Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $747 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$747

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Mbabane

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

A single person spends $1,837 per month in Nosara vs $747 in Mbabane, rent included.

Nosara $1,837
Mbabane $747

A couple spends around $2,775 per month in Nosara vs $1,223 in Mbabane, rent included.

Nosara $2,775
Mbabane $1,223

A family of three spends $3,712 per month in Nosara vs $1,700 in Mbabane, rent included.

Nosara $3,712
Mbabane $1,700

Nosara costs about 146% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nosara sits 37% above the global median, while Mbabane is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$10.27 SZL 169

18.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$34.04 SZL 561

76.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$5.74 SZL 94.6

31.36%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$2.62 SZL 43.16

64.50%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$1.12 SZL 18.41

53.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$0.62 SZL 10.21

117.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$2.16 SZL 35.58

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$2.45 SZL 40.46

82.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$1.53 SZL 25.29

2.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$0.81 SZL 13.34

291.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$1.75 SZL 28.82

38.29%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$1.78 SZL 29.32

100.56%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$11.01 SZL 181

-32.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$5.60 SZL 92.3

86.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$4.98 SZL 82.0

174.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$1.74 SZL 28.72

33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$0.63 SZL 10.38

155.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$1.25 SZL 20.56

279.20%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$1.41 SZL 23.18

17.73%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$1.25 SZL 20.57

197.60%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$1.49 SZL 24.48

139.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$0.71 SZL 11.74

54.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$0.76 SZL 12.56

235.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$2.85 SZL 46.91

73.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$5.93 SZL 97.8

237.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$1.52 SZL 25.10

83.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$1.67 SZL 27.59

111.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

$0.74 SZL 12.18

60.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$1.38 SZL 22.80

12.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$3.03 SZL 50.0

192.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.27 SZL 20.98

23.62%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$64.0 SZL 1,056

45.92%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$38.40 SZL 633

-8.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$26.97 SZL 445

90.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

$22.61 SZL 373

215.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

$3.04 SZL 50.1

1065.79%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$3.65 SZL 60.1

114.79%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$6,330 SZL 104.3K

87.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$35.21 SZL 580

52.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$14.80 SZL 244

276.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$69.1 SZL 1,139

14.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$53.2 SZL 877

48.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$267 SZL 4,406

194.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$179 SZL 2,950

335.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$445 SZL 7,332

767.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

$347 SZL 5,720

305.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$473 SZL 7,794

1374.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

$359 SZL 5,915

234.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

7.25

18.90%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Mbabane

$179 23.6% 77.1% $601

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Mbabane

$180 23.7% 48.6% $170

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Mbabane

$153 20.2% 26.7% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Mbabane

$129 17.1% 28.1% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Mbabane

$78 10.2% 35.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Mbabane

$30 3.9% 65.7% $57

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Mbabane

$9.9 * 1.3% 88.6% $77

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $786 in Nosara versus $267 in Mbabane. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $60.0 in Nosara versus $34.00 in Mbabane. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $350 vs $180 – making Mbabane the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

02:09 2:09 AM

10:09 10:09 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 SZL = 6.07 USD

100 SZL = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, 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).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 SZL (100 SZL = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 SZL (100 SZL = 5.41 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Mbabane 13,160 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara costs about 146% more than Mbabane, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,756 per month in Nosara and $1,121 in Mbabane. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mbabane, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,837 in Nosara and $747 in Mbabane. That's a gap of about 146%.

Groceries cost about 95% more in Nosara, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mbabane, where all-in costs run around $747, than in Nosara at $1,837. In Mbabane it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Mbabane costs $747 versus $1,837 in Nosara. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Mbabane. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.