Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rueil-Malmaison and Nosara

For one person, living costs are similar in Rueil-Malmaison and in Nosara: $1,778 and $1,835 a month, rent and utilities included.

86

Cost of Living Index in Rueil-Malmaison
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Rueil-Malmaison Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Rueil-Malmaison

🇫🇷 France

$1,778

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,778 per month in Rueil-Malmaison vs $1,835 in Nosara, rent included.

Rueil-Malmaison $1,778
Nosara $1,835

A couple spends around $2,710 per month in Rueil-Malmaison vs $2,825 in Nosara, rent included.

Rueil-Malmaison $2,710
Nosara $2,825

A family of three spends $3,641 per month in Rueil-Malmaison vs $3,814 in Nosara, rent included.

Rueil-Malmaison $3,641
Nosara $3,814

Rueil-Malmaison is about 3% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both Rueil-Malmaison and Nosara sit above the global median – Rueil-Malmaison by 31%, Nosara by 35%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.01 €15.13

$12.34 ₡5,535

37.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.25 €40.25

$61.3 ₡27.5K

-26.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.77 €6.91

$7.76 ₡3,481

0.13%

Cappuccino

$1.68 €1.50

$4.44 ₡1,992

-62.16%

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

$3.05 €2.71

$1.79 ₡803

70.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 €1.83

$1.29 ₡580

59.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.46 €7.53

$3.24 ₡1,451

161.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.25 €2.89

$4.43 ₡1,985

-26.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.14

$1.55 ₡696

-16.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 €1.57

$3.08 ₡1,380

-42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.46 €2.19

$2.53 ₡1,133

-2.77%

Eggs

$3.91 €3.48

$3.45 ₡1,546

13.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.11 €8.99

$7.32 ₡3,284

38.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.77 €10.47

$10.24 ₡4,594

14.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.79 €14.05

$14.10 ₡6,326

11.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 €2.67

$2.29 ₡1,027

31.00%

Banana (1kg)

$3.07 €2.73

$1.64 ₡737

87.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.51 €1.34

$4.79 ₡2,149

-68.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.21 €3.74

$1.64 ₡735

156.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 €1.65

$3.85 ₡1,727

-51.69%

Onion (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$3.75 ₡1,681

-44.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.09 ₡488

50.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.14 €0.12

$2.59 ₡1,160

-94.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.69 €11.29

$5.12 ₡2,295

147.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.73 €5.10

$19.92 ₡8,931

-71.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 €1.27

$2.80 ₡1,255

-49.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 €1.43

$3.52 ₡1,580

-54.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.22 ₡549

56.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.0 €87.2

$73.9 ₡33.1K

32.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.23 €1.99

$2.17 ₡973

2.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.12 €1.00

$1.56 ₡698

-28.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.32 €28.75

$8.67 ₡3,886

272.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 €1.91

$1.55 ₡697

38.71%

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

$34.6K €30.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

0.10%

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

$30.2K €26.9K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-22.06%

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

$206 €183

$94.8 ₡42.5K

116.77%

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

$32.00 €28.46

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-11.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.80 €28.28

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-40.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.12 €31.24

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-52.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.74 €20.22

$35.63 ₡16.0K

-36.18%

Cinema Ticket

$15.92 €14.16

$7.91 ₡3,548

101.26%

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

$894 €795

$490 ₡219.9K

82.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.3K €10.1K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-4.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$127 €113

$54.8 ₡24.6K

132.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.99 €40.91

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-17.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.8 €87.9

$80.4 ₡36.0K

22.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 €142

$77.9 ₡34.9K

104.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,051 €935

$801 ₡359.1K

31.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$592 €527

$790 ₡354.1K

-24.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,405 €1,250

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-64.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,097 €976

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-22.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,654 €5,919

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-5.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,025 €2,691

$1,236 ₡554.3K

144.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,226 €2,869

$887 ₡397.6K

263.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.9

8.62

-54.76%

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

Last update for Rueil-Malmaison: October 19, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rueil-Malmaison

$592 33.3%

Nosara

$790 43% 33.3% $197

Groceries & Markets

Rueil-Malmaison

$293 16.5%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 19.4% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rueil-Malmaison

$269 15.2%

Nosara

$184 10% 31.7% $85

Eating Out

Rueil-Malmaison

$249 14%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 14.5% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Rueil-Malmaison

$194 10.9%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 37.6% $73

Getting Around

Rueil-Malmaison

$114 6.4%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 21.8% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Rueil-Malmaison

$67 3.8%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 33.8% $23

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,051 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $801 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 264% higher in Rueil-Malmaison, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Rueil-Malmaison versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $293 vs $350 – making Rueil-Malmaison the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Rueil-Malmaison

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

18:06 6:06 PM

10:06 10:06 AM

8 h behind Rueil-Malmaison

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

78,186

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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rueil-Malmaison Nosara 9,020 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Rueil-Malmaison
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

Rueil-Malmaison vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,778 in Rueil-Malmaison, $1,835 in Nosara – roughly 3% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in clothing.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,667 per month in Rueil-Malmaison and $2,753 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rueil-Malmaison, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 33% less in Rueil-Malmaison. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $894 per month in Rueil-Malmaison and $490 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Rueil-Malmaison, where all-in costs run around $1,778, than in Nosara at $1,835. In Rueil-Malmaison 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 $1,778 in Rueil-Malmaison to $1,835 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 Rueil-Malmaison. 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.