Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Tarhuna

For one person, living is cheaper in Tarhuna: $367 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $17,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in Tarhuna
Learn more

Tarhuna Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Tarhuna

🇱🇾 Libya

$367

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Tarhuna

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $367 in Tarhuna, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Tarhuna $367

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $569 in Tarhuna, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Tarhuna $569

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $771 in Tarhuna, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Tarhuna $771

Nosara costs about 400% more than Tarhuna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while Tarhuna is 73% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$3.98 LYD 25.51

210.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$15.36 LYD 98.5

298.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$2.66 LYD 17.06

182.71%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.65 LYD 4.16

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.72 LYD 4.63

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$0.47 LYD 3.01

838.30%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.46 LYD 2.95

278.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.12 LYD 0.78

991.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$0.93 LYD 5.93

67.74%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$0.20 LYD 1.28

1410.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.21 LYD 7.77

107.44%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.42 LYD 9.08

151.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$5.26 LYD 33.70

41.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$3.43 LYD 22.00

206.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$9.37 LYD 60.1

49.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.32 LYD 14.90

1.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.47 LYD 9.43

9.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$0.67 LYD 4.32

616.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$0.56 LYD 3.62

187.50%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.71 LYD 4.52

435.21%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.47 LYD 3.00

685.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.39 LYD 2.52

189.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.19 LYD 1.23

1300.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.82 LYD 11.65

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 LYD 6.00

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 LYD 5.26

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$1.93 LYD 12.36

168.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$0.80 LYD 5.12

167.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.45 LYD 2.86

248.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$0.02 LYD 0.15

7500.00%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$23.4K LYD 150.2K

-7.83%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$21.3K LYD 136.3K

62.27%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$91.9 LYD 589

4.77%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$5.91 LYD 37.88

507.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$26.67 LYD 171

100.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$52.4 LYD 336

843.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$1,536 LYD 9,845

671.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$22.69 LYD 145

137.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$17.62 LYD 113

214.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$63.4 LYD 406

22.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$66.0 LYD 423

20.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Tarhuna: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Tarhuna

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Tarhuna

$116 31.5% 67.1% $237

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Tarhuna

$48 13% 77.4% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Tarhuna

$125 33.9% 33% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Tarhuna

$76 20.8% 36.4% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Tarhuna

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Tarhuna

$3 * 0.8% 96.5% $84

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $15.00 in Tarhuna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $116 – making Tarhuna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇱🇾 Tarhuna

🕒 Local time

12:29 12:29 PM

20:29 8:29 PM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

120,000

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, 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).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Tarhuna 10,270 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Tarhuna

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 Tarhuna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,839 in Nosara, $367 in Tarhuna – roughly 400% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $551 in Tarhuna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara and $15.00 in Tarhuna. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 204% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Tarhuna, where all-in costs run around $367, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Tarhuna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara 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 $367 in Tarhuna to $1,839 in Nosara. 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 Tarhuna. 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.