Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Poipet and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Poipet: $514 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Poipet
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Poipet Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Poipet

🇰🇭 Cambodia

$514

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Poipet 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 Poipet and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $514 per month in Poipet vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Poipet $514
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $808 per month in Poipet vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Poipet $808
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $1,102 per month in Poipet vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Poipet $1,102
Nosara $3,818

Poipet is about 72% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.44 ៛9,901

$12.35 ₡5,539

-80.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.36 ៛82.7K

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-66.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.92 ៛24.0K

$7.52 ₡3,373

-21.28%

Cappuccino

$1.62 ៛6,593

$4.41 ₡1,978

-63.27%

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

$0.66 ៛2,687

$1.74 ₡780

-62.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.46 ៛1,854

$1.31 ₡587

-64.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.03 ៛4,178

$3.28 ₡1,471

-68.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 ៛8,078

$4.47 ₡2,004

-55.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.20 ៛8,947

$1.56 ₡701

41.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 ៛6,880

$3.02 ₡1,355

-44.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 ៛3,842

$2.51 ₡1,125

-62.15%

Eggs

$1.69 ៛6,849

$3.57 ₡1,603

-52.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.61 ៛63.4K

$7.43 ₡3,333

110.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.90 ៛11.8K

$10.52 ₡4,717

-72.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.22 ៛41.5K

$13.97 ₡6,265

-26.84%

Apples (1kg)

$4.19 ៛17.0K

$2.35 ₡1,052

78.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 ៛4,929

$1.61 ₡720

-24.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 ៛15.1K

$4.80 ₡2,152

-22.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 ៛4,465

$1.61 ₡724

-31.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 ៛5,388

$3.80 ₡1,703

-65.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 ៛4,365

$3.69 ₡1,657

-71.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 ៛5,549

$1.13 ₡507

21.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ៛3,070

$2.66 ₡1,191

-71.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.35 ៛5,500

$5.18 ₡2,321

-73.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.69 ៛31.2K

$19.88 ₡8,916

-61.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 ៛4,204

$2.90 ₡1,300

-64.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.23 ៛9,064

$3.63 ₡1,626

-38.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.97 ៛8,012

$2.14 ₡958

-7.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ៛4,139

$1.57 ₡703

-35.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.10 ៛20.7K

$8.52 ₡3,823

-40.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 ៛5,086

$1.52 ₡682

-17.76%

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

$25.0K ៛101.6M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

15.79%

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

$22.6K ៛92.0M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-34.40%

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

$101 ៛410.4K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

4.94%

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

$5.74 ៛23.3K

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-84.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.57 ៛63.2K

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-70.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.98 ៛20.2K

$7.89 ₡3,539

-36.88%

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

$284 ៛1.2M

$494 ₡221.6K

-42.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,389 ៛17.8M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-62.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.59 ៛108.0K

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-50.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.15 ៛53.4K

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-76.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$68.6 ៛278.7K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-11.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.16 ៛179.4K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-44.53%

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 %)

9.2

8.62

6.73%

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

Last update for Poipet: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Poipet

$236 45.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 49.4% $117

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Poipet

$122 23.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 51.8% $63

Eating Out

Poipet

$70 13.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 201% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Poipet

$69 13.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 75% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Poipet

$10 * 1.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 777% $77

Getting Around

Poipet

$7.1 * 1.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 1132% $80

Accommodation & Living

Poipet

- * 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 $20.00 in Poipet versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $236 vs $352 – making Poipet the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇭 Poipet

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

04:36 4:36 AM

15:36 3:36 PM

13 h behind Poipet

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

98,934

4,912

💱 Currency

Cambodian Riel KHR ៛

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD

10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to KHR – Cambodian Riel Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇭 Cambodian Riel (៛)

Cambodian Riel exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4,062 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.46 USD). 1 EUR = 4,567 KHR (10,000 KHR = 2.19 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to KHR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Poipet Nosara 17,230 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Poipet
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

Poipet vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $514 in Poipet, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 258% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $771 per month in Poipet 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 $20.00 in Poipet 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 49% 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 Poipet, where all-in costs run around $514, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Poipet 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 $514 in Poipet 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 Poipet. 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.