Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caraguatatuba and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Caraguatatuba: $843 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Caraguatatuba
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Caraguatatuba Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Caraguatatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$843

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $843 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Caraguatatuba $843
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,363 in Caraguatatuba versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Caraguatatuba $1,363
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,883 in Caraguatatuba versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Caraguatatuba $1,883
Nosara $3,818

Living in Caraguatatuba costs roughly 54% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caraguatatuba is 38% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.70 R$39.04

$12.35 ₡5,539

-37.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.38 R$149

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-51.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.23 R$46.80

$7.52 ₡3,373

22.74%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R$11.99

$4.41 ₡1,978

-46.26%

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

$1.23 R$6.25

$1.74 ₡780

-29.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.88 R$4.48

$1.31 ₡587

-32.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 R$11.96

$3.28 ₡1,471

-28.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 R$16.60

$4.47 ₡2,004

-26.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 R$5.09

$1.56 ₡701

-35.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.61 R$8.17

$3.02 ₡1,355

-46.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 R$7.10

$2.51 ₡1,125

-44.22%

Eggs

$1.96 R$9.96

$3.57 ₡1,603

-45.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.89 R$29.84

$7.43 ₡3,333

-20.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.32 R$16.82

$10.52 ₡4,717

-68.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.98 R$40.47

$13.97 ₡6,265

-42.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.15 R$10.89

$2.35 ₡1,052

-8.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.67 R$8.46

$1.61 ₡720

3.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R$7.39

$4.80 ₡2,152

-69.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.19

$1.61 ₡724

-11.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.45

$3.80 ₡1,703

-66.58%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 R$4.13

$3.69 ₡1,657

-77.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.71 R$3.60

$1.13 ₡507

-37.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 R$3.99

$2.66 ₡1,191

-70.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.16 R$10.96

$5.18 ₡2,321

-58.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.00 R$35.46

$19.88 ₡8,916

-64.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 R$7.58

$2.90 ₡1,300

-48.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 R$13.11

$3.63 ₡1,626

-28.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 R$4.96

$1.12 ₡504

-12.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.55 R$119

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-67.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 R$5.89

$2.14 ₡958

-45.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.73 R$3.70

$1.57 ₡703

-53.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.52 R$17.85

$8.52 ₡3,823

-58.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 R$6.59

$1.52 ₡682

-14.47%

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

$15.7K R$79.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-27.57%

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

$29.5K R$149.6K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-14.51%

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

$66.3 R$336

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-31.14%

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

$13.05 R$66.2

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-63.64%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.44 R$114

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-58.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$21.64 R$110

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-69.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.29 R$82.6

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-53.34%

Cinema Ticket

$8.17 R$41.40

$7.89 ₡3,539

3.55%

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

$223 R$1,130

$494 ₡221.6K

-54.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,271 R$21.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-63.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.8 R$293

$53.9 ₡24.2K

7.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 R$287

$55.4 ₡24.8K

2.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.3 R$397

$77.9 ₡34.9K

0.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 R$300

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-25.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$416 R$2,110

$788 ₡353.4K

-47.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 R$1,201

$794 ₡356.2K

-70.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$879 R$4,453

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-77.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 R$2,648

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-63.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,681 R$8,523

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-75.67%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,217 R$6,170

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-0.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$336 R$1,704

$864 ₡387.3K

-61.07%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.15

8.62

-5.45%

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

Last update for Caraguatatuba: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caraguatatuba

$237 28.1%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 235% $557

Groceries & Markets

Caraguatatuba

$176 20.9%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 100% $176

Eating Out

Caraguatatuba

$145 17.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 46.6% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Caraguatatuba

$113 13.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 5.9% $6.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caraguatatuba

$102 12.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 82.5% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Caraguatatuba

$38 4.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 130% $49

Getting Around

Caraguatatuba

$32 3.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 170% $55

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $416 in Caraguatatuba and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 157% 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: $29.00 in Caraguatatuba vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $176 vs $352 per month, with Caraguatatuba cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Caraguatatuba

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

01:31 1:31 AM

22:31 10:31 PM

3 h behind Caraguatatuba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

134,873

4,912

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Caraguatatuba Nosara 5,750 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Caraguatatuba
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

Caraguatatuba vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caraguatatuba is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 118% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 157% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $416 in Caraguatatuba versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 100% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Caraguatatuba – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $843 in Caraguatatuba versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caraguatatuba but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Caraguatatuba the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Safety-wise, Caraguatatuba 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 Caraguatatuba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 118% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.