Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Athienou

For one person, living is cheaper in Athienou: $1,686 a month against $1,846 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $1,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
82

Cost of Living Index in Athienou
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Athienou Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,846

/mo nomad

Athienou

🇨🇾 Cyprus

$1,686

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Athienou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,846 in Nosara versus $1,686 in Athienou.

Nosara $1,846
Athienou $1,686

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,833 in Nosara versus $2,591 in Athienou.

Nosara $2,833
Athienou $2,591

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,820 in Nosara versus $3,497 in Athienou.

Nosara $3,820
Athienou $3,497

Living in Nosara is roughly 9% more expensive than in Athienou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 36% above, Athienou 24% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.36 ₡5,561

$13.33 €11.95

-7.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.8 ₡27.3K

$52.3 €46.88

16.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.88 ₡3,547

$7.95 €7.13

-0.88%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₡1,981

$3.69 €3.31

19.24%

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

$1.72 ₡774

$1.65 €1.48

4.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 ₡602

$1.04 €0.93

28.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 ₡1,501

$3.27 €2.93

2.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 ₡2,042

$4.67 €4.19

-2.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ₡737

$1.63 €1.47

0.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.16 ₡1,422

$2.00 €1.79

58.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 ₡1,077

$2.99 €2.68

-20.07%

Eggs

$3.47 ₡1,559

$4.18 €3.75

-16.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.13 ₡3,209

$13.22 €11.86

-46.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.32 ₡4,642

$8.74 €7.84

18.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,285

$11.66 €10.46

19.81%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,029

$2.60 €2.33

-11.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ₡729

$2.35 €2.11

-31.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.81 ₡2,164

$1.66 €1.49

189.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 ₡756

$2.58 €2.32

-34.88%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,760

$1.42 €1.27

175.35%

Onion (1kg)

$3.63 ₡1,636

$1.13 €1.01

221.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡508

$0.88 €0.79

28.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 ₡1,185

$1.11 €1.00

136.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.02 ₡2,261

$5.75 €5.16

-12.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.71 ₡8,870

$7.95 €7.13

147.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 ₡1,311

$1.89 €1.70

53.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₡1,593

$2.53 €2.27

39.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 ₡544

$2.33 €2.09

-48.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 ₡33.2K

$43.99 €39.46

67.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 ₡967

$7.05 €6.32

-69.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡736

$2.29 €2.05

-28.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.77 ₡3,948

$22.42 €20.11

-60.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡698

$1.68 €1.51

-7.74%

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

$33.9K ₡15.2M

$31.7K €28.4K

6.91%

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

$38.5K ₡17.3M

$31.0K €27.8K

24.22%

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

$95.2 ₡42.8K

$179 €161

-46.87%

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

$36.29 ₡16.3K

$17.98 €16.13

101.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.0 ₡23.4K

$30.11 €27.01

72.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.6 ₡30.4K

$69.8 €62.7

-3.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.55 ₡16.0K

$23.56 €21.13

50.89%

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 ₡3,395

$11.08 €9.94

-31.95%

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

$496 ₡223.4K

$382 €342

30.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K ₡5.3M

$7,361 €6,603

59.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 ₡24.8K

$66.0 €59.2

-16.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 ₡25.2K

$31.96 €28.67

75.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 ₡35.0K

$69.4 €62.3

12.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 ₡35.6K

$91.7 €82.3

-13.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$817 ₡367.9K

$695 €623

17.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 ₡362.6K

$683 €613

17.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,988 ₡1.8M

$1,584 €1,421

151.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 ₡643.2K

$1,287 €1,154

11.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,068 ₡3.2M

$3,572 €3,204

97.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,197 ₡538.6K

$2,493 €2,236

-51.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$888 ₡399.7K

$2,075 €1,862

-57.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.93

119.34%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 24, 2026

Last update for Athienou: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$806 43.7%

Athienou

$683 40.5% 15.2% $123

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$351 19%

Athienou

$284 16.8% 19.2% $67

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Athienou

$211 12.5% 1% $2.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 9.9%

Athienou

$227 13.5% 23.8% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.5%

Athienou

$117 6.9% 3.4% $4

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Athienou

$72 4.3% 19.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$83 4.5%

Athienou

$92 5.5% 11.3% $9.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $817 in Nosara and $695 in Athienou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Athienou pays about 2.3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61 in Nosara vs $52 in Athienou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $284 per month, with Athienou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇨🇾 Athienou

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

00:28 12:28 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

5,000

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Athienou 11,910 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Athienou

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 Athienou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Athienou differ by about 9% in total monthly costs ($1,846 vs $1,686 including rent). Athienou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 57% lower in Nosara. 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: $817 in Nosara versus $695 in Athienou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,846 per month in Nosara versus $1,686 in Athienou – a 9% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Athienou runs roughly 40% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Athienou gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

Expats usually find Athienou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 9% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.