Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Al Muharraq

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Muharraq: $1,089 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Al Muharraq
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Al Muharraq Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Al Muharraq

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,089

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Al Muharraq

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nosara and in Al Muharraq actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,089 in Al Muharraq.

Nosara $1,839
Al Muharraq $1,089

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,621 in Al Muharraq.

Nosara $2,828
Al Muharraq $1,621

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,152 in Al Muharraq.

Nosara $3,818
Al Muharraq $2,152

Living in Nosara is roughly 69% more expensive than in Al Muharraq, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Al Muharraq is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$2.67 BHD 1.01

362.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$26.28 BHD 9.92

132.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$5.94 BHD 2.24

26.60%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$4.04 BHD 1.52

9.16%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.89 BHD 0.33

95.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.32 BHD 0.12

309.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$6.49 BHD 2.45

-49.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$6.82 BHD 2.57

-34.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.34 BHD 0.51

16.42%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.05 BHD 0.40

187.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$2.29 BHD 0.86

9.61%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.24 BHD 0.84

59.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$3.64 BHD 1.37

104.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$4.82 BHD 1.82

118.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$8.40 BHD 3.17

66.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$1.03 BHD 0.39

128.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.89 BHD 0.71

-14.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.09 BHD 0.41

340.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.38 BHD 0.52

16.67%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.02 BHD 0.38

272.55%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.52 BHD 0.19

609.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.52 BHD 0.19

117.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.51 BHD 0.19

421.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$5.40 BHD 2.04

-4.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$18.89 BHD 7.13

5.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-20.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.73 BHD 1.03

32.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$5.40 BHD 2.04

-60.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.33 BHD 0.50

18.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$5.35 BHD 2.02

59.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$0.51 BHD 0.19

198.04%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$37.6K BHD 14.2K

-42.53%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$20.7K BHD 7,827

66.43%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$151 BHD 57.1

-36.33%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$21.42 BHD 8.08

67.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$35.71 BHD 13.48

50.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$10.65 BHD 4.02

-25.92%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$488 BHD 184

1.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$10.8K BHD 4,092

9.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$50.7 BHD 19.14

6.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$58.3 BHD 22.00

-4.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$88.7 BHD 33.46

-12.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$88.5 BHD 33.38

-9.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$466 BHD 176

69.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$376 BHD 142

111.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$977 BHD 369

303.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$741 BHD 280

91.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,015 BHD 760

243.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,582 BHD 597

-22.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,773 BHD 669

-51.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

6.21

38.81%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Al Muharraq: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Al Muharraq

$376 34.5% 52.7% $418

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Al Muharraq

$204 18.7% 42.2% $149

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Al Muharraq

$139 12.7% 34.6% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Al Muharraq

$208 19.1% 12.2% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Al Muharraq

$129 11.8% 7.2% $8.7

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Al Muharraq

$21 * 2% 75.6% $66

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Al Muharraq

$12 * 1.1% 86.2% $75

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 $788 in Nosara and $466 in Al Muharraq. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Al Muharraq pays 105% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $26.00 in Al Muharraq for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $204 per month, with Al Muharraq cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇭 Al Muharraq

🕒 Local time

04:38 4:38 AM

13:38 1:38 PM

9 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

75,000

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.424 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Al Muharraq 13,810 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Al Muharraq

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

Nosara vs Al Muharraq: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Al Muharraq differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($1,839 vs $1,089 including rent). Al Muharraq is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 105% lower in Al Muharraq. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $788 in Nosara versus $466 in Al Muharraq. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 73% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $1,089 in Al Muharraq – a 69% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,089 in Al Muharraq versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Al Muharraq but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Al Muharraq 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, Nosara and Al Muharraq 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 Al Muharraq gentler on the wallet – expenses run 69% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.