Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alice Springs and Nosara

For one person, living costs are similar in Alice Springs and in Nosara: $1,828 and $1,837 a month, rent and utilities included.

88

Cost of Living Index in Alice Springs
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Alice Springs Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Alice Springs

🇦🇺 Australia

$1,828

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,828 in Alice Springs versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Alice Springs $1,828
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,745 in Alice Springs versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Alice Springs $2,745
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,662 in Alice Springs versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Alice Springs $3,662
Nosara $3,712

Living in Alice Springs costs roughly 1% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Alice Springs 36% above, Nosara 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.52 A$25.16

$12.22 ₡5,509

43.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.1 A$119

$60.2 ₡27.1K

37.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.85 A$15.59

$7.54 ₡3,399

43.90%

Cappuccino

$4.14 A$5.95

$4.31 ₡1,941

-3.94%

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

$2.84 A$4.08

$1.72 ₡773

65.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.82 A$4.05

$1.35 ₡608

108.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.62 A$9.50

$3.24 ₡1,459

104.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.67 A$13.90

$4.48 ₡2,018

115.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 A$2.09

$1.57 ₡707

-7.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.13 A$3.07

$3.17 ₡1,429

-32.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.82 A$2.61

$2.42 ₡1,091

-24.79%

Eggs

$5.33 A$7.66

$3.57 ₡1,609

49.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.11 A$11.64

$7.43 ₡3,349

9.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.29 A$11.91

$10.42 ₡4,697

-20.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 A$20.50

$13.66 ₡6,156

4.47%

Apples (1kg)

$3.83 A$5.50

$2.32 ₡1,044

65.09%

Banana (1kg)

$3.10 A$4.45

$1.61 ₡728

92.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 A$3.58

$4.74 ₡2,138

-47.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.85 A$9.84

$1.66 ₡747

312.65%

Potato (1kg)

$2.50 A$3.60

$3.72 ₡1,679

-32.80%

Onion (1kg)

$2.41 A$3.46

$3.57 ₡1,611

-32.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.41 A$3.46

$1.10 ₡497

119.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.37 A$3.41

$2.55 ₡1,149

-7.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$29.01 A$41.67

$4.95 ₡2,232

486.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.78 A$19.80

$20.01 ₡9,020

-31.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.35 A$4.81

$2.79 ₡1,256

20.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.69 A$8.18

$3.53 ₡1,589

61.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.77 A$3.98

$1.19 ₡537

132.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$91.1 A$131

$72.1 ₡32.5K

26.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.02 A$7.21

$2.24 ₡1,011

124.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.64 A$2.36

$1.55 ₡701

5.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.71 A$39.81

$8.86 ₡3,993

212.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.87

$1.57 ₡708

-17.20%

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

$37.7K A$54.1K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

72.76%

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

$23.4K A$33.6K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-32.53%

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

$208 A$299

$93.5 ₡42.1K

122.80%

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

$27.26 A$39.16

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-22.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.55 A$65.4

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-11.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.8 A$81.6

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-20.42%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.66 A$25.37

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-50.17%

Cinema Ticket

$13.86 A$19.91

$7.84 ₡3,535

76.79%

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

$1,910 A$2,744

$490 ₡220.7K

290.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K A$29.6K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

73.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$72.2 A$104

$53.5 ₡24.1K

34.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$12.26 A$17.61

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-78.02%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 A$197

$79.3 ₡35.7K

73.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$123 A$176

$78.9 ₡35.6K

55.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,393 A$2,001

$786 ₡354.3K

77.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$519 A$745

$780 ₡351.6K

-33.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,290 A$1,853

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-66.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$758 A$1,089

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-46.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,528 A$6,504

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-35.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,795 A$6,888

$1,201 ₡541.3K

299.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,404 A$6,326

$876 ₡395.0K

402.53%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

8.62

-32.25%

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

Last update for Alice Springs: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Alice Springs

$519 28.6%

Nosara

$780 43% 50.4% $261

Groceries & Markets

Alice Springs

$361 19.9%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 3.2% $12

Eating Out

Alice Springs

$297 16.4%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 29.6% $88

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alice Springs

$281 15.5%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 35.9% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Alice Springs

$155 8.6%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 22.4% $35

Getting Around

Alice Springs

$115 6.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 24.8% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Alice Springs

$85 4.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 3% $2.5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,393 in Alice Springs and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Alice Springs pays 403% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $83.0 in Alice Springs vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $361 vs $350 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Alice Springs

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

15:22 3:22 PM

23:52 11:52 PM

15 h 30 min behind Alice Springs

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,855

4,912

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.696 USD

1 AUD = 0.621 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.696 USD). 1 EUR = 1.61 AUD (1 AUD = 0.621 EUR).

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 AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Alice Springs Nosara 15,560 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Alice Springs
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

Alice Springs vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alice Springs wins on cost – living expenses run 1% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alice Springs the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 403% higher in Alice Springs, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,393 in Alice Springs versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Nosara pay roughly 3% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

Dining out is cheaper in Alice Springs – a meal for two runs $83.0 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,828 in Alice Springs versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Alice Springs but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Alice Springs the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alice Springs delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,828 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alice Springs hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Alice Springs and Nosara are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Alice Springs gentler on the wallet – expenses run 1% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.