Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Busselton and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,623 in Busselton, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Busselton
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Busselton Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Busselton

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,623

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,623 in Busselton versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Busselton $2,623
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,698 in Busselton versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Busselton $3,698
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,773 in Busselton versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Busselton $4,773
Nosara $3,818

Living in Busselton is roughly 43% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Busselton 94% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.42 A$24.95

$12.35 ₡5,556

41.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.1 A$120

$61.2 ₡27.5K

37.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.59 A$15.17

$7.52 ₡3,383

40.82%

Cappuccino

$4.42 A$6.33

$4.41 ₡1,984

0.23%

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

$2.06 A$2.95

$1.74 ₡782

18.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 A$2.91

$1.31 ₡589

54.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.49 A$12.16

$3.28 ₡1,475

158.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.15 A$11.68

$4.47 ₡2,010

82.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 A$2.46

$1.56 ₡703

10.26%

White Bread (500g)

$3.11 A$4.45

$3.02 ₡1,359

2.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.04 A$2.92

$2.51 ₡1,129

-18.73%

Eggs

$5.14 A$7.36

$3.57 ₡1,608

43.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 A$13.22

$7.43 ₡3,344

24.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.18 A$13.16

$10.52 ₡4,732

-12.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.90 A$19.92

$13.97 ₡6,284

-0.50%

Apples (1kg)

$4.57 A$6.54

$2.35 ₡1,055

94.47%

Banana (1kg)

$3.08 A$4.41

$1.61 ₡722

91.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.31 A$4.74

$4.80 ₡2,159

-31.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.94 A$7.07

$1.61 ₡726

206.83%

Potato (1kg)

$2.90 A$4.15

$3.80 ₡1,708

-23.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 A$2.82

$3.69 ₡1,662

-46.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.28 A$3.27

$1.13 ₡508

101.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 A$1.96

$2.66 ₡1,195

-48.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.72 A$59.8

$5.18 ₡2,328

705.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.65 A$18.12

$19.88 ₡8,944

-36.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.35 A$6.24

$2.90 ₡1,304

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 A$4.85

$3.63 ₡1,631

-6.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.48 A$3.55

$1.12 ₡506

121.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.6 A$118

$72.6 ₡32.7K

13.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 A$5.09

$2.14 ₡961

65.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 A$1.98

$1.57 ₡706

-12.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.16 A$59.0

$8.52 ₡3,835

383.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 A$2.01

$1.52 ₡684

-7.89%

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

$27.7K A$39.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

28.22%

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

$29.6K A$42.4K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-14.18%

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

$195 A$279

$96.3 ₡43.3K

102.16%

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

$32.93 A$47.18

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-8.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.4 A$92.2

$53.6 ₡24.1K

20.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.68 A$71.2

$71.6 ₡32.2K

-30.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.07 A$23.02

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-53.97%

Cinema Ticket

$17.71 A$25.37

$7.89 ₡3,550

124.46%

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

$2,274 A$3,258

$494 ₡222.3K

360.28%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.1K A$33.0K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

94.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.8 A$113

$53.9 ₡24.3K

46.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.5 A$92.4

$55.4 ₡24.9K

16.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 A$172

$77.9 ₡35.1K

54.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$162 A$232

$79.6 ₡35.8K

103.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,247 A$1,786

$788 ₡354.5K

58.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,288 A$1,846

$794 ₡357.3K

62.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,204 A$3,158

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-44.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,776 A$2,544

$1,419 ₡638.4K

25.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,785 A$8,287

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-16.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,348 A$6,228

$1,224 ₡550.7K

255.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡388.5K

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 Busselton: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Busselton

$1.3K 49.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 38.4% $494

Groceries & Markets

Busselton

$364 13.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 3.1% $11

Eating Out

Busselton

$299 11.4%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 29.2% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Busselton

$292 11.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 36.4% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Busselton

$192 7.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 37.3% $71

Getting Around

Busselton

$103 3.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 15.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Busselton

$85 3.2%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 2.7% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,247 in Busselton and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $84.0 in Busselton vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $364 vs $352 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Busselton

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

02:08 2:08 AM

12:08 12:08 PM

14 h behind Busselton

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

27,233

4,912

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.698 USD

1 AUD = 0.625 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 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 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 AUD (1 AUD = 0.698 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 AUD (1 AUD = 0.625 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 450 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 502 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Busselton Nosara 16,620 km ≈ 21 h nonstop flight

From you

Busselton
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

Busselton vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Busselton and Nosara differ by about 43% in total monthly costs ($2,623 vs $1,839 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $3,934 in Busselton 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: $1,247 in Busselton versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,274 in Busselton 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 3% higher in Busselton. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,839 in Nosara versus $2,623 in Busselton, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Busselton. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Busselton 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 43% less than in Busselton. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.