Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bunbury and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,181 in Bunbury, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

105

Cost of Living Index in Bunbury
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Bunbury Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Bunbury

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,181

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,181 in Bunbury versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Bunbury $2,181
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,382 in Bunbury versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Bunbury $3,382
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,582 in Bunbury versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Bunbury $4,582
Nosara $3,818

Living in Bunbury is roughly 19% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bunbury 62% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.48 A$29.47

$12.35 ₡5,539

65.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.2 A$123

$61.2 ₡27.4K

39.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 A$15.57

$7.52 ₡3,373

43.88%

Cappuccino

$4.23 A$6.08

$4.41 ₡1,978

-4.08%

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

$2.89 A$4.16

$1.74 ₡780

66.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 A$3.15

$1.31 ₡587

67.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.37 A$12.05

$3.28 ₡1,471

155.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.39 A$12.08

$4.47 ₡2,004

87.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 A$1.55

$1.56 ₡701

-31.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 A$1.61

$3.02 ₡1,355

-62.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 A$2.83

$2.51 ₡1,125

-21.51%

Eggs

$5.12 A$7.37

$3.57 ₡1,603

43.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.34 A$13.45

$7.43 ₡3,333

25.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.25 A$11.86

$10.52 ₡4,717

-21.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.46 A$12.18

$13.97 ₡6,265

-39.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.71 A$5.35

$2.35 ₡1,052

57.87%

Banana (1kg)

$3.25 A$4.67

$1.61 ₡720

101.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.83 A$4.07

$4.80 ₡2,152

-41.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.79 A$6.89

$1.61 ₡724

197.52%

Potato (1kg)

$2.71 A$3.90

$3.80 ₡1,703

-28.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.90 A$2.73

$3.69 ₡1,657

-48.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.77 A$2.54

$1.13 ₡507

56.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 A$1.19

$2.66 ₡1,191

-68.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$26.22 A$37.73

$5.18 ₡2,321

406.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.78 A$9.75

$19.88 ₡8,916

-65.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.39 A$6.32

$2.90 ₡1,300

51.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 A$5.06

$3.63 ₡1,626

-3.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.79 A$4.02

$1.12 ₡504

149.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$55.8 A$80.4

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-23.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.63 A$5.22

$2.14 ₡958

69.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 A$2.06

$1.57 ₡703

-8.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.44 A$49.56

$8.52 ₡3,823

304.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 A$1.69

$1.52 ₡682

-23.03%

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

$21.0K A$30.2K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-2.78%

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

$18.7K A$27.0K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-45.70%

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

$162 A$232

$96.3 ₡43.2K

67.78%

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

$33.73 A$48.53

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-6.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.5 A$92.8

$53.6 ₡24.0K

20.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.1 A$80.7

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-21.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.38 A$14.93

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-70.27%

Cinema Ticket

$14.18 A$20.40

$7.89 ₡3,539

79.72%

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

$2,300 A$3,310

$494 ₡221.6K

365.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.0K A$33.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

93.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.0 A$112

$53.9 ₡24.2K

44.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.9 A$91.9

$55.4 ₡24.8K

15.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 A$176

$77.9 ₡34.9K

57.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.3 A$134

$79.6 ₡35.7K

17.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$979 A$1,408

$788 ₡353.4K

24.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$982 A$1,413

$794 ₡356.2K

23.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,817 A$2,614

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-53.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,842 A$2,650

$1,419 ₡636.5K

29.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,913 A$7,070

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-28.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,961 A$5,701

$1,224 ₡549.0K

223.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,606 A$6,628

$864 ₡387.3K

433.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.91

8.62

-31.44%

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

Last update for Bunbury: 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

Bunbury

$982 45%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 19.1% $188

Eating Out

Bunbury

$326 15%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 35% $114

Groceries & Markets

Bunbury

$290 13.3%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 21.6% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bunbury

$260 11.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 28.5% $74

Clothing & Footwear

Bunbury

$161 7.4%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 25.3% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Bunbury

$84 3.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 3.5% $3

Getting Around

Bunbury

$78 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 12% $9.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $979 in Bunbury and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bunbury pays 433% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $85.0 in Bunbury vs $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $290 vs $352, with Bunbury cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Bunbury

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

03:58 3:58 AM

13:58 1:58 PM

14 h behind Bunbury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

75,196

4,912

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 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 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bunbury Nosara 16,630 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Bunbury
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

Bunbury vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and utilities. The 19% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 433% higher in Bunbury, 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: $979 in Bunbury versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,300 in Bunbury versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Bunbury pay roughly 22% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,181 in Bunbury, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Bunbury. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Nosara is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Bunbury, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Bunbury 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 19% less than in Bunbury. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.