Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Valletta and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,260 in Valletta, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Valletta
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Valletta Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Valletta

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,260

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,260 per month in Valletta vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Valletta $2,260
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $3,486 per month in Valletta vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Valletta $3,486
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $4,711 per month in Valletta vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Valletta $4,711
Nosara $3,712

Valletta costs about 23% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Valletta and Nosara sit above the global median – Valletta by 69%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.88 €20.42

$12.22 ₡5,509

87.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.6 €80.0

$60.2 ₡27.1K

48.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.64 €12.18

$7.54 ₡3,399

80.90%

Cappuccino

$3.17 €2.83

$4.31 ₡1,941

-26.45%

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

$2.34 €2.09

$1.72 ₡773

36.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 €1.78

$1.35 ₡608

47.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.52 €4.92

$3.24 ₡1,459

70.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.89 €6.15

$4.48 ₡2,018

53.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.57 ₡707

-12.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.43 €1.27

$3.17 ₡1,429

-54.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.48 €3.10

$2.42 ₡1,091

43.80%

Eggs

$4.33 €3.86

$3.57 ₡1,609

21.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.41 €9.29

$7.43 ₡3,349

40.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.06 €10.76

$10.42 ₡4,697

15.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.93 €16.00

$13.66 ₡6,156

31.26%

Apples (1kg)

$3.70 €3.30

$2.32 ₡1,044

59.48%

Banana (1kg)

$2.67 €2.38

$1.61 ₡728

65.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.87 €3.45

$4.74 ₡2,138

-18.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.75 €3.35

$1.66 ₡747

125.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 €1.68

$3.72 ₡1,679

-49.46%

Onion (1kg)

$3.28 €2.93

$3.57 ₡1,611

-8.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.10 ₡497

108.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.55 ₡1,149

-40.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.35 €5.67

$4.95 ₡2,232

28.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.86 €5.23

$20.01 ₡9,020

-70.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.38 €2.13

$2.79 ₡1,256

-14.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.14

$3.53 ₡1,589

-32.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.88 €2.57

$1.19 ₡537

142.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.88 €3.46

$2.24 ₡1,011

73.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.55 ₡701

19.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.52 €29.02

$8.86 ₡3,993

267.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.47 €1.32

$1.57 ₡708

-6.37%

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

$28.3K €25.2K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

29.74%

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

$39.1K €34.9K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

12.82%

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

$154 €138

$93.5 ₡42.1K

64.97%

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

$31.14 €27.79

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-11.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.25 €26.10

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-43.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$59.9 €53.4

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-16.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.39 €18.19

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-42.47%

Cinema Ticket

$11.35 €10.13

$7.84 ₡3,535

44.77%

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

$276 €246

$490 ₡220.7K

-43.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K €11.0K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

3.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.1 €50.9

$53.5 ₡24.1K

6.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$69.6 €62.2

$55.8 ₡25.1K

24.87%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$112 €100

$79.3 ₡35.7K

41.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 €116

$78.9 ₡35.6K

65.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,432 €1,278

$786 ₡354.3K

82.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 €978

$780 ₡351.6K

40.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,321 €2,964

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-13.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,052 €1,831

$1,407 ₡634.4K

45.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,252 €4,687

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-24.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,997 €3,567

$1,201 ₡541.3K

232.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,012 €1,796

$876 ₡395.0K

129.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

8.62

-53.02%

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

Last update for Valletta: October 5, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Valletta

$1.1K 48.8%

Nosara

$780 43% 28.8% $316

Groceries & Markets

Valletta

$341 15.2%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 2.4% $8.3

Eating Out

Valletta

$321 14.3%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 34.7% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Valletta

$215 9.6%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 16.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Valletta

$166 7.4%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 27.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Valletta

$83 3.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 5.4% $4.5

Getting Around

Valletta

$25 * 1.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 252% $62

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,432 in Valletta versus $786 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 130% higher in Valletta, 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 $90.0 in Valletta versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $341 in Valletta vs $350 in Nosara – so Valletta wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Valletta

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:09 8:09 AM

00:09 12:09 AM

8 h behind Valletta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,700 Capital

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Valletta Nosara 10,260 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Valletta
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

Valletta vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,260 in Valletta, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 23% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,390 per month in Valletta and $2,756 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 $90.0 in Valletta and $60.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 2% cheaper in Valletta – 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 $1,837, than in Valletta at $2,260. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Valletta it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Valletta has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,837 in Nosara to $2,260 in Valletta. 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, Valletta makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.