Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cabarete and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cabarete: $1,189 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Cabarete
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Cabarete Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Cabarete

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,189

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,189 in Cabarete versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cabarete $1,189
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,792 in Cabarete versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cabarete $1,792
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,396 in Cabarete versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cabarete $2,396
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cabarete costs roughly 35% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cabarete is 12% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.85 DOP 481

$12.35 ₡5,539

-36.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.97 DOP 3,061

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-18.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.88 DOP 422

$7.52 ₡3,373

-8.51%

Cappuccino

$2.00 DOP 122

$4.41 ₡1,978

-54.65%

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

$1.01 DOP 62.1

$1.74 ₡780

-41.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 DOP 33.47

$1.31 ₡587

-58.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 DOP 147

$3.28 ₡1,471

-26.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 DOP 194

$4.47 ₡2,004

-29.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 DOP 84.9

$1.56 ₡701

-10.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 DOP 93.4

$3.02 ₡1,355

-49.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 DOP 98.3

$2.51 ₡1,125

-35.86%

Eggs

$2.27 DOP 139

$3.57 ₡1,603

-36.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.99 DOP 428

$7.43 ₡3,333

-5.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.45 DOP 334

$10.52 ₡4,717

-48.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.47 DOP 396

$13.97 ₡6,265

-53.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 DOP 175

$2.35 ₡1,052

21.70%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 DOP 46.88

$1.61 ₡720

-52.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.67 DOP 164

$4.80 ₡2,152

-44.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.85 DOP 113

$1.61 ₡724

14.91%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 DOP 123

$3.80 ₡1,703

-47.11%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 DOP 136

$3.69 ₡1,657

-40.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.00 DOP 61.0

$1.13 ₡507

-11.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 DOP 48.39

$2.66 ₡1,191

-70.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.03 DOP 247

$5.18 ₡2,321

-22.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.43 DOP 639

$19.88 ₡8,916

-47.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.58 DOP 158

$2.90 ₡1,300

-11.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 DOP 153

$3.63 ₡1,626

-31.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 DOP 62.1

$1.12 ₡504

-9.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.20 DOP 196

$2.14 ₡958

49.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 DOP 139

$1.57 ₡703

44.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 DOP 349

$8.52 ₡3,823

-33.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 DOP 73.5

$1.52 ₡682

-21.05%

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

$22.8K DOP 1.4M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

5.50%

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

$33.3K DOP 2.0M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-3.53%

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

$91.3 DOP 5,593

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-5.18%

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

$31.47 DOP 1,928

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-12.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.12 DOP 2,213

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-32.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.15 DOP 1,541

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-64.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.56 DOP 463

$7.89 ₡3,539

-4.18%

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

$249 DOP 15.3K

$494 ₡221.6K

-49.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,256 DOP 444.5K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-38.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.97 DOP 2,816

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-14.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.57 DOP 2,792

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-17.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.7 DOP 5,253

$77.9 ₡34.9K

10.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 DOP 7,441

$79.6 ₡35.7K

52.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$706 DOP 43.2K

$788 ₡353.4K

-10.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$491 DOP 30.1K

$794 ₡356.2K

-38.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 DOP 72.9K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-69.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 DOP 48.4K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-44.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$297 DOP 18.2K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-75.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

8.62

57.31%

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

Last update for Cabarete: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cabarete

$491 41.3%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 61.7% $303

Groceries & Markets

Cabarete

$214 18%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 64.8% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cabarete

$159 13.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 16.9% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cabarete

$134 11.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 10.7% $14

Eating Out

Cabarete

$132 11.1%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 60.5% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Cabarete

$40 3.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 117% $47

Getting Around

Cabarete

$19 * 1.6%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 369% $69

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $706 in Cabarete and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $50.0 in Cabarete vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $214 vs $352 per month, with Cabarete cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Cabarete

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

12:01 12:01 PM

2 h behind Cabarete

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,094

4,912

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.88 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 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 DOP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cabarete Nosara 1,960 km ≈ 3 h nonstop flight

From you

Cabarete
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

Cabarete vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cabarete wins on cost – living expenses run 55% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cabarete the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $1,784 in Cabarete 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: $706 in Cabarete versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $249 in Cabarete versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cabarete – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,189 in Cabarete versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cabarete but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Cabarete the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cabarete delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,189 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cabarete hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cabarete 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 Cabarete gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.