

-46.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡637.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.69

8.62

47.22%

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

Last update for Hikkaduwa: 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

Hikkaduwa

$239 46.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 47.7% $114

Eating Out

Hikkaduwa

$109 21.4%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 94.1% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hikkaduwa

$80 15.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 132% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Hikkaduwa

$70 13.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 71.4% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Hikkaduwa

$8.9 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 882% $78

Getting Around

Hikkaduwa

$2.2 * 0.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 3789% $85

Accommodation & Living

Hikkaduwa

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $25.00 in Hikkaduwa vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $239 vs $352 per month, with Hikkaduwa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Hikkaduwa

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

15:46 3:46 PM

04:16 4:16 AM

11 h 30 min behind Hikkaduwa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

101,342

4,912

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 371 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hikkaduwa Nosara 17,630 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Hikkaduwa
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

Hikkaduwa vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Hikkaduwa is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 261% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $763 in Hikkaduwa 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.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $509 per month in Hikkaduwa versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 261% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $509 in Hikkaduwa versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Hikkaduwa but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Hikkaduwa the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Hikkaduwa 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, Hikkaduwa 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 Hikkaduwa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 261% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.