Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Babahoyo and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Babahoyo: $739 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Babahoyo
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Babahoyo Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Babahoyo

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$739

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $739 in Babahoyo versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Babahoyo $739
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,243 in Babahoyo versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Babahoyo $1,243
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,746 in Babahoyo versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Babahoyo $1,746
Nosara $3,818

Living in Babahoyo costs roughly 60% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Babahoyo is 45% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.01 $4.01

$12.35 ₡5,550

-67.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.38 $32.38

$61.2 ₡27.5K

-47.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.72 $4.72

$7.52 ₡3,379

-37.23%

Cappuccino

$2.52 $2.52

$4.41 ₡1,982

-42.86%

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

$0.83 $0.83

$1.74 ₡781

-52.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 $0.83

$1.31 ₡588

-36.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 $2.05

$3.28 ₡1,474

-37.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 $3.57

$4.47 ₡2,008

-20.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.56 ₡702

-26.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.63 $1.63

$3.02 ₡1,358

-46.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.70 $1.70

$2.51 ₡1,127

-32.27%

Eggs

$1.87 $1.87

$3.57 ₡1,606

-47.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.32 $7.32

$7.43 ₡3,340

-1.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.70 $5.70

$10.52 ₡4,727

-45.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.93 $6.93

$13.97 ₡6,277

-50.39%

Apples (1kg)

$1.80 $1.80

$2.35 ₡1,054

-23.40%

Banana (1kg)

$0.95 $0.95

$1.61 ₡721

-40.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.16 $1.16

$4.80 ₡2,156

-75.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.20 $1.20

$1.61 ₡725

-25.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 $1.37

$3.80 ₡1,706

-63.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 $1.04

$3.69 ₡1,660

-71.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 $0.68

$1.13 ₡508

-39.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 $1.07

$2.66 ₡1,193

-59.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.38 $5.38

$5.18 ₡2,326

3.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.09 $9.09

$19.88 ₡8,934

-54.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.55 $1.55

$2.90 ₡1,303

-46.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 $3.16

$3.63 ₡1,629

-12.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.34 $0.34

$1.12 ₡505

-69.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.80 $15.80

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-78.25%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.44 $1.44

$2.14 ₡960

-32.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 $1.26

$1.57 ₡705

-19.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.45 $9.45

$8.52 ₡3,830

10.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.52 ₡683

-46.05%

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

$19.2K $19.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-11.29%

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

$29.3K $29.3K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-15.17%

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

$37.52 $37.52

$96.3 ₡43.3K

-61.03%

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

$13.16 $13.16

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-63.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.46 $27.46

$53.6 ₡24.1K

-48.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.83 $25.83

$71.6 ₡32.2K

-63.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.98 $14.98

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-57.09%

Cinema Ticket

$6.97 $6.97

$7.89 ₡3,546

-11.66%

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

$207 $207

$494 ₡222.0K

-58.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,116 $5,116

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-56.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.1 $50.1

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-7.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.24 $37.24

$55.4 ₡24.9K

-32.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 $114

$77.9 ₡35.0K

46.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.9 $61.9

$79.6 ₡35.8K

-22.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$318 $318

$788 ₡354.1K

-59.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$184 $184

$794 ₡356.9K

-76.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$789 $789

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-79.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$455 $455

$1,419 ₡637.7K

-67.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,153 $1,153

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-83.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$681 $681

$1,224 ₡550.0K

-44.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡388.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

8.62

16.59%

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

Last update for Babahoyo: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Babahoyo

$193 26.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 82.8% $160

Accommodation & Living

Babahoyo

$184 25%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 331% $610

Clothing & Footwear

Babahoyo

$118 16%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 1.4% $1.7

Eating Out

Babahoyo

$101 13.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 111% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Babahoyo

$78 10.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 138% $108

Sport & Entertainment

Babahoyo

$40 5.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 120% $48

Getting Around

Babahoyo

$25 3.4%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 250% $62

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $318 in Babahoyo and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $32.00 in Babahoyo vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $193 vs $352 per month, with Babahoyo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Babahoyo

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

13:59 1:59 PM

12:59 12:59 PM

1 h behind Babahoyo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

84,164

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.893 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.893 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Babahoyo Nosara 1,470 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Babahoyo
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

Babahoyo vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Babahoyo wins on cost – living expenses run 149% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Babahoyo the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,108 in Babahoyo and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $318 in Babahoyo versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $207 in Babahoyo versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 83% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $739 in Babahoyo versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Babahoyo but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Babahoyo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Babahoyo delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $739 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Babahoyo hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Babahoyo 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 Babahoyo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 149% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.