Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lilongwe and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Lilongwe: $587 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

34

Cost of Living Index in Lilongwe
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Lilongwe Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Lilongwe

🇲🇼 Malawi

$587

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $587 in Lilongwe versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Lilongwe $587
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,146 in Lilongwe versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Lilongwe $1,146
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,706 in Lilongwe versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Lilongwe $1,706
Nosara $3,712

Living in Lilongwe costs roughly 68% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lilongwe is 56% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.07 MWK 8,703

$12.22 ₡5,509

-58.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.96 MWK 54.9K

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-46.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 MWK 17.9K

$7.54 ₡3,399

37.93%

Cappuccino

$3.08 MWK 5,294

$4.31 ₡1,941

-28.54%

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

$1.41 MWK 2,426

$1.72 ₡773

-18.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 MWK 641

$1.35 ₡608

-72.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 MWK 3,470

$3.24 ₡1,459

-37.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.95 MWK 6,779

$4.48 ₡2,018

-11.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 MWK 1,716

$1.57 ₡707

-36.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 MWK 2,363

$3.17 ₡1,429

-56.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 MWK 2,884

$2.42 ₡1,091

-30.58%

Eggs

$3.03 MWK 5,204

$3.57 ₡1,609

-15.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.87 MWK 27.2K

$7.43 ₡3,349

113.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.27 MWK 5,608

$10.42 ₡4,697

-68.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.08 MWK 7,005

$13.66 ₡6,156

-70.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.53 MWK 4,337

$2.32 ₡1,044

9.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 MWK 2,072

$1.61 ₡728

-24.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 MWK 2,648

$4.74 ₡2,138

-67.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.75 MWK 3,013

$1.66 ₡747

5.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 MWK 3,254

$3.72 ₡1,679

-48.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 MWK 2,436

$3.57 ₡1,611

-60.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 MWK 978

$2.55 ₡1,149

-77.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.62 MWK 2,781

$4.95 ₡2,232

-67.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.51 MWK 24.9K

$20.01 ₡9,020

-27.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 MWK 1,787

$2.79 ₡1,256

-62.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 MWK 3,348

$3.53 ₡1,589

-44.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.90 MWK 1,538

$1.19 ₡537

-24.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$4.42 MWK 7,584

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-93.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.52 MWK 4,322

$1.55 ₡701

62.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 MWK 3,667

$8.86 ₡3,993

-75.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.63 MWK 2,797

$1.57 ₡708

3.82%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

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

$46.17 MWK 79.3K

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-50.59%

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

$11.93 MWK 20.5K

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-66.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 MWK 108.5K

$51.5 ₡23.2K

22.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.64 MWK 64.6K

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-47.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

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

$354 MWK 607.7K

$490 ₡220.7K

-27.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,315 MWK 4.0M

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-80.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$66.5 MWK 114.1K

$780 ₡351.6K

-91.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$265 MWK 455.1K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-93.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$548 MWK 940.9K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-61.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$277 MWK 475.8K

$876 ₡395.0K

-68.38%

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 Lilongwe: October 5, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Lilongwe

$207 * 35.3%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 68.8% $142

Eating Out

Lilongwe

$134 22.8%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 56.4% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lilongwe

$121 20.7%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 48.4% $59

Accommodation & Living

Lilongwe

$66 11.3%

Nosara

$780 43% 1074% $713

Sport & Entertainment

Lilongwe

$38 * 6.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 131% $49

Getting Around

Lilongwe

$21 * 3.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 322% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Lilongwe

- * 0%

Nosara

$120 6.6%

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

Cost Breakdown

Nosara pays 216% 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: $32.00 in Lilongwe vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $207 vs $350 per month, with Lilongwe cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇼 Lilongwe

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

05:22 5:22 AM

21:22 9:22 PM

8 h behind Lilongwe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

781,538 Capital

4,912

💱 Currency

Malawian Kwacha MWK MK

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD

10,000 MWK = 5.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MWK – Malawian Kwacha Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇼 Malawian Kwacha (MK)

Malawian Kwacha exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,717 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.82 USD). 1 EUR = 1,926 MWK (10,000 MWK = 5.19 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 MWK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lilongwe Nosara 13,430 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Lilongwe
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

Lilongwe vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lilongwe is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 213% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 216% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 69% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Lilongwe – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $587 in Lilongwe versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Lilongwe but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Lilongwe the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Lilongwe is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Nosara, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Lilongwe 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 Lilongwe gentler on the wallet – expenses run 213% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.