Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mahboula and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Mahboula: $1,235 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Mahboula
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Mahboula Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Mahboula

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,235

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,235 in Mahboula versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Mahboula $1,235
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,007 in Mahboula versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Mahboula $2,007
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,780 in Mahboula versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Mahboula $2,780
Nosara $3,818

Living in Mahboula costs roughly 33% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mahboula is 9% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.31 KWD 1.94

$12.35 ₡5,539

-48.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$25.81 KWD 7.95

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-57.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.08 KWD 2.80

$7.52 ₡3,373

20.74%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.64 KWD 0.51

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 KWD 1.00

Cappuccino

$5.32 KWD 1.64

$4.41 ₡1,978

20.63%

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

$0.47 KWD 0.14

$1.74 ₡780

-72.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 KWD 0.05

$1.31 ₡587

-87.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 KWD 0.49

$1.56 ₡701

1.28%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 KWD 0.31

$3.02 ₡1,355

-66.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 KWD 0.59

$2.51 ₡1,125

-24.30%

Eggs

$1.29 KWD 0.40

$3.57 ₡1,603

-63.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.38 KWD 1.35

$7.43 ₡3,333

-41.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.58 KWD 2.03

$10.52 ₡4,717

-37.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.36 KWD 3.19

$13.97 ₡6,265

-25.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.43 KWD 0.75

$2.35 ₡1,052

3.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 KWD 0.58

$1.61 ₡720

17.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 KWD 0.55

$4.80 ₡2,152

-62.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.13 KWD 0.35

$1.61 ₡724

-29.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 KWD 0.42

$3.80 ₡1,703

-64.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 KWD 0.34

$3.69 ₡1,657

-70.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 KWD 0.72

$1.13 ₡507

107.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 KWD 0.15

$2.66 ₡1,191

-81.58%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.24 KWD 1.00

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 KWD 0.31

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 KWD 0.45

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.59 KWD 0.49

$5.18 ₡2,321

-69.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 KWD 0.24

$1.12 ₡504

-31.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.84 KWD 15.05

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-32.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 KWD 0.48

$2.14 ₡958

-26.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.59 KWD 0.49

$1.57 ₡703

1.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.56 KWD 1.71

$8.52 ₡3,823

-34.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.17 KWD 0.05

$1.52 ₡682

-88.82%

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

$19.3K KWD 5,936

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-10.85%

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

$18.0K KWD 5,544

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-47.87%

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

$65.2 KWD 20.10

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-32.27%

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

$15.94 KWD 4.91

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-55.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.15 KWD 9.29

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-43.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$96.5 KWD 29.73

$71.6 ₡32.1K

34.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$47.47 KWD 14.63

$34.91 ₡15.7K

35.98%

Cinema Ticket

$11.44 KWD 3.53

$7.89 ₡3,539

44.99%

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

$296 KWD 91.1

$494 ₡221.6K

-40.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,633 KWD 2,044

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-44.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.47 KWD 11.54

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-30.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.64 KWD 12.21

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-28.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.9 KWD 29.84

$77.9 ₡34.9K

24.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.3 KWD 26.90

$79.6 ₡35.7K

9.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$710 KWD 219

$788 ₡353.4K

-9.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$507 KWD 156

$794 ₡356.2K

-36.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,761 KWD 543

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-55.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,141 KWD 351

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-19.63%

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)

$1,277 KWD 393

$864 ₡387.3K

47.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.53

8.62

-24.25%

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

Last update for Mahboula: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mahboula

$507 41.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 56.6% $287

Groceries & Markets

Mahboula

$174 14.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 103% $179

Eating Out

Mahboula

$144 11.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 47.1% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Mahboula

$119 9.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 26.8% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Mahboula

$118 9.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 2.1% $2.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mahboula

$111 9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 66.9% $74

Getting Around

Mahboula

$61 5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 41.7% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $710 in Mahboula and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mahboula pays 48% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $26.00 in Mahboula vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $174 vs $352 per month, with Mahboula cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇼 Mahboula

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

01:02 1:02 AM

16:02 4:02 PM

9 h behind Mahboula

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

18,178

4,912

💱 Currency

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to KWD – Kuwaiti Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇼 Kuwaiti Dinar (د.ك)

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 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 KWD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mahboula Nosara 13,420 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mahboula
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

Mahboula vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mahboula is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 49% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 48% higher in Mahboula, 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: $710 in Mahboula versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mahboula – a meal for two runs $26.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,235 per month in Mahboula versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 49% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,235 in Mahboula versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mahboula but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Mahboula the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mahboula 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, Mahboula 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 Mahboula gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.