Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Preston and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,152 in Preston, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Preston outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

104

Cost of Living Index in Preston
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Preston Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Preston

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,152

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,152 per month in Preston vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Preston $2,152
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,144 per month in Preston vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Preston $3,144
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,136 per month in Preston vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Preston $4,136
Nosara $3,818

Preston costs about 17% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Preston and Nosara sit above the global median – Preston by 59%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.47 £12.35

$12.35 ₡5,539

33.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.4 £52.8

$61.2 ₡27.4K

15.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.66 £6.50

$7.52 ₡3,373

15.16%

Cappuccino

$4.36 £3.27

$4.41 ₡1,978

-1.13%

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

$2.19 £1.65

$1.74 ₡780

25.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.31 ₡587

2.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.15 £3.87

$3.28 ₡1,471

57.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.25 £3.94

$4.47 ₡2,004

17.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.56 ₡701

-7.05%

White Bread (500g)

$1.42 £1.06

$3.02 ₡1,355

-52.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.67 £1.25

$2.51 ₡1,125

-33.47%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.63

$3.57 ₡1,603

-1.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.26 £3.95

$7.43 ₡3,333

-29.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.12 £6.84

$10.52 ₡4,717

-13.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.87 £9.65

$13.97 ₡6,265

-7.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 £1.91

$2.35 ₡1,052

8.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.61 ₡720

4.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.53 £1.90

$4.80 ₡2,152

-47.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.83 £2.87

$1.61 ₡724

137.89%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$3.80 ₡1,703

-46.58%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 £1.68

$3.69 ₡1,657

-39.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.88

$1.13 ₡507

3.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$2.66 ₡1,191

-38.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.41 £16.06

$5.18 ₡2,321

313.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.24 £6.93

$19.88 ₡8,916

-53.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.07 £2.30

$2.90 ₡1,300

5.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.26 £2.45

$3.63 ₡1,626

-10.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.93 £2.95

$1.12 ₡504

250.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.8 £74.1

$72.6 ₡32.6K

36.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 £1.96

$2.14 ₡958

21.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.57 ₡703

31.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.52 ₡682

23.03%

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

$37.2K £27.9K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

72.25%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.54%

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

$434 £326

$96.3 ₡43.2K

351.04%

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

$15.44 £11.59

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-56.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.14 £33.87

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-15.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.24 £30.19

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-43.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.67 £12.50

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-52.25%

Cinema Ticket

$17.50 £13.13

$7.89 ₡3,539

121.80%

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

$1,554 £1,166

$494 ₡221.6K

214.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,467 £6,352

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-28.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.3 £55.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

37.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.96 £19.47

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-53.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.9 £48.72

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-16.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.8 £50.1

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-16.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$978 £733

$788 ₡353.4K

24.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$813 £610

$794 ₡356.2K

2.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,894 £1,421

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-51.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,449 £1,087

$1,419 ₡636.5K

2.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,332 £2,499

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-51.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,374 £1,781

$1,224 ₡549.0K

93.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,009 £2,258

$864 ₡387.3K

248.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.93

8.62

-42.81%

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

Last update for Preston: 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

Preston

$813 37.8%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 2.3% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Preston

$495 23%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 62.5% $309

Groceries & Markets

Preston

$277 12.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 27.3% $76

Eating Out

Preston

$260 12.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 18.7% $49

Getting Around

Preston

$127 5.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 31.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Preston

$104 4.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 15.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Preston

$75 3.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 16.1% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $978 in Preston 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 248% higher in Preston, 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 $70.0 in Preston versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $277 in Preston vs $352 in Nosara – so Preston wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Preston

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

06:17 6:17 AM

7 h behind Preston

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,300

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

Preston Nosara 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Preston
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

Preston vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,152 in Preston, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 17% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,228 per month in Preston 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 36% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,554 per month in Preston 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 Preston at $2,152. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Preston 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 $2,152 in Preston. 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, Preston makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.