Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and George Town

For one person, living is cheaper in George Town: $956 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in George Town
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George Town Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

George Town

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in George Town

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $956 in George Town.

Nosara $1,839
George Town $956

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,599 in George Town.

Nosara $2,828
George Town $1,599

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,243 in George Town.

Nosara $3,818
George Town $2,243

Living in Nosara is roughly 92% more expensive than in George Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, George Town is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$3.41 MYR 13.92

262.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$15.33 MYR 62.5

299.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$4.55 MYR 18.58

65.27%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.61 MYR 10.66

68.97%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.78 MYR 3.16

123.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.35 MYR 1.43

274.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.42 MYR 9.88

35.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$4.46 MYR 18.21

0.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.85 MYR 7.56

-15.68%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.05 MYR 4.28

187.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.68 MYR 6.85

49.40%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.21 MYR 9.03

61.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$13.65 MYR 55.7

-45.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$4.51 MYR 18.38

133.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$8.49 MYR 34.62

64.55%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.43 MYR 9.89

-3.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.43 MYR 5.84

12.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$2.23 MYR 9.12

115.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.19 MYR 4.86

35.29%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.93 MYR 3.77

308.60%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.85 MYR 3.45

334.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.70 MYR 2.87

61.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.57 MYR 2.31

366.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$4.42 MYR 18.03

17.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$18.74 MYR 76.5

6.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.42 MYR 9.89

19.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$3.59 MYR 14.65

1.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.47 MYR 1.91

138.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$10.84 MYR 44.24

570.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.24 MYR 5.08

72.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.51 MYR 2.09

207.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$6.87 MYR 28.03

24.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$0.84 MYR 3.43

80.95%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$42.3K MYR 172.6K

-48.94%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$28.7K MYR 117.0K

20.32%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$36.87 MYR 150

161.16%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$8.21 MYR 33.51

337.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$28.51 MYR 116

87.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$40.21 MYR 164

78.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$5.04 MYR 20.55

592.66%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$4.76 MYR 19.43

65.76%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$173 MYR 705

186.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$4,848 MYR 19.8K

144.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$53.1 MYR 216

1.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$34.45 MYR 141

60.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$74.5 MYR 304

4.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$69.8 MYR 285

14.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$505 MYR 2,059

56.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$374 MYR 1,524

112.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$932 MYR 3,804

322.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$992 MYR 4,046

43.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,094 MYR 4,462

-21.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

4.04

113.37%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for George Town: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

George Town

$374 39.1% 53% $421

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

George Town

$240 25.1% 31.9% $112

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

George Town

$98 10.2% 53.8% $114

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

George Town

$74 7.7% 60.4% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

George Town

$104 10.9% 13.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

George Town

$50 5.2% 43.1% $38

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

George Town

$17 1.7% 81% $71

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $505 in George Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

George Town pays 27% 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 $15.00 in George Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $240 per month, with George Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇲🇾 George Town

🕒 Local time

08:46 8:46 AM

22:46 10:46 PM

14 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

794,313

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Malaysian Ringgit MYR RM

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 MYR = 0.245 USD

1 MYR = 0.218 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Malaysian Ringgit exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 4.08 MYR (1 MYR = 0.245 USD). 1 EUR = 4.59 MYR (1 MYR = 0.218 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara George Town 18,180 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
George Town

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 George Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

George Town is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 92% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 27% lower in George Town. 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 $505 in George Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in George Town runs roughly 570% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $173 in George Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $956 in George Town versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in George Town but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes George Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, George Town 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 George Town 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 George Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 92% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.