Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iskele and Nosara

For one person, living costs are similar in Iskele and in Nosara: $1,857 and $1,839 a month, rent and utilities included.

90

Cost of Living Index in Iskele
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Iskele Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Iskele

🇨🇾 Cyprus

$1,857

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,857 in Iskele versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Iskele $1,857
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,813 in Iskele versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Iskele $2,813
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,769 in Iskele versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Iskele $3,769
Nosara $3,818

Living in Iskele is roughly 1% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Iskele 38% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.98 €15.16

$12.35 ₡5,550

37.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$55.9 €49.91

$61.2 ₡27.5K

-8.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.71 €7.78

$7.52 ₡3,379

15.82%

Cappuccino

$3.62 €3.23

$4.41 ₡1,982

-17.91%

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

$1.91 €1.70

$1.74 ₡781

9.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.31 ₡588

-13.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.27 €3.81

$3.28 ₡1,474

30.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.97 €3.55

$4.47 ₡2,008

-11.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 €1.78

$1.56 ₡702

28.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 €1.31

$3.02 ₡1,358

-51.66%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 €2.07

$2.51 ₡1,127

-7.57%

Eggs

$5.12 €4.57

$3.57 ₡1,606

43.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.65 €12.19

$7.43 ₡3,340

83.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.69 €7.76

$10.52 ₡4,727

-17.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.45 €11.12

$13.97 ₡6,277

-10.88%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 €2.80

$2.35 ₡1,054

33.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 €1.65

$1.61 ₡721

14.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.11 €1.88

$4.80 ₡2,156

-56.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.74 €3.34

$1.61 ₡725

132.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 €1.31

$3.80 ₡1,706

-61.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 €1.05

$3.69 ₡1,660

-68.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.64 €0.57

$1.13 ₡508

-43.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 €0.93

$2.66 ₡1,193

-60.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.51 €4.92

$5.18 ₡2,326

6.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.77 €6.05

$19.88 ₡8,934

-65.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$2.90 ₡1,303

-40.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 €1.76

$3.63 ₡1,629

-45.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.12 ₡505

97.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$51.2 €45.68

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-29.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$11.38 €10.16

$2.14 ₡960

431.78%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 €1.93

$1.57 ₡705

37.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.69 €20.26

$8.52 ₡3,830

166.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.52 ₡683

13.16%

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

$32.6K €29.1K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

50.76%

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

$32.4K €28.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-6.27%

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

$186 €166

$96.3 ₡43.3K

92.70%

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

$23.75 €21.21

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-33.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.04 €30.40

$53.6 ₡24.1K

-36.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$68.5 €61.1

$71.6 ₡32.2K

-4.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.38 €21.77

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-30.16%

Cinema Ticket

$11.10 €9.92

$7.89 ₡3,546

40.68%

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

$434 €388

$494 ₡222.0K

-12.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,777 €6,052

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-42.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.0 €73.3

$53.9 ₡24.2K

52.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.97 €40.16

$55.4 ₡24.9K

-18.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 €82.8

$77.9 ₡35.0K

18.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.0 €78.5

$79.6 ₡35.8K

10.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 €979

$788 ₡354.1K

39.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 €686

$794 ₡356.9K

-3.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,790 €1,598

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-54.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,356 €1,211

$1,419 ₡637.7K

-4.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,983 €2,664

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-56.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,241 €2,002

$1,224 ₡550.0K

83.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$903 €806

$864 ₡388.0K

4.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.31

8.62

-61.60%

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

Last update for Iskele: 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

Iskele

$768 41.4%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 3.5% $27

Groceries & Markets

Iskele

$288 15.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 22.3% $64

Eating Out

Iskele

$247 13.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 14.2% $35

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iskele

$243 13.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 23.7% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Iskele

$138 7.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 13.3% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Iskele

$91 4.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 3.6% $3.3

Getting Around

Iskele

$82 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 6% $4.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,096 in Iskele and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iskele pays 5% 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: $56.0 in Iskele vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $288 vs $352 per month, with Iskele cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇾 Iskele

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:57 2:57 PM

05:57 5:57 AM

9 h behind Iskele

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,490

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 = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 0.893 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Iskele Nosara 11,920 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Iskele
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

Iskele vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Iskele. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Nosara the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 5% higher in Iskele, 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: $1,096 in Iskele versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $434 in Iskele versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Iskele pay roughly 22% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,857 in Iskele, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Iskele. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Nosara delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,839 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Nosara hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Iskele 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 1% less than in Iskele. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.