Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kingston upon Thames and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames, rent and utilities included – about $17,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

161

Cost of Living Index in Kingston upon Thames
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Kingston upon Thames Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Kingston upon Thames

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,276

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Kingston upon Thames $3,276
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,746 in Kingston upon Thames versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Kingston upon Thames $4,746
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $6,216 in Kingston upon Thames versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Kingston upon Thames $6,216
Nosara $3,818

Living in Kingston upon Thames is roughly 78% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Kingston upon Thames 143% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.10 £16.58

$12.35 ₡5,539

78.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.6 £65.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

41.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.42 £7.82

$7.52 ₡3,373

38.56%

Cappuccino

$5.46 £4.09

$4.41 ₡1,978

23.81%

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

$3.00 £2.25

$1.74 ₡780

72.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.31 ₡587

37.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.20 £6.91

$3.28 ₡1,471

180.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.91 £5.93

$4.47 ₡2,004

76.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.56 ₡701

7.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.30

$3.02 ₡1,355

-42.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$2.51 ₡1,125

-2.39%

Eggs

$4.91 £3.68

$3.57 ₡1,603

37.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 £6.35

$7.43 ₡3,333

13.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.72 £6.54

$10.52 ₡4,717

-17.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.99 £9.74

$13.97 ₡6,265

-7.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$2.35 ₡1,052

33.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.61 ₡720

-16.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.96

$4.80 ₡2,152

-45.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 £2.18

$1.61 ₡724

80.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$3.80 ₡1,703

-56.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$3.69 ₡1,657

-53.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.13 ₡507

9.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$2.66 ₡1,191

-32.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$5.18 ₡2,321

349.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.31 £6.99

$19.88 ₡8,916

-53.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.09 £2.32

$2.90 ₡1,300

6.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 £3.34

$3.63 ₡1,626

22.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.37 £1.78

$1.12 ₡504

111.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.49 £31.88

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-41.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 £3.69

$2.14 ₡958

129.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.57 ₡703

-8.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.70 £17.78

$8.52 ₡3,823

178.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.49

$1.52 ₡682

30.26%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.41%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.35%

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

$371 £278

$96.3 ₡43.2K

284.84%

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

$15.63 £11.73

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-56.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.78 £30.60

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-23.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$102 £76.8

$71.6 ₡32.1K

43.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.49 £7.87

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-69.95%

Cinema Ticket

$19.46 £14.60

$7.89 ₡3,539

146.64%

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

$2,594 £1,946

$494 ₡221.6K

425.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.2K £16.6K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

86.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

111.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.6 £40.19

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-3.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 £58.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

0.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.7

$79.6 ₡35.7K

33.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,035 £1,527

$788 ₡353.4K

158.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,832 £1,374

$794 ₡356.2K

130.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,567 £2,676

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-9.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,164 £2,374

$1,419 ₡636.5K

122.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,303 £3,978

$864 ₡387.3K

514.08%

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 Kingston upon Thames: 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

Kingston upon Thames

$1.8K 55.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 56.6% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kingston upon Thames

$427 13%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 56.5% $241

Eating Out

Kingston upon Thames

$355 10.8%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 40.3% $143

Groceries & Markets

Kingston upon Thames

$298 9.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 18.1% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Kingston upon Thames

$158 4.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 24.2% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Kingston upon Thames

$141 4.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 38.2% $54

Getting Around

Kingston upon Thames

$64 2%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 36% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,035 in Kingston upon Thames and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston upon Thames pays 514% 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: $87.0 in Kingston upon Thames vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $298 vs $352, with Kingston upon Thames cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kingston upon Thames

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:47 7:47 AM

00:47 12:47 AM

7 h behind Kingston upon Thames

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,013

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 →

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Between locations

Kingston upon Thames Nosara 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kingston upon Thames
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

Kingston upon Thames vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kingston upon Thames and Nosara differ by about 78% in total monthly costs ($3,276 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 514% higher in Kingston upon Thames, 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: $2,035 in Kingston upon Thames 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 71% less than in Kingston upon Thames. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $2,594 in Kingston upon Thames 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 $3,276 in Kingston upon Thames, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Kingston upon Thames. 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, Kingston upon Thames 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 78% less than in Kingston upon Thames. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.