Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nuwara Eliya and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nuwara Eliya: $506 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $16,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Nuwara Eliya
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Nuwara Eliya Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Nuwara Eliya

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$506

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nuwara Eliya and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nuwara Eliya and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $506 per month in Nuwara Eliya vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Nuwara Eliya $506
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $822 per month in Nuwara Eliya vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Nuwara Eliya $822
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $1,138 per month in Nuwara Eliya vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Nuwara Eliya $1,138
Nosara $3,818

Nuwara Eliya is about 72% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nuwara Eliya sits 62% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.52 LKR 1,496

$12.35 ₡5,539

-63.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.01 LKR 7,954

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-60.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.70 LKR 2,550

$7.52 ₡3,373

2.39%

Cappuccino

$2.38 LKR 788

$4.41 ₡1,978

-46.03%

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

$0.40 LKR 131

$1.74 ₡780

-77.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 LKR 90.2

$1.31 ₡587

-79.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 LKR 740

$3.28 ₡1,471

-32.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 LKR 1,016

$4.47 ₡2,004

-31.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.63 LKR 541

$1.56 ₡701

4.49%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 LKR 174

$3.02 ₡1,355

-82.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.78 LKR 258

$2.51 ₡1,125

-68.92%

Eggs

$1.63 LKR 541

$3.57 ₡1,603

-54.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.96 LKR 4,623

$7.43 ₡3,333

87.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.78 LKR 1,584

$10.52 ₡4,717

-54.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.39 LKR 2,447

$13.97 ₡6,265

-47.10%

Apples (1kg)

$6.63 LKR 2,196

$2.35 ₡1,052

182.13%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 LKR 259

$1.61 ₡720

-51.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.61 LKR 1,526

$4.80 ₡2,152

-3.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.28 LKR 424

$1.61 ₡724

-20.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 LKR 343

$3.80 ₡1,703

-72.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.75 LKR 250

$3.69 ₡1,657

-79.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 LKR 288

$1.13 ₡507

-23.01%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.44 LKR 145

$2.66 ₡1,191

-83.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.19 LKR 3,376

$5.18 ₡2,321

96.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.47 LKR 4,463

$19.88 ₡8,916

-32.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 LKR 631

$2.90 ₡1,300

-34.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 LKR 972

$3.63 ₡1,626

-19.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 LKR 134

$2.14 ₡958

-81.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.37 LKR 123

$1.57 ₡703

-76.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 LKR 311

$8.52 ₡3,823

-88.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 LKR 463

$1.52 ₡682

-7.89%

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

$37.0K LKR 12.3M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

71.30%

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

$40.4K LKR 13.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.97%

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

$54.2 LKR 17.9K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-43.76%

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

$4.30 LKR 1,425

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-88.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.94 LKR 6,937

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-60.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.48 LKR 1,484

$7.89 ₡3,539

-43.22%

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

$37.51 LKR 12.4K

$494 ₡221.6K

-92.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,222 LKR 404.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-89.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.93 LKR 5,938

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-66.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.37 LKR 5,421

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-70.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.7 LKR 26.4K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

2.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$42.76 LKR 14.2K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-46.29%

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 %)

12.69

8.62

47.22%

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

Last update for Nuwara Eliya: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Nuwara Eliya

$238 46.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 48.3% $115

Eating Out

Nuwara Eliya

$108 21.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 96.6% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nuwara Eliya

$79 15.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 134% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Nuwara Eliya

$71 13.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 70.3% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Nuwara Eliya

$9 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 875% $78

Getting Around

Nuwara Eliya

$2.3 * 0.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 3754% $85

Accommodation & Living

Nuwara Eliya

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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 $24.00 in Nuwara Eliya versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $238 vs $352 – making Nuwara Eliya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇰 Nuwara Eliya

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

18:44 6:44 PM

07:14 7:14 AM

11 h 30 min behind Nuwara Eliya

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,500

4,912

💱 Currency

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to LKR – Sri Lankan Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇰 Sri Lankan Rupee (Rs)

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

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).

USD to LKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nuwara Eliya Nosara 17,600 km ≈ 23 h nonstop flight

From you

Nuwara Eliya
Nosara

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

Nuwara Eliya vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $506 in Nuwara Eliya, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 263% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $760 per month in Nuwara Eliya and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $24.00 in Nuwara Eliya and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 48% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Nuwara Eliya, where all-in costs run around $506, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Nuwara Eliya 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 $506 in Nuwara Eliya 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 Nuwara Eliya. 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.