Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Manama

For one person, living is cheaper in Manama: $1,536 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Manama
Learn more

Manama Living Index

Jump to prices

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,536

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Manama

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $1,536 in Manama.

Nosara $1,837
Manama $1,536

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $2,433 in Manama.

Nosara $2,775
Manama $2,433

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $3,331 in Manama.

Nosara $3,712
Manama $3,331

Living in Nosara is roughly 20% more expensive than in Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Nosara 37% above, Manama 15% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$5.24 BHD 1.98

133.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$52.8 BHD 19.92

14.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$7.30 BHD 2.75

3.29%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$4.86 BHD 1.83

-11.32%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$0.88 BHD 0.33

95.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$0.30 BHD 0.11

350.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$6.72 BHD 2.54

-51.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$9.99 BHD 3.77

-55.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$1.37 BHD 0.52

14.60%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$1.11 BHD 0.42

185.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$2.28 BHD 0.86

6.14%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$2.20 BHD 0.83

62.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$8.47 BHD 3.19

-12.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$6.34 BHD 2.39

64.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$8.42 BHD 3.18

62.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$2.41 BHD 0.91

-3.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$2.32 BHD 0.87

-30.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$1.89 BHD 0.71

150.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$1.44 BHD 0.54

15.28%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$1.06 BHD 0.40

250.94%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$1.41 BHD 0.53

153.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$1.54 BHD 0.58

-28.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$0.83 BHD 0.31

207.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$5.34 BHD 2.01

-7.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$18.36 BHD 6.93

8.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-23.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$2.58 BHD 0.97

36.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

$0.65 BHD 0.24

83.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

$37.30 BHD 14.08

93.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

$5.19 BHD 1.96

-56.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$3.38 BHD 1.27

-54.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$15.88 BHD 5.99

-44.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$0.65 BHD 0.25

141.54%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$37.7K BHD 14.2K

-42.24%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$20.9K BHD 7,896

65.54%

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$151 BHD 57.1

-38.24%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$24.40 BHD 9.21

43.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$34.61 BHD 13.06

48.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

$62.3 BHD 23.50

14.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

$30.23 BHD 11.41

17.23%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$10.77 BHD 4.06

-27.21%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

$488 BHD 184

0.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$11.2K BHD 4,238

5.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$50.7 BHD 19.13

5.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$58.6 BHD 22.13

-4.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$86.1 BHD 32.51

-8.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$90.0 BHD 33.97

-12.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$997 BHD 376

-21.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$650 BHD 245

19.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$2,040 BHD 770

89.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

$1,399 BHD 528

0.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$2,643 BHD 997

163.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

$1,999 BHD 754

-39.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

$2,382 BHD 899

-63.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

6.21

38.81%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Manama: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Manama

$650 41.6% 16.6% $130

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Manama

$248 15.9% 29% $102

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Manama

$180 11.5% 13.8% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Manama

$210 13.5% 16.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Manama

$128 8.2% 6.7% $8.1

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Manama

$84 5.4% 3.8% $3.3

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Manama

$62 4% 28.7% $25

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $786 in Nosara and $997 in Manama. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manama pays 172% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60.0 in Nosara vs $53.0 in Manama for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $248 per month, with Manama cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

02:20 2:20 AM

11:20 11:20 AM

9 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.423 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Manama 13,810 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Manama

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manama wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Manama the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 172% lower in Manama. 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: $786 in Nosara versus $997 in Manama. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Manama runs roughly 93% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $490 in Nosara versus $488 in Manama. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,536 in Manama versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Manama but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Manama the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Manama delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,536 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Manama hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Manama 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 Manama gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.