Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
Learn more

Machakos Living Index

Jump to prices

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Machakos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,835 in Nosara versus $516 in Machakos.

Nosara $1,835
Machakos $516

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,825 in Nosara versus $797 in Machakos.

Nosara $2,825
Machakos $797

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,814 in Nosara versus $1,078 in Machakos.

Nosara $3,814
Machakos $1,078

Living in Nosara is roughly 256% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 35% above, Machakos is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.34 ₡5,535

$3.15 KES 408

291.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.3 ₡27.5K

$18.98 KES 2,461

223.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.76 ₡3,481

$6.19 KES 803

25.36%

Cappuccino

$4.44 ₡1,992

$1.98 KES 257

124.24%

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

$1.79 ₡803

$0.64 KES 83.0

179.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.29 ₡580

$0.54 KES 69.8

138.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,451

$2.11 KES 273

53.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 ₡1,985

$2.71 KES 352

63.47%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡696

$0.37 KES 48.53

318.92%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 ₡1,380

$0.44 KES 56.9

600.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.53 ₡1,133

$0.74 KES 95.4

241.89%

Eggs

$3.45 ₡1,546

$1.36 KES 177

153.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 ₡3,284

$10.73 KES 1,391

-31.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.24 ₡4,594

$6.29 KES 815

62.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.10 ₡6,326

$4.55 KES 589

209.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.29 ₡1,027

$1.58 KES 205

44.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.64 ₡737

$0.73 KES 95.2

124.66%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.79 ₡2,149

$0.40 KES 52.4

1097.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.64 ₡735

$0.41 KES 53.1

300.00%

Potato (1kg)

$3.85 ₡1,727

$0.80 KES 104

381.25%

Onion (1kg)

$3.75 ₡1,681

$0.81 KES 104

362.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 ₡488

$0.68 KES 88.4

60.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 ₡1,160

$0.38 KES 49.11

581.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.12 ₡2,295

$3.51 KES 455

45.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.92 ₡8,931

$11.44 KES 1,483

74.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₡1,255

$1.90 KES 247

47.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 ₡1,580

$2.80 KES 363

25.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 ₡549

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.9 ₡33.1K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.17 ₡973

$0.79 KES 103

174.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.56 ₡698

$0.78 KES 101

100.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.67 ₡3,886

$2.84 KES 368

205.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 ₡697

$1.49 KES 193

4.03%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$19.2K KES 2.5M

80.26%

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

$38.7K ₡17.4M

$21.5K KES 2.8M

80.57%

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

$94.8 ₡42.5K

$56.1 KES 7,279

68.90%

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

$36.15 ₡16.2K

$7.82 KES 1,014

362.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.1 ₡23.8K

$11.48 KES 1,488

362.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

$38.18 KES 4,950

93.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$7.91 ₡3,548

$7.62 KES 987

3.81%

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

$490 ₡219.9K

$45.44 KES 5,892

978.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-3.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.8 ₡24.6K

$11.34 KES 1,470

383.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.9 ₡25.1K

$28.69 KES 3,719

94.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.4 ₡36.0K

$69.4 KES 8,991

15.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$38.50 KES 4,992

102.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ₡359.1K

$93.9 KES 12.2K

752.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 ₡354.1K

$68.7 KES 8,905

1049.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,005 ₡1.8M

$154 KES 20.0K

2496.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 ₡632.0K

$115 KES 15.0K

1121.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,064 ₡3.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 ₡554.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

$383 KES 49.6K

131.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

14.71

-41.40%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$790 43%

Machakos

$69 13.3% 91.3% $721

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.1%

Machakos

$159 30.8% 54.5% $191

Eating Out

Nosara

$213 11.6%

Machakos

$88 17.1% 58.5% $124

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$184 10%

Machakos

$75 14.6% 59% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$121 6.6%

Machakos

$67 12.9% 45% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$90 4.9%

Machakos

$53 10.4% 40.4% $36

Getting Around

Nosara

$89 4.8%

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9% 94.7% $84

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $801 in Nosara and $93.9 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 132% 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: $61.0 in Nosara vs $19.00 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $159 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

02:02 2:02 AM

11:02 11:02 AM

9 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

114,109

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Machakos 13,640 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 256% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 132% higher in Nosara, 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: $801 in Nosara versus $93.9 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 120% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,835 per month in Nosara versus $516 in Machakos – a 256% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $516 in Machakos versus $1,835 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Machakos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $516 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Machakos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Machakos 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 Machakos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 256% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.