Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Sebastian and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $1,948 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $1,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in San Sebastian outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

95

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,948

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,948 per month in San Sebastian vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

San Sebastian $1,948
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $2,889 per month in San Sebastian vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

San Sebastian $2,889
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $3,830 per month in San Sebastian vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

San Sebastian $3,830
Nosara $3,818

San Sebastian costs about 6% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both San Sebastian and Nosara sit above the global median – San Sebastian by 44%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 €14.90

$12.35 ₡5,539

35.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.6 €53.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-0.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.58 €9.41

$7.52 ₡3,373

40.69%

Cappuccino

$2.08 €1.85

$4.41 ₡1,978

-52.83%

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

$2.87 €2.55

$1.74 ₡780

64.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.44

$1.31 ₡587

23.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 €3.06

$3.28 ₡1,471

4.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.62 €3.22

$4.47 ₡2,004

-19.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.56 ₡701

-27.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 €0.94

$3.02 ₡1,355

-64.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$2.51 ₡1,125

-30.28%

Eggs

$3.72 €3.31

$3.57 ₡1,603

4.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.34 €19.87

$7.43 ₡3,333

200.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.17 €7.27

$10.52 ₡4,717

-22.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.10 €18.77

$13.97 ₡6,265

51.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$2.35 ₡1,052

6.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.61 ₡720

46.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 €2.97

$4.80 ₡2,152

-30.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.90 €2.58

$1.61 ₡724

80.12%

Potato (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$3.80 ₡1,703

-45.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$3.69 ₡1,657

-46.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.18 €1.05

$1.13 ₡507

4.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 €0.54

$2.66 ₡1,191

-77.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.07 €5.40

$5.18 ₡2,321

17.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.39 €6.58

$19.88 ₡8,916

-62.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 €0.96

$2.90 ₡1,300

-62.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 €1.63

$3.63 ₡1,626

-49.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.12 ₡504

88.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.85 €30.11

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-53.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 €5.85

$2.14 ₡958

207.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.91 €0.81

$1.57 ₡703

-42.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.70 €20.19

$8.52 ₡3,823

166.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.52 ₡682

11.84%

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

$36.2K €32.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

67.48%

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

$28.7K €25.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-16.83%

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

$136 €121

$96.3 ₡43.2K

41.63%

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

$20.40 €18.15

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-43.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.36 €31.45

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-34.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.41 €37.73

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-40.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.95 €17.75

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-42.85%

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 €7.50

$7.89 ₡3,539

6.97%

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

$453 €403

$494 ₡221.6K

-8.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K €12.2K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

15.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.5 €64.5

$53.9 ₡24.2K

34.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.46 €27.99

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-43.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$74.7 €66.5

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-4.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €119

$79.6 ₡35.7K

67.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 €1,252

$788 ₡353.4K

78.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$954 €849

$794 ₡356.2K

20.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,239 €1,992

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-43.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,522 €1,354

$1,419 ₡636.5K

7.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,603 €8,541

$6,912 ₡3.1M

38.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,748 €4,223

$1,224 ₡549.0K

287.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,027 €2,693

$864 ₡387.3K

250.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.92

8.62

-66.13%

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

Last update for San Sebastian: 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

San Sebastian

$954 49%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 16.8% $160

Groceries & Markets

San Sebastian

$316 16.2%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 11.6% $37

Eating Out

San Sebastian

$233 12%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 9.1% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Sebastian

$192 9.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 3.3% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

San Sebastian

$141 7.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 14.6% $20

Sport & Entertainment

San Sebastian

$59 3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 47.4% $28

Getting Around

San Sebastian

$53 2.7%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 63.1% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,407 in San Sebastian 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 251% higher in San Sebastian, 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 $61.0 in San Sebastian versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $316 vs $352 – making San Sebastian the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

19:43 7:43 PM

11:43 11:43 AM

8 h behind San Sebastian

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

188,743

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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Sebastian Nosara 8,740 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

San Sebastian
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

San Sebastian vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,948 in San Sebastian, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 6% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,922 per month in San Sebastian 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 115% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $453 per month in San Sebastian 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 San Sebastian at $1,948. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in San Sebastian 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 $1,948 in San Sebastian. 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, San Sebastian makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.