Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Surrey

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $3,046 in Surrey, rent and utilities included – about $14,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Surrey outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
148

Cost of Living Index in Surrey
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Surrey Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Surrey

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,046

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Surrey

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $3,046 in Surrey, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Surrey $3,046

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $4,410 in Surrey, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Surrey $4,410

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $5,774 in Surrey, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Surrey $5,774

Nosara is about 40% cheaper than Surrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Nosara and Surrey sit above the global median – Nosara by 36%, Surrey by 126%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$23.47 £17.61

-47.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$59.1 £44.34

3.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$9.11 £6.83

-17.45%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$4.77 £3.58

-7.55%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$2.23 £1.67

-21.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.44 £1.08

-9.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$6.78 £5.09

-51.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$6.00 £4.50

-25.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.25 £0.94

24.80%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$2.12 £1.59

42.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.51 £1.13

66.23%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$4.18 £3.14

-14.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$8.19 £6.14

-9.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$8.90 £6.68

18.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$16.11 £12.09

-13.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$3.13 £2.34

-24.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.47 £1.10

9.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.96 £1.47

144.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$3.32 £2.49

-51.51%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.38 £1.04

175.36%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.83 £1.37

101.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.37 £1.03

-17.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.20 £0.90

121.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$23.12 £17.34

-77.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$10.78 £8.09

84.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.30 £1.73

26.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.46 £1.84

47.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$3.99 £2.99

-71.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$5.35 £4.02

-60.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.88 £1.41

-19.15%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$38.6K £29.0K

-44.04%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$39.9K £29.9K

-13.51%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$260 £195

-62.92%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$13.15 £9.87

172.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$34.58 £25.94

54.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$53.6 £40.20

33.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$18.26 £13.70

91.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$13.17 £9.88

-40.09%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$2,125 £1,594

-76.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$29.3K £22.0K

-59.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$52.5 £39.41

2.68%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$39.35 £29.52

40.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$88.8 £66.6

-12.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$92.6 £69.5

-14.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$1,925 £1,444

-59.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$1,893 £1,420

-58.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$3,350 £2,513

17.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$3,303 £2,478

-57.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$7,198 £5,400

-82.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$4,519 £3,390

-80.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.4

59.63%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Surrey: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Surrey

$1.9K 62.2% 138% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Surrey

$289 9.5% 18.1% $64

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Surrey

$333 10.9% 57.2% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Surrey

$307 10.1% 65.5% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Surrey

$123 4% 2.4% $2.9

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Surrey

$80 2.6% 8.5% $7.4

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Surrey

$21 * 0.7% 75.5% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $788 in Nosara versus $1,925 in Surrey. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 423% higher in Surrey, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $59.0 in Surrey. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $289 – making Surrey the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇬🇧 Surrey

🕒 Local time

00:00 12:00 AM

07:00 7:00 AM

7 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

585

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Surrey 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Surrey

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 Surrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,839 in Nosara, $3,046 in Surrey – roughly 66% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $4,569 in Surrey. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara and $59.0 in Surrey. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 22% cheaper in Surrey – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Surrey at $3,046. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Surrey it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Nosara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,839 in Nosara to $3,046 in Surrey. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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