Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cahul and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $635 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
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Cahul Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$635

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $635 in Cahul versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cahul $635
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Cahul versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cahul $927
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,219 in Cahul versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cahul $1,219
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cahul costs roughly 65% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cahul is 53% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.54 MDL 152

$12.35 ₡5,539

-30.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.42 MDL 416

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-61.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.36 MDL 184

$7.52 ₡3,373

37.77%

Cappuccino

$1.67 MDL 29.62

$4.41 ₡1,978

-62.13%

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

$1.10 MDL 19.60

$1.74 ₡780

-36.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 MDL 10.39

$1.31 ₡587

-55.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.97 MDL 35.05

$3.28 ₡1,471

-39.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 MDL 32.05

$4.47 ₡2,004

-59.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 MDL 21.41

$1.56 ₡701

-22.44%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 MDL 8.13

$3.02 ₡1,355

-84.77%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 MDL 27.58

$2.51 ₡1,125

-38.25%

Eggs

$2.15 MDL 38.13

$3.57 ₡1,603

-39.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.65 MDL 118

$7.43 ₡3,333

-10.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.69 MDL 83.3

$10.52 ₡4,717

-55.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.09 MDL 108

$13.97 ₡6,265

-56.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.00 MDL 17.74

$2.35 ₡1,052

-57.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 MDL 40.16

$1.61 ₡720

40.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MDL 33.62

$4.80 ₡2,152

-60.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MDL 40.46

$1.61 ₡724

41.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 MDL 13.69

$3.80 ₡1,703

-79.74%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 MDL 8.51

$3.69 ₡1,657

-86.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 MDL 8.18

$1.13 ₡507

-59.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MDL 9.76

$2.66 ₡1,191

-79.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 MDL 58.8

$5.18 ₡2,321

-36.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.54 MDL 80.7

$19.88 ₡8,916

-77.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 MDL 25.07

$2.90 ₡1,300

-51.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 MDL 34.54

$3.63 ₡1,626

-46.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 MDL 4.78

$1.12 ₡504

-75.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 MDL 51.0

$2.14 ₡958

34.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.26 MDL 4.62

$1.57 ₡703

-83.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MDL 101

$8.52 ₡3,823

-33.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 MDL 27.84

$1.52 ₡682

3.29%

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

$33.4K MDL 593.4K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

54.63%

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

$23.8K MDL 422.6K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-31.06%

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

$225 MDL 3,990

$96.3 ₡43.2K

133.31%

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

$8.06 MDL 143

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-77.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.01 MDL 196

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-79.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.74 MDL 137

$7.89 ₡3,539

-1.90%

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

$111 MDL 1,978

$494 ₡221.6K

-77.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,302 MDL 94.2K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-55.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.70 MDL 794

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-17.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 MDL 985

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-28.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.1 MDL 908

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-35.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$500 MDL 8,884

$864 ₡387.3K

-42.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-7.19%

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

Last update for Cahul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cahul

$244 38.4%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 23.8% $58

Groceries & Markets

Cahul

$162 25.6%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 117% $190

Eating Out

Cahul

$140 22%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 51.7% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Cahul

$68 * 10.7%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 76.4% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cahul

$15 * 2.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 464% $72

Getting Around

Cahul

$5.3 * 0.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 1559% $82

Accommodation & Living

Cahul

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Nosara pays 73% 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: $23.00 in Cahul vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $162 vs $352 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Cahul

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

05:24 5:24 AM

20:24 8:24 PM

9 h behind Cahul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,500

4,912

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cahul Nosara 10,980 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cahul
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

Cahul vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul wins on cost – living expenses run 190% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cahul the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 73% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Supermarket bills run roughly 117% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $635 per month in Cahul versus $1,839 in Nosara – a 190% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $635 in Cahul versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cahul but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Cahul the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cahul delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $635 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cahul hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cahul 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 Cahul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 190% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.