Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Cardiff

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,463 in Cardiff, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
119

Cost of Living Index in Cardiff
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Cardiff Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Cardiff

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,463

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Cardiff

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $2,463 in Cardiff.

Nosara $1,837
Cardiff $2,463

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $3,467 in Cardiff.

Nosara $2,775
Cardiff $3,467

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $4,470 in Cardiff.

Nosara $3,712
Cardiff $4,470

Living in Nosara costs roughly 25% less than in Cardiff, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 37% above, Cardiff 84% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$19.59 £14.80

-37.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$82.6 £62.4

-27.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$10.73 £8.11

-29.73%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$4.60 £3.47

-6.30%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$2.98 £2.25

-42.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$2.00 £1.51

-32.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$7.79 £5.88

-58.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$6.42 £4.85

-30.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$1.72 £1.30

-8.72%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$1.47 £1.11

115.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$2.25 £1.70

7.56%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$3.72 £2.81

-4.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$9.18 £6.93

-19.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$8.75 £6.61

19.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$16.29 £12.31

-16.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$2.81 £2.12

-17.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$1.54 £1.16

4.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$2.98 £2.25

59.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$3.65 £2.76

-54.52%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$1.90 £1.43

95.79%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$1.48 £1.12

141.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$1.11 £0.84

-0.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$1.63 £1.23

56.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$23.34 £17.64

-78.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$11.17 £8.44

79.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$3.11 £2.35

-10.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$3.33 £2.52

6.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

$3.30 £2.50

-63.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

$78.6 £59.4

-8.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

$4.56 £3.45

-50.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$1.74 £1.31

-10.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$35.83 £27.08

-75.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$2.14 £1.62

-26.64%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$37.8K £28.6K

-42.39%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$41.3K £31.2K

-16.04%

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$343 £259

-72.78%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$25.85 £19.54

35.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$43.60 £32.95

18.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

$38.02 £28.73

87.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

$11.52 £8.70

207.64%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$10.65 £8.05

-26.38%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

$1,978 £1,495

-75.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$32.8K £24.8K

-63.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$100 £75.6

-46.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$47.31 £35.75

17.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$120 £90.6

-33.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$99.3 £75.0

-20.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$1,158 £875

-32.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$1,097 £829

-28.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$2,185 £1,651

76.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

$1,514 £1,144

-7.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$5,353 £4,045

30.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

$3,479 £2,629

-65.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

$3,223 £2,435

-72.81%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.11

68.69%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cardiff: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Cardiff

$1.1K 44.6% 40.7% $317

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Cardiff

$307 12.5% 12.3% $43

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Cardiff

$316 12.8% 50.7% $106

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Cardiff

$413 16.8% 129% $233

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Cardiff

$165 6.7% 37.1% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Cardiff

$59 2.4% 31.9% $28

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Cardiff

$105 4.3% 21% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $786 in Nosara and $1,158 in Cardiff. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cardiff pays 268% 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: $60.0 in Nosara vs $83.0 in Cardiff. Groceries flip the comparison at $350 vs $307, with Cardiff cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇬🇧 Cardiff

🕒 Local time

01:36 1:36 AM

08:36 8:36 AM

7 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

346,100

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Cardiff 8,620 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Cardiff

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 Cardiff: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Cardiff differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,837 vs $2,463 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 268% lower in Cardiff. 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: $786 in Nosara versus $1,158 in Cardiff. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nosara – a meal for two runs $60.0 versus $83.0 in Cardiff. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,837 per month in Nosara versus $2,463 in Cardiff – a 34% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,837 in Nosara versus $2,463 in Cardiff, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Cardiff. 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, Nosara and Cardiff 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 34% less than in Cardiff. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.