Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rabat and Nosara

For one person, living costs are similar in Rabat and in Nosara: $1,928 and $1,839 a month, rent and utilities included.

88

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
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Rabat Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Rabat

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,928

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,928 per month in Rabat vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Rabat $1,928
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $2,701 per month in Rabat vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Rabat $2,701
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $3,474 per month in Rabat vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Rabat $3,474
Nosara $3,818

Rabat costs about 5% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Rabat and Nosara sit above the global median – Rabat by 43%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.55 €14.72

$12.35 ₡5,539

34.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.4 €44.82

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-17.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.19 €9.96

$7.52 ₡3,373

48.80%

Cappuccino

$2.25 €2.00

$4.41 ₡1,978

-48.98%

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

$2.48 €2.20

$1.74 ₡780

42.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.31 ₡587

29.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.33 €2.97

$3.28 ₡1,471

1.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.43 €3.05

$4.47 ₡2,004

-23.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.56 ₡701

-28.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.34 €1.19

$3.02 ₡1,355

-55.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 €2.01

$2.51 ₡1,125

-9.96%

Eggs

$3.50 €3.11

$3.57 ₡1,603

-1.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.97 €7.09

$7.43 ₡3,333

7.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.87 €7.00

$10.52 ₡4,717

-25.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.51 €11.13

$13.97 ₡6,265

-10.45%

Apples (1kg)

$4.12 €3.67

$2.35 ₡1,052

75.32%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 €1.94

$1.61 ₡720

35.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.55 €3.16

$4.80 ₡2,152

-26.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.61 ₡724

37.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 €1.02

$3.80 ₡1,703

-69.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$3.69 ₡1,657

-69.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.13 ₡507

-3.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 €0.97

$2.66 ₡1,191

-59.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.80 €6.05

$5.18 ₡2,321

31.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.23 €7.32

$19.88 ₡8,916

-58.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 €1.57

$2.90 ₡1,300

-39.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 €2.17

$3.63 ₡1,626

-32.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.71 €2.41

$1.12 ₡504

141.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 €5.09

$2.14 ₡958

167.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.57 ₡703

40.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.77 €23.81

$8.52 ₡3,823

214.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.52 ₡682

-0.66%

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

$37.7K €33.6K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

74.69%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

11.87%

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

$101 €90.2

$96.3 ₡43.2K

5.31%

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

$12.17 €10.82

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-66.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.85 €38.12

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-20.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$62.1 €55.3

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-13.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.18 €19.73

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-36.47%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €8.98

$7.89 ₡3,539

27.88%

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

$369 €328

$494 ₡221.6K

-25.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-4.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 €76.7

$53.9 ₡24.2K

59.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$27.60 €24.55

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-50.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 €65.6

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-5.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.8 €68.3

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-3.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €934

$788 ₡353.4K

33.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,049 €933

$794 ₡356.2K

32.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,735 €1,543

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-55.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 €1,299

$1,419 ₡636.5K

2.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,396 €3,910

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-36.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,149 €2,801

$1,224 ₡549.0K

157.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,318 €1,173

$864 ₡387.3K

52.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.9

8.62

-66.36%

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

Last update for Rabat: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rabat

$1K 54.4%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 24.3% $255

Groceries & Markets

Rabat

$261 13.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 35.1% $92

Eating Out

Rabat

$233 12.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 9.2% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rabat

$156 8.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 18.7% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Rabat

$119 6.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 1% $1.1

Sport & Entertainment

Rabat

$82 4.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 6.2% $5.1

Getting Around

Rabat

$28 * 1.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 216% $60

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,051 in Rabat 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 53% higher in Rabat, 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 $50.0 in Rabat versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $261 vs $352 – making Rabat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Rabat

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:28 4:28 PM

08:28 8:28 AM

8 h behind Rabat

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,497

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Rabat Nosara 10,250 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Rabat
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

Rabat vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,928 in Rabat, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 5% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,892 per month in Rabat 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $50.0 in Rabat and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 35% cheaper in Rabat – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,839, than in Rabat at $1,928. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rabat 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 $1,928 in Rabat. 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, Rabat makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.