Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Zaltan

For one person, living is cheaper in Zaltan: $369 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index
16

Cost of Living Index in Zaltan
Learn more

Zaltan Living Index

Jump to prices

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Zaltan

🇱🇾 Libya

$369

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Zaltan

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $369 in Zaltan, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Zaltan $369

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $572 in Zaltan, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Zaltan $572

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $776 in Zaltan, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Zaltan $776

Nosara costs about 398% more than Zaltan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$3.87 LYD 24.79

219.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$15.40 LYD 98.7

297.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$2.57 LYD 16.45

192.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.59 LYD 3.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.67 LYD 4.31

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$0.44 LYD 2.81

902.27%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.45 LYD 2.91

286.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.10 LYD 0.64

1210.00%

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

$0.98 LYD 6.30

59.18%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$0.20 LYD 1.28

1410.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.17 LYD 7.48

114.53%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.42 LYD 9.07

151.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$5.10 LYD 32.69

45.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$3.59 LYD 23.03

193.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$9.59 LYD 61.4

45.67%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.31 LYD 14.82

1.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.47 LYD 9.42

9.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$0.69 LYD 4.40

595.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$0.60 LYD 3.88

168.33%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$0.77 LYD 4.93

393.51%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.46 LYD 2.93

702.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.42 LYD 2.71

169.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.18 LYD 1.17

1377.78%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.78 LYD 11.38

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 LYD 6.33

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.77 LYD 4.93

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$1.96 LYD 12.55

164.29%

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

$0.77 LYD 4.90

177.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.48 LYD 3.10

227.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$0.02 LYD 0.12

7500.00%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$23.6K LYD 151.5K

-8.58%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$21.2K LYD 135.7K

63.06%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$91.5 LYD 586

5.23%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$6.01 LYD 38.52

497.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$27.38 LYD 175

95.73%

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

$53.0 LYD 339

833.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$1,561 LYD 10.0K

659.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$23.04 LYD 148

134.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$17.55 LYD 112

215.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$65.0 LYD 416

19.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$66.5 LYD 426

19.66%

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 Zaltan: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Zaltan

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Zaltan

$117 31.8% 66.7% $235

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Zaltan

$46 12.5% 78.2% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Zaltan

$125 33.8% 32.8% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Zaltan

$77 21% 35.5% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Zaltan

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Zaltan

$3.2 * 0.9% 96.3% $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 Zaltan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $117 – making Zaltan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇱🇾 Zaltan

🕒 Local time

14:17 2:17 PM

22:17 10:17 PM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

17,000

💱 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 Zaltan 10,100 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Zaltan

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 Zaltan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,839 in Nosara, $369 in Zaltan – roughly 398% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $554 in Zaltan. 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 Zaltan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 200% 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 Zaltan, where all-in costs run around $369, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Zaltan 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 $369 in Zaltan 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 Zaltan. 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.