Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Keelung and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Keelung: $978 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Keelung
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Keelung Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Keelung

🇹🇼 Taiwan

$978

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $978 in Keelung versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Keelung $978
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,717 in Keelung versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Keelung $1,717
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,457 in Keelung versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Keelung $2,457
Nosara $3,818

Living in Keelung costs roughly 47% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Keelung is 28% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.65 NT$151

$12.35 ₡5,539

-62.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.92 NT$1,035

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-47.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.85 NT$157

$7.52 ₡3,373

-35.51%

Cappuccino

$2.85 NT$92.4

$4.41 ₡1,978

-35.37%

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

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.74 ₡780

-40.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.73 NT$23.60

$1.31 ₡587

-44.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 NT$50.1

$3.28 ₡1,471

-53.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 NT$91.1

$4.47 ₡2,004

-37.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.24 NT$105

$1.56 ₡701

107.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 NT$45.01

$3.02 ₡1,355

-53.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.12 NT$36.44

$2.51 ₡1,125

-55.38%

Eggs

$2.22 NT$72.1

$3.57 ₡1,603

-37.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$29.36 NT$952

$7.43 ₡3,333

295.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.83 NT$189

$10.52 ₡4,717

-44.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.08 NT$554

$13.97 ₡6,265

22.26%

Apples (1kg)

$4.35 NT$141

$2.35 ₡1,052

85.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 NT$61.4

$1.61 ₡720

17.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.02 NT$98.0

$4.80 ₡2,152

-37.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 NT$70.1

$1.61 ₡724

34.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.19 NT$38.69

$3.80 ₡1,703

-68.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 NT$61.6

$3.69 ₡1,657

-48.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 NT$78.5

$1.13 ₡507

114.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 NT$29.60

$2.66 ₡1,191

-65.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.76 NT$122

$5.18 ₡2,321

-27.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 NT$300

$19.88 ₡8,916

-53.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 NT$35.21

$2.90 ₡1,300

-62.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 NT$83.0

$3.63 ₡1,626

-29.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.64 NT$20.87

$1.12 ₡504

-42.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.7 NT$2,064

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-12.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 NT$84.7

$2.14 ₡958

21.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 NT$31.16

$1.57 ₡703

-38.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.61 NT$311

$8.52 ₡3,823

12.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.03 NT$33.31

$1.52 ₡682

-32.24%

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

$33.3K NT$1.1M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

54.14%

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

$23.0K NT$744.6K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-33.48%

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

$41.52 NT$1,346

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-56.88%

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

$15.14 NT$491

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-57.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.07 NT$359

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-79.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.14 NT$1,107

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-52.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.11 NT$1,041

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-8.02%

Cinema Ticket

$7.92 NT$257

$7.89 ₡3,539

0.38%

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

$336 NT$10.9K

$494 ₡221.6K

-32.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.9K NT$546.4K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

42.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.0 NT$2,368

$53.9 ₡24.2K

35.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.15 NT$1,172

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-34.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.16 NT$1,529

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-39.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$31.66 NT$1,027

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-60.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$401 NT$13.0K

$788 ₡353.4K

-49.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$254 NT$8,247

$794 ₡356.2K

-67.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$978 NT$31.7K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-75.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$731 NT$23.7K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-48.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,385 NT$109.8K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-51.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,352 NT$76.3K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

92.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,436 NT$79.0K

$864 ₡387.3K

182.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.27

8.62

-73.67%

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

Last update for Keelung: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Keelung

$341 34.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 3.2% $11

Accommodation & Living

Keelung

$254 26%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 212% $540

Eating Out

Keelung

$106 10.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 99.2% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Keelung

$85 8.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 42% $35

Getting Around

Keelung

$74 7.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 18.3% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Keelung

$68 6.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 174% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Keelung

$50 5.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 74.8% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $401 in Keelung and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Keelung pays 182% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Keelung vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $341 vs $352 per month, with Keelung cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇼 Keelung

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

03:06 3:06 AM

13:06 1:06 PM

14 h behind Keelung

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

372,100

4,912

💱 Currency

New Taiwan Dollar TWD NT$

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 TWD = 3.08 USD

100 TWD = 2.74 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to TWD – New Taiwan Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇼 New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

New Taiwan Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 32.43 TWD (100 TWD = 3.08 USD). 1 EUR = 36.46 TWD (100 TWD = 2.74 EUR).

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 TWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Keelung Nosara 15,110 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Keelung
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

Keelung vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Keelung and Nosara differ by about 88% in total monthly costs ($978 vs $1,839 including rent). Keelung is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 182% higher in Keelung, 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: $401 in Keelung versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 3% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Keelung – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $978 in Keelung versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Keelung but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Keelung 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, Keelung 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 Keelung gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.