Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stevenage and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,570 in Stevenage, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

126

Cost of Living Index in Stevenage
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Stevenage Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Stevenage

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,570

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,570 per month in Stevenage vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Stevenage $2,570
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,826 per month in Stevenage vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Stevenage $3,826
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $5,081 per month in Stevenage vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Stevenage $5,081
Nosara $3,818

Stevenage costs about 40% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Stevenage and Nosara sit above the global median – Stevenage by 90%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.49 £19.88

$12.35 ₡5,539

114.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.2 £60.2

$61.2 ₡27.4K

31.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$7.52 ₡3,373

41.62%

Cappuccino

$5.06 £3.80

$4.41 ₡1,978

14.74%

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

$1.89 £1.42

$1.74 ₡780

8.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.22

$1.31 ₡587

24.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.77 £4.33

$3.28 ₡1,471

75.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 £4.00

$4.47 ₡2,004

19.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.56 ₡701

8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.12

$3.02 ₡1,355

-50.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 £1.44

$2.51 ₡1,125

-23.51%

Eggs

$3.97 £2.98

$3.57 ₡1,603

11.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.48 £6.36

$7.43 ₡3,333

14.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.10 £6.07

$10.52 ₡4,717

-23.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.84 £10.39

$13.97 ₡6,265

-0.93%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 £2.54

$2.35 ₡1,052

43.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.61 ₡720

-8.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$4.80 ₡2,152

-34.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.77 £2.07

$1.61 ₡724

72.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$3.80 ₡1,703

-69.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.29

$3.69 ₡1,657

-53.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$1.13 ₡507

10.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 £0.71

$2.66 ₡1,191

-64.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.82 £17.87

$5.18 ₡2,321

359.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 £7.36

$19.88 ₡8,916

-50.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.81 £2.11

$2.90 ₡1,300

-3.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 £2.18

$3.63 ₡1,626

-19.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.50 £2.62

$1.12 ₡504

212.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £77.5

$72.6 ₡32.6K

42.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.77 £2.83

$2.14 ₡958

76.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.57 ₡703

17.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.20 £15.15

$8.52 ₡3,823

137.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.52 ₡682

25.66%

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

$37.5K £28.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

73.71%

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

$39.9K £30.0K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.69%

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

$230 £173

$96.3 ₡43.2K

139.35%

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

$21.97 £16.48

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-38.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.62 £32.72

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-18.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.85 £35.90

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-33.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$13.34 £10.01

$7.89 ₡3,539

69.07%

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

$1,042 £782

$494 ₡221.6K

110.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.0 £58.5

$53.9 ₡24.2K

44.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.94 £28.46

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-31.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$64.9 £48.68

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-16.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.1 £65.4

$79.6 ₡35.7K

9.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,631 £1,224

$788 ₡353.4K

107.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,313 £985

$794 ₡356.2K

65.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,020 £2,266

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-23.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,294 £1,721

$1,419 ₡636.5K

61.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,291 £2,469

$864 ₡387.3K

281.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.51

8.62

-36.08%

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

Last update for Stevenage: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stevenage

$1.3K 51.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 39.5% $518

Eating Out

Stevenage

$358 13.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 40.9% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stevenage

$296 11.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 37.3% $110

Groceries & Markets

Stevenage

$278 10.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 26.8% $75

Getting Around

Stevenage

$130 5.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 33.2% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Stevenage

$121 4.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 0.4% $0.5

Sport & Entertainment

Stevenage

$75 2.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 17.2% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,631 in Stevenage 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 281% higher in Stevenage, 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 $80.0 in Stevenage versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $278 in Stevenage vs $352 in Nosara – so Stevenage wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stevenage

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

02:30 2:30 AM

7 h behind Stevenage

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,663

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 20, 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 20, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Stevenage Nosara 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Stevenage
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

Stevenage vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,570 in Stevenage, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 40% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,855 per month in Stevenage 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 42% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $1,042 per month in Stevenage 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 Stevenage at $2,570. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stevenage 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 $2,570 in Stevenage. 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, Stevenage makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.