Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Johor Bahru

For one person, living is cheaper in Johor Bahru: $1,056 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Johor Bahru
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Johor Bahru Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Johor Bahru

🇲🇾 Malaysia

$1,056

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Johor Bahru

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,056 in Johor Bahru.

Nosara $1,839
Johor Bahru $1,056

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,551 in Johor Bahru.

Nosara $2,828
Johor Bahru $1,551

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,046 in Johor Bahru.

Nosara $3,818
Johor Bahru $2,046

Living in Nosara is roughly 74% more expensive than in Johor Bahru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Johor Bahru is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$3.56 MYR 14.53

246.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$18.68 MYR 76.2

227.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$4.93 MYR 20.11

52.54%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.86 MYR 11.67

54.20%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.84 MYR 3.45

107.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.55 MYR 2.25

138.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$4.54 MYR 18.52

-27.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$6.20 MYR 25.31

-27.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.66 MYR 6.79

-6.02%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.11 MYR 4.52

172.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.50 MYR 6.13

67.33%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.72 MYR 7.00

107.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$17.86 MYR 72.9

-58.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$4.56 MYR 18.58

130.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$10.49 MYR 42.80

33.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$3.26 MYR 13.28

-27.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.70 MYR 6.94

-5.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$3.91 MYR 15.96

22.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.68 MYR 6.86

-4.17%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.47 MYR 6.00

158.50%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.65 MYR 6.74

123.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.32 MYR 5.37

-14.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.55 MYR 2.24

383.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$4.17 MYR 17.01

24.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$13.98 MYR 57.1

42.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.84 MYR 11.59

2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$3.11 MYR 12.68

16.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.71 MYR 2.90

57.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$12.11 MYR 49.42

499.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$0.96 MYR 3.90

122.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.70 MYR 2.85

124.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$9.50 MYR 38.75

-10.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$0.83 MYR 3.40

83.13%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$41.1K MYR 167.8K

-47.45%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$36.1K MYR 147.2K

-4.35%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$53.0 MYR 216

81.58%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$10.99 MYR 44.84

226.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$28.42 MYR 116

88.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$39.45 MYR 161

81.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$5.63 MYR 22.97

520.07%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$4.92 MYR 20.08

60.37%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$161 MYR 658

206.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$4,478 MYR 18.3K

164.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$54.2 MYR 221

-0.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$16.54 MYR 67.5

235.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$81.5 MYR 332

-4.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$97.3 MYR 397

-18.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$517 MYR 2,109

52.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$397 MYR 1,620

99.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$900 MYR 3,673

337.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$624 MYR 2,548

127.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,019 MYR 8,238

242.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,167 MYR 4,759

4.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,060 MYR 4,325

-18.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

4.06

112.32%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Johor Bahru: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Johor Bahru

$397 37.6% 50% $397

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Johor Bahru

$267 25.3% 24.2% $85

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Johor Bahru

$118 11.2% 44.2% $94

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Johor Bahru

$92 8.8% 50.2% $93

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Johor Bahru

$112 10.6% 6.5% $7.8

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Johor Bahru

$49 4.7% 43.6% $38

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Johor Bahru

$19 1.8% 77.7% $68

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $517 in Johor Bahru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Johor Bahru pays 23% 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 $19.00 in Johor Bahru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $267 per month, with Johor Bahru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇲🇾 Johor Bahru

🕒 Local time

23:26 11:26 PM

13:26 1:26 PM

14 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

858,118

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Johor Bahru 18,370 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Johor Bahru

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 Johor Bahru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Johor Bahru differ by about 74% in total monthly costs ($1,839 vs $1,056 including rent). Johor Bahru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 23% lower in Johor Bahru. 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 $517 in Johor Bahru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Johor Bahru – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $1,056 in Johor Bahru – a 74% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,056 in Johor Bahru versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Johor Bahru but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Johor Bahru 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 Johor Bahru 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 Johor Bahru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.