Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malmo and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,046 in Malmo, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. The total is higher in Malmo despite lower rent and utilities.

99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,046

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,046 per month in Malmo vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Malmo $2,046
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $3,083 per month in Malmo vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Malmo $3,083
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $4,121 per month in Malmo vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Malmo $4,121
Nosara $3,712

Malmo costs about 11% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Malmo and Nosara sit above the global median – Malmo by 53%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.90 SEK 149

$12.22 ₡5,509

21.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.0 SEK 740

$60.2 ₡27.1K

22.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.18 SEK 122

$7.54 ₡3,399

61.54%

Cappuccino

$4.83 SEK 48.23

$4.31 ₡1,941

12.06%

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

$3.35 SEK 33.52

$1.72 ₡773

94.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 SEK 26.97

$1.35 ₡608

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.46 SEK 84.5

$3.24 ₡1,459

161.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.10 SEK 90.9

$4.48 ₡2,018

103.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 SEK 17.26

$1.57 ₡707

10.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 SEK 28.67

$3.17 ₡1,429

-9.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.32 SEK 33.22

$2.42 ₡1,091

37.19%

Eggs

$4.11 SEK 41.10

$3.57 ₡1,609

15.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 SEK 127

$7.43 ₡3,349

71.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.86 SEK 119

$10.42 ₡4,697

13.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.61 SEK 216

$13.66 ₡6,156

58.20%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 SEK 29.93

$2.32 ₡1,044

28.88%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 SEK 25.82

$1.61 ₡728

60.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 SEK 29.61

$4.74 ₡2,138

-37.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 SEK 41.43

$1.66 ₡747

150.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 SEK 16.62

$3.72 ₡1,679

-55.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 SEK 15.29

$3.57 ₡1,611

-57.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.47 SEK 24.65

$1.10 ₡497

124.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 SEK 12.24

$2.55 ₡1,149

-51.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.72 SEK 77.1

$4.95 ₡2,232

55.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 SEK 115

$20.01 ₡9,020

-42.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 SEK 20.05

$2.79 ₡1,256

-27.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 SEK 23.43

$3.53 ₡1,589

-33.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.15 SEK 31.45

$1.19 ₡537

164.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.5 SEK 635

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-11.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.00 SEK 59.9

$2.24 ₡1,011

167.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.41 SEK 24.07

$1.55 ₡701

55.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.13 SEK 491

$8.86 ₡3,993

454.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.36

$1.57 ₡708

10.83%

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

$32.3K SEK 322.6K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

48.04%

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

$33.2K SEK 331.5K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-4.24%

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

$138 SEK 1,380

$93.5 ₡42.1K

47.81%

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

$26.21 SEK 262

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-25.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.07 SEK 361

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-29.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.93 SEK 399

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-44.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.69 SEK 287

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-19.05%

Cinema Ticket

$17.17 SEK 172

$7.84 ₡3,535

119.01%

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

$167 SEK 1,666

$490 ₡220.7K

-65.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,311 SEK 33.1K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-72.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.0 SEK 979

$53.5 ₡24.1K

83.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.19 SEK 442

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-20.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 SEK 1,125

$79.3 ₡35.7K

42.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$152 SEK 1,520

$78.9 ₡35.6K

92.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,063 SEK 10.6K

$786 ₡354.3K

35.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$818 SEK 8,173

$780 ₡351.6K

4.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 SEK 17.2K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-55.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 SEK 13.5K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-3.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,026 SEK 40.2K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-42.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,166 SEK 31.6K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

163.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,045 SEK 30.4K

$876 ₡395.0K

247.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.05

8.62

-64.62%

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

Last update for Malmo: October 5, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Malmo

$818 40.1%

Nosara

$780 43% 4.6% $38

Groceries & Markets

Malmo

$372 18.2%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 5.9% $22

Eating Out

Malmo

$298 14.6%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 29.8% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malmo

$200 9.8%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 10.2% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Malmo

$183 9%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 34.3% $63

Getting Around

Malmo

$94 4.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 7.8% $7.3

Sport & Entertainment

Malmo

$74 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 17.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,063 in Malmo versus $786 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 247% higher in Malmo, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74.0 in Malmo versus $60.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $372 vs $350 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Malmo

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:23 7:23 AM

23:23 11:23 PM

8 h behind Malmo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

316,588

4,912

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Malmo Nosara 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Malmo
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

Malmo vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Malmo costs about 11% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,069 per month in Malmo and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $167 per month in Malmo and $490 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Malmo, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,837, than in Malmo at $2,046. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Malmo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nosara costs $1,837 versus $2,046 in Malmo. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Malmo makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.