Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cusco and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Cusco: $688 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Cusco
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Cusco Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Cusco

🇵🇪 Peru

$688

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $688 in Cusco versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Cusco $688
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,096 in Cusco versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Cusco $1,096
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,505 in Cusco versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Cusco $1,505
Nosara $3,712

Living in Cusco costs roughly 63% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cusco is 49% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.99 PEN 6.85

$12.22 ₡5,509

-83.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.55 PEN 70.7

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-65.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.70 PEN 23.04

$7.54 ₡3,399

-11.14%

Cappuccino

$2.11 PEN 7.24

$4.31 ₡1,941

-51.04%

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

$0.78 PEN 2.69

$1.72 ₡773

-54.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 PEN 1.13

$1.35 ₡608

-75.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.72 PEN 5.92

$3.24 ₡1,459

-46.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.33 PEN 14.90

$4.48 ₡2,018

-3.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.24 PEN 4.27

$1.57 ₡707

-21.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 PEN 7.97

$3.17 ₡1,429

-26.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 PEN 4.43

$2.42 ₡1,091

-46.69%

Eggs

$3.63 PEN 12.48

$3.57 ₡1,609

1.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.69 PEN 16.14

$7.43 ₡3,349

-36.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 PEN 15.24

$10.42 ₡4,697

-57.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.37 PEN 25.35

$13.66 ₡6,156

-46.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.55 PEN 8.78

$2.32 ₡1,044

9.91%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 PEN 2.63

$1.61 ₡728

-52.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 PEN 5.04

$4.74 ₡2,138

-68.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.85 PEN 2.94

$1.66 ₡747

-48.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 PEN 3.52

$3.72 ₡1,679

-72.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 PEN 3.80

$3.57 ₡1,611

-69.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 PEN 1.67

$1.10 ₡497

-55.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 PEN 2.58

$2.55 ₡1,149

-70.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

Wine (Bottle)

$5.93 PEN 20.41

$20.01 ₡9,020

-70.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 PEN 6.38

$2.79 ₡1,256

-33.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 PEN 14.16

$3.53 ₡1,589

16.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.30 PEN 1.04

$1.19 ₡537

-74.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 PEN 5.91

$2.24 ₡1,011

-23.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 PEN 6.65

$1.55 ₡701

24.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.82 PEN 9.69

$8.86 ₡3,993

-68.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 PEN 5.42

$1.57 ₡708

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

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

$28.9K PEN 99.5K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-16.46%

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

$29.31 PEN 101

$93.5 ₡42.1K

-68.64%

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

$14.31 PEN 49.22

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-59.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.13 PEN 152

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-14.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.51 PEN 98.1

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-60.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$4.26 PEN 14.64

$7.84 ₡3,535

-45.66%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.39 PEN 129

$53.5 ₡24.1K

-30.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.43 PEN 115

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-40.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$54.4 PEN 187

$79.3 ₡35.7K

-31.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.2 PEN 248

$78.9 ₡35.6K

-8.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$218 PEN 748

$786 ₡354.3K

-72.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$191 PEN 657

$780 ₡351.6K

-75.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$538 PEN 1,849

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-86.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$416 PEN 1,431

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-70.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,249 PEN 11.2K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-53.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,823 PEN 6,270

$1,201 ₡541.3K

51.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$433 PEN 1,490

$876 ₡395.0K

-50.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

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

Last update for Cusco: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cusco

$191 27.8%

Nosara

$780 43% 309% $589

Groceries & Markets

Cusco

$187 27.2%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 87.2% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Cusco

$89 12.9%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 35.5% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cusco

$88 12.8%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 105% $92

Eating Out

Cusco

$83 12.1%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 152% $126

Sport & Entertainment

Cusco

$37 5.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 135% $50

Getting Around

Cusco

$13 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 589% $74

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 $218 in Cusco and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 102% 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: $21.00 in Cusco vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $187 vs $350 per month, with Cusco cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇪 Cusco

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

21:47 9:47 PM

20:47 8:47 PM

1 h behind Cusco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

428,450

4,912

💱 Currency

Peruvian Sol PEN S/

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 PEN = 0.291 USD

1 PEN = 0.259 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to PEN – Peruvian Sol Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇪 Peruvian Sol (S/)

Peruvian Sol exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.44 PEN (1 PEN = 0.291 USD). 1 EUR = 3.86 PEN (1 PEN = 0.259 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to PEN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cusco Nosara 3,020 km ≈ 4 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cusco
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

Cusco vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cusco is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 167% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 102% 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: $218 in Cusco versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 87% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cusco – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $688 in Cusco versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cusco but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Cusco the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cusco 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, Cusco 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 Cusco gentler on the wallet – expenses run 167% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.