Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swords and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,846 a month against $2,598 in Swords, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Swords
Learn more

Swords Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Swords

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,598

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,846

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,598 per month in Swords vs $1,846 in Nosara, rent included.

Swords $2,598
Nosara $1,846

A couple spends around $3,804 per month in Swords vs $2,833 in Nosara, rent included.

Swords $3,804
Nosara $2,833

A family of three spends $5,010 per month in Swords vs $3,820 in Nosara, rent included.

Swords $5,010
Nosara $3,820

Swords costs about 41% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Swords and Nosara sit above the global median – Swords by 91%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.16 €19.91

$12.36 ₡5,575

79.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.6 €88.6

$60.8 ₡27.4K

62.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 €11.86

$7.88 ₡3,557

67.51%

Cappuccino

$4.93 €4.43

$4.40 ₡1,986

12.05%

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

$2.98 €2.68

$1.72 ₡776

73.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 €1.94

$1.34 ₡603

61.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.03 €7.21

$3.34 ₡1,505

140.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 €6.05

$4.54 ₡2,048

48.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 €1.42

$1.64 ₡739

-3.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.35 €2.11

$3.16 ₡1,426

-25.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.03 €1.83

$2.39 ₡1,080

-15.06%

Eggs

$4.24 €3.81

$3.47 ₡1,564

22.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.89 €8.89

$7.13 ₡3,217

38.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.86 €9.76

$10.32 ₡4,655

5.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.29 €11.94

$13.97 ₡6,302

-4.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 €2.47

$2.29 ₡1,031

20.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.27 €2.04

$1.62 ₡731

40.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.79 €2.51

$4.81 ₡2,169

-42.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.17 €3.75

$1.68 ₡758

148.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.87 €1.68

$3.91 ₡1,765

-52.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 €1.33

$3.63 ₡1,640

-59.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.13 ₡509

15.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.70

$2.63 ₡1,188

-27.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.52 €18.44

$5.02 ₡2,267

308.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.39 €12.03

$19.71 ₡8,893

-32.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.35 €3.01

$2.91 ₡1,314

15.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.45 €3.10

$3.54 ₡1,597

-2.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.26 €2.03

$1.21 ₡545

86.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.8 ₡33.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.00 €4.49

$2.15 ₡969

132.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.63 ₡738

-9.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$37.35 €33.55

$8.77 ₡3,958

325.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 €1.94

$1.55 ₡700

39.35%

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

$38.6K €34.7K

$33.9K ₡15.3M

13.86%

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

$38.0K €34.1K

$38.5K ₡17.4M

-1.25%

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

$246 €221

$95.2 ₡43.0K

158.70%

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

$18.68 €16.78

$36.29 ₡16.4K

-48.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.2 €45.97

$52.0 ₡23.5K

-1.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.58 €36.46

$67.6 ₡30.5K

-39.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.55 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$13.43 €12.07

$7.54 ₡3,404

78.12%

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

$1,010 €907

$496 ₡224.0K

103.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,183 €4,656

$11.8K ₡5.3M

-55.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 €90.0

$55.1 ₡24.9K

81.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.06 €43.18

$56.1 ₡25.3K

-14.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 €97.1

$77.8 ₡35.1K

38.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €101

$79.1 ₡35.7K

42.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,556 €1,398

$817 ₡368.9K

90.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,342 €1,206

$806 ₡363.6K

66.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,584 €2,322

$3,988 ₡1.8M

-35.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,165 €1,945

$1,429 ₡644.9K

51.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,721 €4,242

$7,068 ₡3.2M

-33.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,447 €3,097

$1,197 ₡540.1K

187.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$888 ₡400.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

8.62

-57.31%

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

Last update for Swords: October 26, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Swords

$1.3K 51.7%

Nosara

$806 43.7% 40% $536

Eating Out

Swords

$350 13.5%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 39.1% $137

Groceries & Markets

Swords

$335 12.9%

Nosara

$351 19% 5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swords

$316 12.2%

Nosara

$184 9.9% 41.9% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Swords

$166 6.4%

Nosara

$121 6.5% 27.4% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Swords

$67 2.6%

Nosara

$83 4.5% 22.6% $15

Getting Around

Swords

$21 * 0.8%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 316% $68

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,556 in Swords versus $817 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $99 in Swords versus $61 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $335 in Swords vs $351 in Nosara – so Swords wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Swords

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:15 10:15 AM

04:15 4:15 AM

6 h behind Swords

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,776

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Swords Nosara 8,420 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Swords
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

Swords vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,598 in Swords, $1,846 in Nosara – roughly 41% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,897 per month in Swords and $2,769 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $817 there versus $1,556 in Swords.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $99 in Swords and $61 in Nosara. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 5% cheaper in Swords – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

$3,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $2,598 in Swords and $1,846 in Nosara, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Nosara – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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.