Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Chaiyaphum

For one person, living is cheaper in Chaiyaphum: $915 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 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
44

Cost of Living Index in Chaiyaphum
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Chaiyaphum Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Chaiyaphum

🇹🇭 Thailand

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Chaiyaphum

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $915 in Chaiyaphum.

Nosara $1,839
Chaiyaphum $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,550 in Chaiyaphum.

Nosara $2,828
Chaiyaphum $1,550

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,185 in Chaiyaphum.

Nosara $3,818
Chaiyaphum $2,185

Living in Nosara is roughly 101% more expensive than in Chaiyaphum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Chaiyaphum is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$1.21 ฿40.48

920.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$36.12 ฿1,207

69.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$6.79 ฿227

10.75%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$1.22 ฿40.66

261.48%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.50 ฿16.83

248.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.36 ฿12.16

263.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.63 ฿87.9

24.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$4.58 ฿153

-2.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.89 ฿63.3

-17.46%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.44 ฿48.10

109.72%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.41 ฿47.13

78.01%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.54 ฿51.6

131.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$17.53 ฿586

-57.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$3.69 ฿123

185.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$13.19 ฿441

5.91%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$3.79 ฿127

-37.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$0.60 ฿20.08

168.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$2.82 ฿94.1

70.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.89 ฿63.3

-14.81%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.74 ฿58.0

118.39%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.48 ฿49.52

149.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.24 ฿41.49

-8.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.31 ฿10.52

758.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$4.72 ฿158

9.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$14.90 ฿498

33.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.83 ฿61.2

58.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$3.27 ฿109

11.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.93 ฿30.95

20.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.06 ฿35.43

101.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.22 ฿40.91

28.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$6.07 ฿203

40.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.05 ฿35.08

44.76%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$31.7K ฿1.1M

-31.85%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$27.6K ฿922.3K

25.08%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$43.17 ฿1,443

123.05%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$11.22 ฿375

219.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$11.99 ฿401

346.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$47.25 ฿1,579

51.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$14.22 ฿475

145.50%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$7.53 ฿252

4.78%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$572 ฿19.1K

-13.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$16.8K ฿561.3K

-29.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$69.4 ฿2,319

-22.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$42.28 ฿1,413

31.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$95.2 ฿3,181

-18.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$110 ฿3,676

-27.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$437 ฿14.6K

80.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$301 ฿10.1K

164.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$1,382 ฿46.2K

184.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$721 ฿24.1K

96.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$1,921 ฿64.2K

259.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,604 ฿53.6K

-23.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$445 ฿14.9K

94.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.25

64.19%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chaiyaphum: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Chaiyaphum

$301 32.9% 62.1% $493

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Chaiyaphum

$261 28.6% 25.8% $91

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Chaiyaphum

$70 7.7% 66.8% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Chaiyaphum

$66 7.3% 64.3% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Chaiyaphum

$143 15.6% 18.7% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Chaiyaphum

$62 6.8% 28.7% $25

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Chaiyaphum

$11 * 1.2% 87.5% $76

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 $437 in Chaiyaphum. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 94% 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: $61.0 in Nosara vs $36.00 in Chaiyaphum for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $261 per month, with Chaiyaphum cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇹🇭 Chaiyaphum

🕒 Local time

14:59 2:59 PM

03:59 3:59 AM

13 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

42,436

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 33.42 THB (100 THB = 2.99 USD). 1 EUR = 37.57 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Chaiyaphum 17,030 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Chaiyaphum

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 Chaiyaphum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaiyaphum is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 101% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 94% higher in Nosara, 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: $788 in Nosara versus $437 in Chaiyaphum. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $572 in Chaiyaphum. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chaiyaphum – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $915 in Chaiyaphum versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Chaiyaphum but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Chaiyaphum the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Chaiyaphum 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, Nosara and Chaiyaphum 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 Chaiyaphum gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.