Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,763 per month in Portsmouth vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Portsmouth $2,763
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,798 per month in Portsmouth vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Portsmouth $3,798
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,834 per month in Portsmouth vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Portsmouth $4,834
Nosara $3,818

Portsmouth costs about 50% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Portsmouth and Nosara sit above the global median – Portsmouth by 105%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$12.35 ₡5,539

60.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$61.2 ₡27.4K

8.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$7.52 ₡3,373

37.50%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$4.41 ₡1,978

8.62%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$1.74 ₡780

52.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$1.31 ₡587

73.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$3.28 ₡1,471

88.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$4.47 ₡2,004

30.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.56 ₡701

-9.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$3.02 ₡1,355

-47.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$2.51 ₡1,125

47.01%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$3.57 ₡1,603

-5.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$7.43 ₡3,333

78.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$10.52 ₡4,717

-20.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$13.97 ₡6,265

-6.80%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$2.35 ₡1,052

64.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.61 ₡720

18.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$4.80 ₡2,152

-40.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$1.61 ₡724

107.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$3.80 ₡1,703

-56.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$3.69 ₡1,657

-55.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.13 ₡507

6.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$2.66 ₡1,191

-42.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$5.18 ₡2,321

345.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$19.88 ₡8,916

-43.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.90 ₡1,300

1.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$3.63 ₡1,626

-41.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$1.12 ₡504

264.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$72.6 ₡32.6K

21.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$2.14 ₡958

141.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.57 ₡703

1.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$8.52 ₡3,823

134.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.52 ₡682

36.84%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

78.76%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.28%

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

$654 £491

$96.3 ₡43.2K

579.63%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-58.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-21.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-46.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-50.87%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$7.89 ₡3,539

34.98%

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

$1,249 £937

$494 ₡221.6K

152.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

69.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$53.9 ₡24.2K

67.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-28.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$77.9 ₡34.9K

26.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$79.6 ₡35.7K

50.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$788 ₡353.4K

84.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$794 ₡356.2K

38.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-46.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,419 ₡636.5K

20.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,379

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-34.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$1,224 ₡549.0K

202.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,514

$864 ₡387.3K

287.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

8.62

-40.14%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 27.7% $304

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 73.9% $526

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 13.5% $42

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 31.5% $97

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 23.5% $37

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 25.9% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 46.4% $28

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,457 in Portsmouth versus $788 in Nosara. 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 288% higher in Portsmouth, 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 $66.0 in Portsmouth versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $310 in Portsmouth vs $352 in Nosara – so Portsmouth wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:05 4:05 PM

09:05 9:05 AM

7 h behind Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

4,912

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

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).

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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Portsmouth Nosara 8,770 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

Portsmouth vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,763 in Portsmouth, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 50% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,144 per month in Portsmouth and $2,758 in Nosara. 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.

Public transport costs about 21% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,249 per month in Portsmouth and $494 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Portsmouth at $2,763. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portsmouth 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 $2,763 in Portsmouth. 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, Portsmouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.