Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Al-Qusayr

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-Qusayr: $639 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Nosara
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
$1,839
/mo nomad
Al-Qusayr
🇸🇾 Syria
$639
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Al-Qusayr

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-Qusayr actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $639 in Al-Qusayr.

  • Nosara $1,839
  • Al-Qusayr $639

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,012 in Al-Qusayr.

  • Nosara $2,828
  • Al-Qusayr $1,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,385 in Al-Qusayr.

  • Nosara $3,818
  • Al-Qusayr $1,385

Living in Nosara is roughly 188% more expensive than in Al-Qusayr, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Al-Qusayr is 53% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.35 ₡5,539
$9.84 SYP 1,196
25.51%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.2 ₡27.4K
$42.27 SYP 5,137
44.74%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.52 ₡3,373
$7.12 SYP 866
5.62%
Cappuccino
$4.41 ₡1,978
$3.64 SYP 442
21.15%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 ₡780
$2.22 SYP 269
-21.62%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 ₡587
$0.83 SYP 101
57.83%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.28 ₡1,471
$1.96 SYP 238
67.35%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.47 ₡2,004
$3.96 SYP 481
12.88%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.56 ₡701
$1.10 SYP 134
41.82%
White Bread (500g)
$3.02 ₡1,355
$0.41 SYP 49.91
636.59%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.51 ₡1,125
$1.50 SYP 183
67.33%
Eggs
$3.57 ₡1,603
$1.61 SYP 196
121.74%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.43 ₡3,333
$3.94 SYP 478
88.58%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.52 ₡4,717
$5.66 SYP 688
85.87%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.97 ₡6,265
$13.54 SYP 1,646
3.18%
Apples (1kg)
$2.35 ₡1,052
$1.03 SYP 125
128.16%
Banana (1kg)
$1.61 ₡720
$1.42 SYP 173
13.38%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.80 ₡2,152
$1.14 SYP 139
321.05%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 ₡724
$1.05 SYP 128
53.33%
Potato (1kg)
$3.80 ₡1,703
$0.80 SYP 97.1
375.00%
Onion (1kg)
$3.69 ₡1,657
$0.74 SYP 90.1
398.65%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.13 ₡507
$0.44 SYP 53.0
156.82%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$2.66 ₡1,191
$0.66 SYP 79.6
303.03%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.18 ₡2,321
$2.71 SYP 330
91.14%
Wine (Bottle)
$19.88 ₡8,916
$6.06 SYP 737
228.05%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.90 ₡1,300
$1.09 SYP 132
166.06%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.63 ₡1,626
$2.82 SYP 343
28.72%
🚌 Getting Around
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
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
$0.98 SYP 119
118.37%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.57 ₡703
$1.50 SYP 182
4.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$8.52 ₡3,823
$7.60 SYP 924
12.11%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.52 ₡682
$3.58 SYP 435
-57.54%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.6K ₡9.7M
$15.1K SYP 1.8M
42.66%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.5K ₡15.5M
$19.0K SYP 2.3M
81.67%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.3 ₡43.2K
$138 SYP 16.7K
-30.12%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$35.89 ₡16.1K
$9.90 SYP 1,203
262.53%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$53.6 ₡24.0K
$45.56 SYP 5,536
17.63%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$71.6 ₡32.1K
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$34.91 ₡15.7K
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.89 ₡3,539
$5.61 SYP 682
40.64%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$494 ₡221.6K
$65.6 SYP 7,973
653.13%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.9K ₡5.3M
$1,800 SYP 218.7K
558.88%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.9 ₡24.2K
$28.15 SYP 3,420
91.62%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$55.4 ₡24.8K
$39.64 SYP 4,817
39.78%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.9 ₡34.9K
$60.5 SYP 7,356
28.73%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$79.6 ₡35.7K
$58.8 SYP 7,139
35.51%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$788 ₡353.4K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$794 ₡356.2K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,939 ₡1.8M
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,419 ₡636.5K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,912 ₡3.1M
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,224 ₡549.0K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Nosara
Al-Qusayr
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$864 ₡387.3K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.62
14.25
-39.51%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Al-Qusayr: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Nosara
$794
Al-Qusayr
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Nosara
$352
Al-Qusayr
$169 52.2% $184
Eating Out
Nosara
$212
Al-Qusayr
$174 18.1% $38
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nosara
$186
Al-Qusayr
$193 4% $7.5
Clothing & Footwear
Nosara
$120
Al-Qusayr
$84 29.9% $36
Sport & Entertainment
Nosara
$87
Al-Qusayr
$11 * 87.2% $76
Getting Around
Nosara
$87
Al-Qusayr
$8.5 * 90.3% $79

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $42.00 in Al-Qusayr for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $169 per month, with Al-Qusayr cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇨🇷 Nosara
🇸🇾 Al-Qusayr
🕒 Local time
16:09 4:09 PM
01:09 1:09 AM
9 h ahead of Nosara
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
4,912
29,818
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

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

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).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Nosara Al-Qusayr 12,180 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Nosara
  • Al-Qusayr

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-Qusayr: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Al-Qusayr cheaper than Nosara?
Al-Qusayr is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 188% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $2,758 in Nosara and $959 in Al-Qusayr to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.
How do food prices compare in Nosara and in Al-Qusayr?
Supermarket bills run roughly 109% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Nosara and in Al-Qusayr?
All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $639 in Al-Qusayr – a 188% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Nosara or in Al-Qusayr?
At $639 in Al-Qusayr versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Al-Qusayr but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Al-Qusayr the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Nosara or Al-Qusayr more family-friendly?
For families, Al-Qusayr 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.
Which city is safer, Nosara or Al-Qusayr?
Safety-wise, Nosara and Al-Qusayr are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Al-Qusayr gentler on the wallet – expenses run 188% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

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