Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Exmouth and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,835 a month against $2,489 in Exmouth, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Exmouth
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Exmouth Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Exmouth

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,489

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,489 per month in Exmouth vs $1,835 in Nosara, rent included.

Exmouth $2,489
Nosara $1,835

A couple spends around $3,584 per month in Exmouth vs $2,825 in Nosara, rent included.

Exmouth $3,584
Nosara $2,825

A family of three spends $4,678 per month in Exmouth vs $3,814 in Nosara, rent included.

Exmouth $4,678
Nosara $3,814

Exmouth costs about 36% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Exmouth and Nosara sit above the global median – Exmouth by 84%, Nosara by 35%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.58 A$25.30

$12.34 ₡5,535

42.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 A$122

$61.3 ₡27.5K

37.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 A$15.18

$7.76 ₡3,481

35.95%

Cappuccino

$3.86 A$5.56

$4.44 ₡1,992

-13.06%

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

$2.89 A$4.15

$1.79 ₡803

61.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 A$3.30

$1.29 ₡580

78.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.46 A$10.74

$3.24 ₡1,451

130.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.64 A$10.99

$4.43 ₡1,985

72.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 A$2.28

$1.55 ₡696

1.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.64 A$3.80

$3.08 ₡1,380

-14.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 A$3.17

$2.53 ₡1,133

-13.04%

Eggs

$4.75 A$6.84

$3.45 ₡1,546

37.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.34 A$13.44

$7.32 ₡3,284

27.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.08 A$13.06

$10.24 ₡4,594

-11.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.90 A$21.44

$14.10 ₡6,326

5.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.78 A$5.44

$2.29 ₡1,027

65.07%

Banana (1kg)

$2.97 A$4.28

$1.64 ₡737

81.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.20 A$4.60

$4.79 ₡2,149

-33.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.61 A$6.63

$1.64 ₡735

181.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.68 A$3.85

$3.85 ₡1,727

-30.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.32 A$3.33

$3.75 ₡1,681

-38.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 A$3.36

$1.09 ₡488

114.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 A$2.22

$2.59 ₡1,160

-40.54%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.38 A$59.5

$5.12 ₡2,295

708.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.76 A$19.80

$19.92 ₡8,931

-30.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.62 A$6.65

$2.80 ₡1,255

65.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.14 A$7.40

$3.52 ₡1,580

46.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.79 A$4.02

$1.22 ₡549

128.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$80.6 A$116

$73.9 ₡33.1K

9.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.45 A$4.96

$2.17 ₡973

58.99%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 A$2.23

$1.56 ₡698

-0.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.53 A$56.9

$8.67 ₡3,886

355.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 A$1.87

$1.55 ₡697

-16.13%

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

$26.5K A$38.1K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-23.27%

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

$29.9K A$43.0K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-22.81%

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

$204 A$294

$94.8 ₡42.5K

115.56%

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

$27.80 A$40.00

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-23.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.8 A$80.3

$53.1 ₡23.8K

5.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.5 A$81.3

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-23.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.56 A$25.27

$35.63 ₡16.0K

-50.72%

Cinema Ticket

$14.56 A$20.95

$7.91 ₡3,548

84.07%

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

$2,165 A$3,116

$490 ₡219.9K

341.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.1K A$28.9K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

69.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$75.9 A$109

$54.8 ₡24.6K

38.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.7 A$77.3

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-3.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 A$153

$80.4 ₡36.0K

32.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 A$176

$77.9 ₡34.9K

56.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,411 A$2,031

$801 ₡359.1K

76.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,197 A$1,723

$790 ₡354.1K

51.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,161 A$3,109

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-46.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,776 A$2,556

$1,409 ₡632.0K

26.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,789 A$8,331

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-18.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,878 A$7,020

$1,236 ₡554.3K

294.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.84

8.62

-32.25%

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

Last update for Exmouth: October 17, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Exmouth

$1.2K 48.1%

Nosara

$790 43% 34.1% $408

Groceries & Markets

Exmouth

$362 14.6%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 3.5% $13

Eating Out

Exmouth

$292 11.7%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 27.2% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Exmouth

$288 11.6%

Nosara

$184 10% 36.1% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Exmouth

$161 6.5%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 24.9% $40

Getting Around

Exmouth

$103 4.1%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 13.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Exmouth

$86 3.4%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 4.7% $4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,411 in Exmouth versus $801 in Nosara. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84.0 in Exmouth versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $362 vs $350 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Exmouth

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

04:45 4:45 AM

14:45 2:45 PM

14 h behind Exmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,500

4,912

💱 Currency

Australian Dollar AUD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 AUD = 0.695 USD

1 AUD = 0.618 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to AUD – Australian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇺 Australian Dollar ($)

Australian Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1.44 AUD (1 AUD = 0.695 USD). 1 EUR = 1.62 AUD (1 AUD = 0.618 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to AUD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Exmouth Nosara 17,520 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Exmouth
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

Exmouth vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Exmouth costs about 36% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,734 per month in Exmouth and $2,753 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $2,165 per month in Exmouth and $490 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 4% more in Exmouth, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,835, than in Exmouth at $2,489. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Exmouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Nosara costs $1,835 versus $2,489 in Exmouth. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Exmouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.