Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Yens and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $3,329 in Yens, rent and utilities included – about $17,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

162

Cost of Living Index in Yens
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Yens Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Yens

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,329

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,329 per month in Yens vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Yens $3,329
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $5,100 per month in Yens vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Yens $5,100
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $6,872 per month in Yens vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Yens $6,872
Nosara $3,818

Yens costs about 81% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Yens and Nosara sit above the global median – Yens by 147%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.34 CHF 24.16

$12.35 ₡5,539

137.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$119 CHF 98.0

$61.2 ₡27.4K

94.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.95 CHF 13.14

$7.52 ₡3,373

112.10%

Cappuccino

$6.00 CHF 4.94

$4.41 ₡1,978

36.05%

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

$4.95 CHF 4.08

$1.74 ₡780

184.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.27 CHF 3.51

$1.31 ₡587

225.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.07 CHF 7.47

$3.28 ₡1,471

176.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.69 CHF 6.34

$4.47 ₡2,004

72.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CHF 1.76

$1.56 ₡701

36.54%

White Bread (500g)

$2.99 CHF 2.46

$3.02 ₡1,355

-0.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.18 CHF 2.62

$2.51 ₡1,125

26.69%

Eggs

$7.17 CHF 5.91

$3.57 ₡1,603

100.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$23.95 CHF 19.73

$7.43 ₡3,333

222.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.06 CHF 23.11

$10.52 ₡4,717

166.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$39.38 CHF 32.44

$13.97 ₡6,265

181.89%

Apples (1kg)

$3.63 CHF 2.99

$2.35 ₡1,052

54.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 CHF 1.61

$1.61 ₡720

21.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.52 CHF 2.08

$4.80 ₡2,152

-47.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.43 CHF 3.65

$1.61 ₡724

175.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.62 CHF 1.34

$3.80 ₡1,703

-57.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 CHF 1.60

$3.69 ₡1,657

-47.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.98 CHF 1.63

$1.13 ₡507

75.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 CHF 1.05

$2.66 ₡1,191

-52.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.70 CHF 8.81

$5.18 ₡2,321

106.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.98 CHF 9.87

$19.88 ₡8,916

-39.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 CHF 1.85

$2.90 ₡1,300

-22.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.86 CHF 2.36

$3.63 ₡1,626

-21.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.58 CHF 3.77

$1.12 ₡504

308.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$98.4 CHF 81.0

$72.6 ₡32.6K

35.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.70 CHF 6.34

$2.14 ₡958

259.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.56 CHF 3.75

$1.57 ₡703

190.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$84.2 CHF 69.3

$8.52 ₡3,823

888.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 CHF 1.94

$1.52 ₡682

55.26%

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

$41.9K CHF 34.5K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

93.85%

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

$39.7K CHF 32.7K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

15.02%

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

$274 CHF 225

$96.3 ₡43.2K

184.20%

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

$27.35 CHF 22.52

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-23.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.4 CHF 42.31

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-4.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$89.6 CHF 73.8

$71.6 ₡32.1K

25.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$45.51 CHF 37.48

$34.91 ₡15.7K

30.36%

Cinema Ticket

$24.00 CHF 19.76

$7.89 ₡3,539

204.18%

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

$2,954 CHF 2,433

$494 ₡221.6K

497.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.3K CHF 25.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

155.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$141 CHF 116

$53.9 ₡24.2K

161.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$61.4 CHF 50.6

$55.4 ₡24.8K

10.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$138 CHF 114

$77.9 ₡34.9K

76.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$197 CHF 162

$79.6 ₡35.7K

147.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,679 CHF 1,383

$788 ₡353.4K

113.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,440 CHF 1,186

$794 ₡356.2K

81.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,839 CHF 2,338

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-27.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,494 CHF 2,054

$1,419 ₡636.5K

75.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$16.2K CHF 13.3K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

133.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$12.0K CHF 9,900

$1,224 ₡549.0K

881.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

1.95

8.62

-77.38%

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

Last update for Yens: 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

Yens

$1.4K 43.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 44.8% $645

Groceries & Markets

Yens

$558 16.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 36.9% $206

Eating Out

Yens

$452 13.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 53.2% $240

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Yens

$352 10.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 47.3% $167

Clothing & Footwear

Yens

$242 7.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 50.3% $122

Getting Around

Yens

$147 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 40.8% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Yens

$138 4.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 36.5% $50

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,679 in Yens 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $119 in Yens versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $558 vs $352 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Yens

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

23:37 11:37 PM

8 h behind Yens

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,200

4,912

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.21 USD

1 CHF = 1.08 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.824 CHF (1 CHF = 1.21 USD). 1 EUR = 0.926 CHF (1 CHF = 1.08 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Yens Nosara 9,360 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Yens
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

Yens vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,329 in Yens, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 81% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,993 per month in Yens 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 35% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $2,954 per month in Yens 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 Yens at $3,329. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Yens 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 $3,329 in Yens. 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, Yens makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.