Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mdina and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,080 in Mdina, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mdina outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

95

Cost of Living Index in Mdina
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Mdina Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Mdina

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,080

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,080 in Mdina versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Mdina $2,080
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,064 in Mdina versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Mdina $3,064
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,048 in Mdina versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Mdina $4,048
Nosara $3,818

Living in Mdina is roughly 13% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Mdina 54% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.17 €17.05

$12.35 ₡5,539

55.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.3 €75.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

39.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.90

$7.52 ₡3,373

77.93%

Cappuccino

$2.78 €2.47

$4.41 ₡1,978

-36.96%

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

$3.15 €2.80

$1.74 ₡780

81.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.31 ₡587

66.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.42 €3.93

$3.28 ₡1,471

34.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.06 €4.50

$4.47 ₡2,004

13.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.56 ₡701

-14.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.36 €1.21

$3.02 ₡1,355

-54.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.31 €3.83

$2.51 ₡1,125

71.71%

Eggs

$4.25 €3.78

$3.57 ₡1,603

19.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.34 €7.42

$7.43 ₡3,333

12.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.26 €9.13

$10.52 ₡4,717

-2.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.48 €16.44

$13.97 ₡6,265

32.28%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 €3.60

$2.35 ₡1,052

72.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.78 €2.48

$1.61 ₡720

72.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.63 €3.23

$4.80 ₡2,152

-24.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 €3.01

$1.61 ₡724

109.94%

Potato (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$3.80 ₡1,703

-36.05%

Onion (1kg)

$2.04 €1.82

$3.69 ₡1,657

-44.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.13 ₡507

100.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.19

$2.66 ₡1,191

-49.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.82 €6.06

$5.18 ₡2,321

31.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$19.88 ₡8,916

-58.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 €1.58

$2.90 ₡1,300

-38.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 €2.10

$3.63 ₡1,626

-34.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.12 ₡504

127.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.45 €4.85

$2.14 ₡958

154.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.57 ₡703

40.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.64 €23.70

$8.52 ₡3,823

212.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.52 ₡682

-3.29%

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

$37.6K €33.4K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

73.94%

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

$38.9K €34.6K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

12.64%

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

$104 €92.5

$96.3 ₡43.2K

7.94%

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

$25.81 €22.96

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-28.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.04 €37.39

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-21.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$70.5 €62.7

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-1.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$9.90 €8.80

$7.89 ₡3,539

25.48%

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

$370 €329

$494 ₡221.6K

-25.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.0K €9,820

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-6.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 €77.6

$53.9 ₡24.2K

61.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.22 €35.78

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-27.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.4 €87.5

$77.9 ₡34.9K

26.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 €70.4

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-0.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,170 €1,040

$788 ₡353.4K

48.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,045 €930

$794 ₡356.2K

31.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,554 €1,383

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-60.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,544 €1,374

$1,419 ₡636.5K

8.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,557 €3,164

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-48.53%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,055 €2,717

$1,224 ₡549.0K

149.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,467 €1,305

$864 ₡387.3K

69.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

8.62

-66.36%

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

Last update for Mdina: 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

Mdina

$1K 50.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 24% $251

Groceries & Markets

Mdina

$328 15.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 7.4% $24

Eating Out

Mdina

$280 13.5%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 24.5% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mdina

$172 8.3%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 8.1% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Mdina

$137 6.6%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 12.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Mdina

$90 4.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 3.2% $2.9

Getting Around

Mdina

$27 * 1.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 226% $60

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,170 in Mdina and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mdina pays 70% 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: $85.0 in Mdina vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $328 vs $352, with Mdina cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Mdina

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:14 2:14 PM

06:14 6:14 AM

8 h behind Mdina

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Mdina Nosara 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Mdina
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

Mdina vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mdina and Nosara differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($2,080 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 70% higher in Mdina, 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: $1,170 in Mdina versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Mdina pay roughly 7% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $2,080 per month in Mdina versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 13% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,080 in Mdina, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Mdina. 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, Mdina 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 13% less than in Mdina. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.