Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Kandy

For one person, living is cheaper in Kandy: $513 a month against $1,846 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Kandy
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Kandy Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,846

/mo nomad

Kandy

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$513

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Kandy

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,846 in Nosara versus $513 in Kandy.

Nosara $1,846
Kandy $513

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,833 in Nosara versus $728 in Kandy.

Nosara $2,833
Kandy $728

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,820 in Nosara versus $943 in Kandy.

Nosara $3,820
Kandy $943

Living in Nosara is roughly 260% more expensive than in Kandy, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Kandy is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.36 ₡5,575

$2.66 LKR 885

364.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.8 ₡27.4K

$13.01 LKR 4,324

367.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.88 ₡3,557

$6.00 LKR 1,996

31.33%

Cappuccino

$4.40 ₡1,986

$1.90 LKR 632

131.58%

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

$1.72 ₡776

$0.52 LKR 174

230.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 ₡603

$0.26 LKR 87.1

415.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.34 ₡1,505

$1.86 LKR 620

79.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.54 ₡2,048

$2.80 LKR 931

62.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 ₡739

$1.15 LKR 382

42.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.16 ₡1,426

$0.52 LKR 174

507.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.39 ₡1,080

$0.77 LKR 255

210.39%

Eggs

$3.47 ₡1,564

$1.71 LKR 568

102.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.13 ₡3,217

$5.14 LKR 1,708

38.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.32 ₡4,655

$4.25 LKR 1,412

142.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,302

$6.87 LKR 2,285

103.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,031

$3.14 LKR 1,043

-27.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 ₡731

$0.84 LKR 280

92.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.81 ₡2,169

$1.73 LKR 574

178.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.68 ₡758

$1.29 LKR 429

30.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.91 ₡1,765

$1.02 LKR 339

283.33%

Onion (1kg)

$3.63 ₡1,640

$0.83 LKR 277

337.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡509

$0.43 LKR 144

162.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 ₡1,188

$0.42 LKR 140

526.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.02 ₡2,267

$8.02 LKR 2,668

-37.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.71 ₡8,893

$11.28 LKR 3,751

74.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 ₡1,314

$1.93 LKR 643

50.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 ₡1,597

$2.08 LKR 691

70.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 ₡545

$0.16 LKR 53.3

656.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 ₡33.3K

$4.38 LKR 1,457

1584.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 ₡969

$0.41 LKR 136

424.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 ₡738

$0.35 LKR 116

365.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.77 ₡3,958

$0.47 LKR 156

1765.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡700

$1.15 LKR 383

34.78%

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

$33.9K ₡15.3M

$14.0K LKR 4.6M

142.46%

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

$38.5K ₡17.4M

$36.7K LKR 12.2M

4.71%

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

$95.2 ₡43.0K

$59.0 LKR 19.6K

61.35%

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

$36.29 ₡16.4K

$3.86 LKR 1,282

840.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.0 ₡23.5K

$12.72 LKR 4,227

308.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$67.6 ₡30.5K

$10.85 LKR 3,606

522.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.55 ₡16.0K

$6.80 LKR 2,262

422.79%

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 ₡3,404

$2.74 LKR 909

175.18%

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

$496 ₡224.0K

$21.65 LKR 7,199

2193.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.8K ₡5.3M

$304 LKR 101.0K

3775.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 ₡24.9K

$18.28 LKR 6,078

201.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.1 ₡25.3K

$10.15 LKR 3,375

452.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.8 ₡35.1K

$67.7 LKR 22.5K

14.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.1 ₡35.7K

$26.56 LKR 8,831

197.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$817 ₡368.9K

$172 LKR 57.2K

375.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$806 ₡363.6K

$113 LKR 37.5K

613.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,988 ₡1.8M

$172 LKR 57.2K

2217.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,429 ₡644.9K

$93.6 LKR 31.1K

1426.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,068 ₡3.2M

$397 LKR 131.9K

1680.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,197 ₡540.1K

$400 LKR 133.0K

199.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$888 ₡400.7K

$262 LKR 86.9K

239.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-28.17%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 24, 2026

Last update for Kandy: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$806 43.7%

Kandy

$113 22% 86% $693

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$351 19%

Kandy

$166 32.3% 52.8% $185

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Kandy

$80 15.6% 62.4% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 9.9%

Kandy

$76 14.7% 58.8% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.5%

Kandy

$55 10.8% 54.2% $65

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Kandy

$7.2 1.4% 91.9% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$83 4.5%

Kandy

$16 3.2% 80.3% $66

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $817 in Nosara and $172 in Kandy. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays about 3.4 times 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 in Nosara vs $13 in Kandy for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $351 vs $166 per month, with Kandy cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇱🇰 Kandy

🕒 Local time

11:33 11:33 AM

23:03 11:03 PM

11 h 30 min ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

125,000

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Kandy 17,570 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Kandy

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 Kandy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kandy is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 260% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Nosara is about 3.4 times higher, 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: $817 in Nosara versus $172 in Kandy. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,846 per month in Nosara versus $513 in Kandy – a 260% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kandy runs roughly 94% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you’re watching your budget.

At $513 in Kandy versus $1,846 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kandy but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Kandy the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Kandy 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 Kandy 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 Kandy gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.