Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cucuta and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cucuta: $1,335 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

63

Cost of Living Index in Cucuta
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Cucuta Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cucuta

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,335

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,335 in Cucuta versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Cucuta $1,335
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,003 in Cucuta versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Cucuta $2,003
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,670 in Cucuta versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Cucuta $2,670
Nosara $3,818

Living in Cucuta costs roughly 27% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cucuta is 1% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.44 COP 23.6K

$12.35 ₡5,539

-39.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.54 COP 153.9K

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-20.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.16 COP 29.1K

$7.52 ₡3,373

21.81%

Cappuccino

$2.91 COP 9,235

$4.41 ₡1,978

-34.01%

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

$1.43 COP 4,544

$1.74 ₡780

-17.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.08 COP 3,420

$1.31 ₡587

-17.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 COP 9,785

$3.28 ₡1,471

-5.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 COP 11.7K

$4.47 ₡2,004

-17.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 COP 5,112

$1.56 ₡701

3.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 COP 7,844

$3.02 ₡1,355

-18.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.54 COP 4,893

$2.51 ₡1,125

-38.65%

Eggs

$2.99 COP 9,488

$3.57 ₡1,603

-16.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 COP 28.5K

$7.43 ₡3,333

21.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.58 COP 27.2K

$10.52 ₡4,717

-18.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.41 COP 36.2K

$13.97 ₡6,265

-18.32%

Apples (1kg)

$3.54 COP 11.2K

$2.35 ₡1,052

50.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.60 COP 5,061

$1.61 ₡720

-0.62%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.07 COP 6,574

$4.80 ₡2,152

-56.88%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.94 COP 6,139

$1.61 ₡724

20.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 COP 4,071

$3.80 ₡1,703

-66.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.31 COP 4,149

$3.69 ₡1,657

-64.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 COP 3,497

$1.13 ₡507

-2.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 COP 3,221

$2.66 ₡1,191

-61.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.35 COP 13.8K

$5.18 ₡2,321

-16.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.74 COP 46.7K

$19.88 ₡8,916

-25.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 COP 5,217

$2.90 ₡1,300

-43.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 COP 7,271

$3.63 ₡1,626

-36.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 COP 3,783

$1.12 ₡504

6.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 COP 4,830

$2.14 ₡958

-28.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 COP 6,624

$1.57 ₡703

33.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.90 COP 31.4K

$8.52 ₡3,823

16.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 COP 4,055

$1.52 ₡682

-15.79%

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

$28.7K COP 90.9M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

32.62%

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

$40.2K COP 127.6M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

16.58%

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

$126 COP 397.9K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

30.34%

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

$13.88 COP 44.0K

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-61.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.14 COP 92.4K

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-45.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.45 COP 106.1K

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-53.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$6.95 COP 22.0K

$7.89 ₡3,539

-11.91%

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

$647 COP 2.1M

$494 ₡221.6K

30.92%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,396 COP 20.3M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-46.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 273.8K

$53.9 ₡24.2K

60.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.97 COP 158.4K

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-9.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$154 COP 489.8K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

98.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 COP 323.2K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

28.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$643 COP 2.0M

$788 ₡353.4K

-18.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$497 COP 1.6M

$794 ₡356.2K

-37.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,017 COP 3.2M

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-74.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 COP 2.5M

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-44.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,980 COP 6.3M

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-71.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,498 COP 4.7M

$1,224 ₡549.0K

22.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$565 COP 1.8M

$864 ₡387.3K

-34.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.58

8.62

34.34%

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

Last update for Cucuta: 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

Cucuta

$497 37.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 59.8% $297

Groceries & Markets

Cucuta

$274 20.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 28.7% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Cucuta

$177 13.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 32% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cucuta

$169 12.6%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 10.2% $17

Eating Out

Cucuta

$155 11.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 36.8% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Cucuta

$47 3.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 84.5% $40

Getting Around

Cucuta

$17 * 1.3%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 420% $70

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 $643 in Cucuta and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 53% 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: $49.00 in Cucuta vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $274 vs $352 per month, with Cucuta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Cucuta

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

20:01 8:01 PM

1 h behind Cucuta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

777,106

4,912

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 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 COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cucuta Nosara 1,460 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cucuta
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

Cucuta vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cucuta is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and leisure. The 38% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 53% 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: $643 in Cucuta versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $647 in Cucuta 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 Cucuta – a meal for two runs $49.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,335 in Cucuta versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cucuta but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Cucuta the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cucuta 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, Cucuta 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 Cucuta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.