Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ipswich and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,326 in Ipswich, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Ipswich
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Ipswich Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Ipswich

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,326

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,326 in Ipswich versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Ipswich $2,326
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,452 in Ipswich versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Ipswich $3,452
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,577 in Ipswich versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Ipswich $4,577
Nosara $3,818

Living in Ipswich is roughly 27% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Ipswich 72% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.17 £15.89

$12.35 ₡5,539

71.42%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £80.8

$61.2 ₡27.4K

76.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 £7.94

$7.52 ₡3,373

40.69%

Cappuccino

$5.73 £4.30

$4.41 ₡1,978

29.93%

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

$1.71 £1.28

$1.74 ₡780

-1.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.31 ₡587

39.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.53 £4.90

$3.28 ₡1,471

99.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.92 £5.19

$4.47 ₡2,004

54.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.56 ₡701

9.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 £1.24

$3.02 ₡1,355

-45.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$2.51 ₡1,125

-36.25%

Eggs

$4.34 £3.26

$3.57 ₡1,603

21.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.59 £9.45

$7.43 ₡3,333

69.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.82 £6.62

$10.52 ₡4,717

-16.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.17 £11.38

$13.97 ₡6,265

8.59%

Apples (1kg)

$3.01 £2.26

$2.35 ₡1,052

28.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.61 ₡720

-9.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.70 £2.03

$4.80 ₡2,152

-43.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.61 ₡724

94.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$3.80 ₡1,703

-56.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$3.69 ₡1,657

-61.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 £1.04

$1.13 ₡507

23.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 £1.05

$2.66 ₡1,191

-46.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.63 £17.73

$5.18 ₡2,321

356.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.00 £8.25

$19.88 ₡8,916

-44.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 £2.05

$2.90 ₡1,300

-5.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 £2.68

$3.63 ₡1,626

-1.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.82 £2.12

$1.12 ₡504

151.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$87.5 £65.7

$72.6 ₡32.6K

20.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.67 £4.25

$2.14 ₡958

164.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.02 £1.51

$1.57 ₡703

28.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.58 £25.20

$8.52 ₡3,823

294.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 £1.42

$1.52 ₡682

25.00%

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

$38.7K £29.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

78.90%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.28%

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

$375 £281

$96.3 ₡43.2K

289.18%

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

$15.57 £11.68

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-56.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.75 £30.57

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-23.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.09 £25.57

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-52.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.97 £5.98

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-77.17%

Cinema Ticket

$17.81 £13.36

$7.89 ₡3,539

125.73%

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

$1,047 £786

$494 ₡221.6K

111.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.5K £14.6K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

64.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$70.4 £52.8

$53.9 ₡24.2K

30.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.0 £40.48

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-2.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$81.4 £61.1

$77.9 ₡34.9K

4.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.4 £51.3

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-14.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,069 £802

$788 ₡353.4K

35.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$949 £712

$794 ₡356.2K

19.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,397 £1,048

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-64.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,552 £1,164

$1,419 ₡636.5K

9.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,984 £3,739

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-27.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,916 £2,938

$1,224 ₡549.0K

219.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 £2,191

$864 ₡387.3K

238.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

8.62

-45.01%

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

Last update for Ipswich: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ipswich

$949 40.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 16.3% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ipswich

$431 18.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 56.9% $245

Eating Out

Ipswich

$331 14.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 35.9% $119

Groceries & Markets

Ipswich

$308 13.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 14.3% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Ipswich

$123 5.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 2.7% $3.3

Getting Around

Ipswich

$115 4.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 24% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Ipswich

$70 3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 25.4% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,069 in Ipswich and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ipswich pays 238% 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: $108 in Ipswich vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $308 vs $352, with Ipswich cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ipswich

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:05 2:05 PM

07:05 7:05 AM

7 h behind Ipswich

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

120,000

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 18, 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 18, 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

Ipswich Nosara 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ipswich
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

Ipswich vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ipswich and Nosara differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($2,326 vs $1,839 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 238% higher in Ipswich, 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: $1,069 in Ipswich versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Nosara runs roughly 20% less than in Ipswich. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $1,047 in Ipswich versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,326 in Ipswich, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Ipswich. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara 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, Ipswich 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 27% less than in Ipswich. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.