Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Elblag

For one person, living is cheaper in Elblag: $1,455 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Elblag
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Elblag Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Elblag

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,455

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Elblag

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,455 in Elblag.

Nosara $1,839
Elblag $1,455

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $2,027 in Elblag.

Nosara $2,828
Elblag $2,027

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,599 in Elblag.

Nosara $3,818
Elblag $2,599

Living in Nosara is roughly 26% more expensive than in Elblag, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 36% above, Elblag 8% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$12.17 zł 47.29

1.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$27.38 zł 106

123.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$7.34 zł 28.54

2.45%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.35 zł 13.03

31.64%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$2.10 zł 8.16

-17.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.71 zł 6.63

-23.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$3.03 zł 11.78

8.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.73 zł 14.50

19.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.04 zł 4.04

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.66 zł 6.44

81.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$0.95 zł 3.69

164.21%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$3.79 zł 14.72

-5.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$8.96 zł 34.81

-17.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$6.83 zł 26.53

54.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$11.50 zł 44.68

21.48%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$1.34 zł 5.22

75.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.67 zł 6.48

-3.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.60 zł 6.20

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$3.08 zł 11.98

-47.73%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.79 zł 3.09

381.01%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.32 zł 5.13

179.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.10 zł 4.27

2.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.50 zł 1.93

432.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$4.13 zł 16.04

25.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$6.31 zł 24.52

215.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$0.49 zł 1.91

491.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.41 zł 5.47

157.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.03 zł 4.01

8.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$24.01 zł 93.3

202.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$2.14 zł 8.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.78 zł 3.04

101.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$9.86 zł 38.29

-13.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.54 zł 5.98

-1.30%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$30.7K zł 119.4K

-29.70%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$24.9K zł 96.6K

38.88%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$285 zł 1,108

-66.24%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$7.79 zł 30.27

360.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$13.79 zł 53.6

288.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$41.85 zł 163

71.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$22.09 zł 85.8

58.04%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$5.23 zł 20.30

50.86%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$323 zł 1,255

52.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$1,954 zł 7,593

506.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$80.9 zł 314

-33.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$36.97 zł 144

49.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$88.1 zł 342

-11.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$98.5 zł 383

-19.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$602 zł 2,339

30.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$514 zł 1,995

54.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$857 zł 3,331

359.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$738 zł 2,868

92.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,191 zł 8,514

215.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$2,243 zł 8,714

-45.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,299 zł 5,048

-33.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

6.89

25.11%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Elblag: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Elblag

$514 35.3% 35.3% $281

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Elblag

$213 14.7% 39.5% $139

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Elblag

$197 13.6% 6.8% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Elblag

$307 21.1% 65.2% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Elblag

$137 9.4% 14.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Elblag

$52 3.6% 40.1% $35

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Elblag

$34 2.4% 60.8% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $602 in Elblag. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elblag pays 50% 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 $27.00 in Elblag for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $213 per month, with Elblag cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇵🇱 Elblag

🕒 Local time

19:10 7:10 PM

03:10 3:10 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

122,899

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 PLN = 0.257 USD

1 PLN = 0.229 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 3.89 PLN (1 PLN = 0.257 USD). 1 EUR = 4.37 PLN (1 PLN = 0.229 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Elblag 10,070 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Elblag

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 Elblag: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elblag is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 26% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 50% lower in Elblag. 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 $602 in Elblag. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 65% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Elblag – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,455 in Elblag versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Elblag but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Elblag the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Elblag 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 Elblag 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 Elblag gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.