Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mecca and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $936 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

45

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
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Mecca Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$936

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $936 in Mecca versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Mecca $936
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,453 in Mecca versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Mecca $1,453
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,970 in Mecca versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Mecca $1,970
Nosara $3,818

Living in Mecca costs roughly 49% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Mecca is 31% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.57 SAR 17.14

$12.35 ₡5,539

-63.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.89 SAR 101

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-56.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.07 SAR 26.52

$7.52 ₡3,373

-5.98%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 SAR 5.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.61

Cappuccino

$2.61 SAR 9.79

$4.41 ₡1,978

-40.82%

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

$0.67 SAR 2.51

$1.74 ₡780

-61.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.23 SAR 0.86

$1.31 ₡587

-82.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 SAR 6.57

$1.56 ₡701

12.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 SAR 3.85

$3.02 ₡1,355

-65.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 SAR 7.91

$2.51 ₡1,125

-15.94%

Eggs

$2.52 SAR 9.46

$3.57 ₡1,603

-29.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.92 SAR 22.20

$7.43 ₡3,333

-20.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.08 SAR 30.33

$10.52 ₡4,717

-23.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.95 SAR 48.59

$13.97 ₡6,265

-7.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 SAR 7.84

$2.35 ₡1,052

-11.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.58 SAR 5.94

$1.61 ₡720

-1.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.61 SAR 6.05

$4.80 ₡2,152

-66.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.47 SAR 5.52

$1.61 ₡724

-8.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 SAR 4.21

$3.80 ₡1,703

-70.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 SAR 4.87

$3.69 ₡1,657

-64.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 SAR 3.94

$1.13 ₡507

-7.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.50 SAR 1.86

$2.66 ₡1,191

-81.20%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.06 SAR 15.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 SAR 6.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.97

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.81 SAR 25.56

$5.18 ₡2,321

31.47%

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)

$1.34 SAR 5.03

$1.12 ₡504

19.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.43 SAR 9.11

$2.14 ₡958

13.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.75 SAR 6.57

$1.57 ₡703

11.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.15 SAR 49.33

$8.52 ₡3,823

54.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.63 SAR 2.38

$1.52 ₡682

-58.55%

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

$47.5K SAR 178.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

119.74%

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

$21.1K SAR 79.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-38.80%

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

$66.9 SAR 251

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-30.56%

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

$35.35 SAR 133

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-1.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 SAR 237

$53.6 ₡24.0K

17.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$80.7 SAR 303

$71.6 ₡32.1K

12.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.52 SAR 160

$34.91 ₡15.7K

21.80%

Cinema Ticket

$11.96 SAR 44.88

$7.89 ₡3,539

51.58%

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

$775 SAR 2,907

$494 ₡221.6K

56.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.2K SAR 60.8K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

36.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.57 SAR 50.9

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-74.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.9 SAR 214

$55.4 ₡24.8K

2.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$39.67 SAR 149

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-49.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$53.3 SAR 200

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-33.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$533 SAR 2,001

$788 ₡353.4K

-32.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$290 SAR 1,088

$794 ₡356.2K

-63.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$830 SAR 3,114

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-78.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$523 SAR 1,963

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-63.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,375 SAR 23.9K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-7.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,298 SAR 8,624

$1,224 ₡549.0K

87.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,083 SAR 4,063

$864 ₡387.3K

25.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.25

8.62

-39.10%

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

Last update for Mecca: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mecca

$290 31%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 174% $504

Groceries & Markets

Mecca

$193 20.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 82.4% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mecca

$165 17.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 12.3% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Mecca

$105 11.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 16.5% $17

Eating Out

Mecca

$93 9.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 129% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Mecca

$74 7.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 63.2% $47

Getting Around

Mecca

$17 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 426% $71

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 $533 in Mecca and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mecca pays 25% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $27.00 in Mecca vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $352 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Mecca

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

06:59 6:59 AM

21:59 9:59 PM

9 h behind Mecca

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,675,368

4,912

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

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 SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mecca Nosara 13,120 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Mecca
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

Mecca vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mecca is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 96% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 25% higher in Mecca, 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: $533 in Mecca versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 82% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $936 per month in Mecca versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 96% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $936 in Mecca versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Mecca 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, Mecca 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 Mecca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 96% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.