Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Elche

For one person, living is cheaper in Elche: $1,511 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $3,900 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
72

Cost of Living Index in Elche
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Elche Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Elche

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,511

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Elche

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,835 in Nosara versus $1,511 in Elche.

Nosara $1,835
Elche $1,511

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,825 in Nosara versus $2,225 in Elche.

Nosara $2,825
Elche $2,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,814 in Nosara versus $2,940 in Elche.

Nosara $3,814
Elche $2,940

Living in Nosara is roughly 21% more expensive than in Elche, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 35% above, Elche 11% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.34 ₡5,535

$16.76 €14.90

-26.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 ₡27.5K

$57.1 €50.8

7.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 ₡3,481

$11.31 €10.06

-31.39%

Cappuccino

$4.44 ₡1,992

$2.50 €2.22

77.60%

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

$1.79 ₡803

$2.31 €2.06

-22.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 ₡580

$1.84 €1.63

-29.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,451

$3.33 €2.96

-2.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 ₡1,985

$3.43 €3.05

29.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡696

$1.16 €1.03

33.62%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,380

$1.59 €1.41

93.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 ₡1,133

$1.62 €1.44

56.17%

Eggs

$3.45 ₡1,546

$2.97 €2.64

16.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 ₡3,284

$14.46 €12.86

-49.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 ₡4,594

$8.20 €7.29

24.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.10 ₡6,326

$13.52 €12.02

4.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,027

$2.57 €2.28

-10.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 ₡737

$2.00 €1.78

-18.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 ₡2,149

$1.91 €1.70

150.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 ₡735

$2.42 €2.15

-32.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,727

$1.74 €1.55

121.26%

Onion (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,681

$1.88 €1.67

99.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$1.07 €0.95

1.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 ₡1,160

$0.65 €0.58

298.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.12 ₡2,295

$6.37 €5.67

-19.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.92 ₡8,931

$5.45 €4.85

265.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,255

$1.02 €0.90

174.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 ₡1,580

$0.96 €0.86

266.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 ₡549

$1.50 €1.33

-18.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.9 ₡33.1K

$22.74 €20.23

224.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.17 ₡973

$3.16 €2.81

-31.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡698

$0.81 €0.72

92.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.67 ₡3,886

$16.50 €14.67

-47.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡697

$1.81 €1.61

-14.36%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$31.9K €28.4K

8.21%

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

$38.7K ₡17.4M

$31.0K €27.6K

24.86%

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

$94.8 ₡42.5K

$143 €127

-33.63%

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

$36.15 ₡16.2K

$17.45 €15.53

107.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.1 ₡23.8K

$27.38 €24.36

93.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$46.24 €41.13

59.56%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

$11.15 €9.92

219.55%

Cinema Ticket

$7.91 ₡3,548

$7.10 €6.31

11.41%

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

$490 ₡219.9K

$707 €629

-30.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$10.1K €8,972

17.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.8 ₡24.6K

$85.8 €76.3

-36.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.9 ₡25.1K

$36.10 €32.11

54.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 ₡36.0K

$88.7 €78.9

-9.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$87.6 €77.9

-11.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ₡359.1K

$668 €594

19.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 ₡354.1K

$600 €534

31.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,005 ₡1.8M

$962 €856

316.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 ₡632.0K

$855 €761

64.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,064 ₡3.2M

$2,093 €1,861

237.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 ₡554.3K

$1,537 €1,368

-19.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

$1,619 €1,440

-45.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.3

161.21%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Last update for Elche: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$790 43%

Elche

$600 39.7% 24% $189

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.1%

Elche

$254 16.8% 27.3% $95

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Elche

$238 15.8% 11.9% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 10%

Elche

$188 12.4% 2% $3.7

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.6%

Elche

$134 8.9% 10.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$90 4.9%

Elche

$60 4% 32.6% $29

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Elche

$36 2.4% 59.5% $53

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $801 in Nosara and $668 in Elche. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Elche pays 83% 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 $57.0 in Elche for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $254 per month, with Elche cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇪🇸 Elche

🕒 Local time

13:09 1:09 PM

21:09 9:09 PM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

238,293

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Elche 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Elche

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 Elche: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Elche wins on cost – living expenses run 21% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Elche the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 83% lower in Elche. 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: $801 in Nosara versus $668 in Elche. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Elche – a meal for two runs $57.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,835 per month in Nosara versus $1,511 in Elche – a 21% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,511 in Elche versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Elche but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Elche the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Elche delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,511 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Elche hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Elche 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 Elche gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.