Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hurghada and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Hurghada: $473 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $16,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Hurghada
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Hurghada Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Hurghada

🇪🇬 Egypt

$473

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $473 per month in Hurghada vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Hurghada $473
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $963 per month in Hurghada vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Hurghada $963
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $1,453 per month in Hurghada vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Hurghada $1,453
Nosara $3,712

Hurghada is about 74% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Hurghada sits 65% below the global median, while Nosara is 37% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 E£203

$12.22 ₡5,509

-68.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.97 E£2,091

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-33.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.82 E£304

$7.54 ₡3,399

-22.81%

Cappuccino

$1.94 E£102

$4.31 ₡1,941

-54.99%

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

$0.48 E£25.05

$1.72 ₡773

-72.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.20 E£10.35

$1.35 ₡608

-85.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 E£101

$3.24 ₡1,459

-40.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 E£163

$4.48 ₡2,018

-30.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 E£49.30

$1.57 ₡707

-40.13%

White Bread (500g)

$0.78 E£40.66

$3.17 ₡1,429

-75.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£31.59

$2.42 ₡1,091

-75.21%

Eggs

$1.92 E£101

$3.57 ₡1,609

-46.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.25 E£170

$7.43 ₡3,349

-56.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.87 E£307

$10.42 ₡4,697

-43.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.62 E£503

$13.66 ₡6,156

-29.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.42 E£74.4

$2.32 ₡1,044

-38.79%

Banana (1kg)

$0.48 E£24.94

$1.61 ₡728

-70.19%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.47

$4.74 ₡2,138

-91.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.43 E£22.52

$1.66 ₡747

-74.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.34 E£17.81

$3.72 ₡1,679

-90.86%

Onion (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.42

$3.57 ₡1,611

-88.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£13.97

$1.10 ₡497

-75.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.52

$2.55 ₡1,149

-92.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.14 E£112

$4.95 ₡2,232

-56.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.43 E£389

$20.01 ₡9,020

-62.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 E£63.3

$2.79 ₡1,256

-56.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 E£91.2

$3.53 ₡1,589

-50.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.20 E£10.27

$1.19 ₡537

-83.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.72 E£299

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-92.06%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.98 E£51.4

$2.24 ₡1,011

-56.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.37

$1.55 ₡701

-87.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.93 E£101

$8.86 ₡3,993

-78.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.45 E£23.69

$1.57 ₡708

-71.34%

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

$31.8K E£1.7M

$21.8K ₡9.8M

45.77%

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

$22.3K E£1.2M

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-35.50%

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

$24.80 E£1,298

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-73.46%

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

$7.72 E£404

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-78.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.60 E£502

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-81.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$27.21 E£1,424

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-61.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.99 E£313

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-83.10%

Cinema Ticket

$3.36 E£176

$7.84 ₡3,535

-57.14%

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

$99.9 E£5,229

$490 ₡220.7K

-79.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$604 E£31.6K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-94.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.13 E£1,053

$53.5 ₡24.1K

-62.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.96 E£1,724

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-40.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$28.43 E£1,487

$78.9 ₡35.6K

-63.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 E£11.2K

$786 ₡354.3K

-72.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$119 E£6,245

$780 ₡351.6K

-84.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$216 E£11.3K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-94.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$555 E£29.0K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-60.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$553 E£28.9K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-92.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$602 E£31.5K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

-49.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$154 E£8,082

$876 ₡395.0K

-82.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

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

Last update for Hurghada: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Hurghada

$139 29.5%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 152% $211

Accommodation & Living

Hurghada

$119 25.4%

Nosara

$780 43% 553% $660

Eating Out

Hurghada

$90 19.3%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 132% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hurghada

$42 9%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 327% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Hurghada

$37 * 7.8%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 228% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Hurghada

$34 7.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 157% $53

Getting Around

Hurghada

$8.5 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 924% $78

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $213 in Hurghada versus $786 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 467% higher in Nosara, 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 $40.00 in Hurghada versus $60.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $139 vs $350 – making Hurghada the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Hurghada

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

11:22 11:22 AM

02:22 2:22 AM

9 h behind Hurghada

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

160,901

4,912

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Hurghada Nosara 12,300 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Hurghada
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

Hurghada vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nosara is pricier by about 289%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $709 per month in Hurghada and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hurghada, 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 $473 in Hurghada and $1,837 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 289%.

Public transport costs about 1160% less in Hurghada. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Hurghada, where all-in costs run around $473, than in Nosara at $1,837. In Hurghada it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Hurghada – 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 Hurghada. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.