Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Funchal and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $2,087 in Funchal, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Funchal outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

103

Cost of Living Index in Funchal
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Funchal Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Funchal

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,087

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,087 in Funchal versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Funchal $2,087
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,066 in Funchal versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Funchal $3,066
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,046 in Funchal versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Funchal $4,046
Nosara $3,712

Living in Funchal is roughly 14% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Funchal 56% above, Nosara 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.03 €13.41

$12.22 ₡5,509

23.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.0 €58.0

$60.2 ₡27.1K

8.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.30 €11.87

$7.54 ₡3,399

76.39%

Cappuccino

$1.95 €1.74

$4.31 ₡1,941

-54.76%

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

$1.67 €1.49

$1.72 ₡773

-2.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 €1.25

$1.35 ₡608

3.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 €2.46

$3.24 ₡1,459

-15.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.82 €3.41

$4.48 ₡2,018

-14.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 €0.95

$1.57 ₡707

-31.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.76 €1.57

$3.17 ₡1,429

-44.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.42 ₡1,091

-33.06%

Eggs

$3.79 €3.38

$3.57 ₡1,609

6.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 €9.09

$7.43 ₡3,349

37.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.26 €6.48

$10.42 ₡4,697

-30.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.93 €10.64

$13.66 ₡6,156

-12.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.78 €1.59

$2.32 ₡1,044

-23.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 €1.60

$1.61 ₡728

11.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$4.74 ₡2,138

-62.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.45 €2.18

$1.66 ₡747

47.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 €1.72

$3.72 ₡1,679

-48.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.99 €1.78

$3.57 ₡1,611

-44.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.64 €1.47

$1.10 ₡497

49.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.81 €0.73

$2.55 ₡1,149

-68.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.44 €4.86

$4.95 ₡2,232

9.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.69 €5.97

$20.01 ₡9,020

-66.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 €1.14

$2.79 ₡1,256

-54.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 €2.31

$3.53 ₡1,589

-26.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.19 €1.96

$1.19 ₡537

84.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.23 €29.66

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-53.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 €3.57

$2.24 ₡1,011

78.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.42 €1.27

$1.55 ₡701

-8.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.31 €16.34

$8.86 ₡3,993

106.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.57 ₡708

34.39%

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

$33.1K €29.6K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

52.04%

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

$38.9K €34.7K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

12.29%

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

$123 €110

$93.5 ₡42.1K

32.08%

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

$17.01 €15.18

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-51.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.63 €43.40

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-5.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.45 €36.09

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-43.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.23 €7.34

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-76.78%

Cinema Ticket

$8.61 €7.68

$7.84 ₡3,535

9.82%

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

$423 €377

$490 ₡220.7K

-13.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,385 €7,483

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-29.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$63.7 €56.8

$53.5 ₡24.1K

18.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.28 €29.70

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-40.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.2 €79.6

$79.3 ₡35.7K

12.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.5 €68.3

$78.9 ₡35.6K

-2.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,483 €1,323

$786 ₡354.3K

88.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,245 €1,111

$780 ₡351.6K

59.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,516 €2,245

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-34.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,964 €1,753

$1,407 ₡634.4K

39.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,842 €4,321

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-30.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,344 €2,984

$1,201 ₡541.3K

178.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,427 €1,274

$876 ₡395.0K

62.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.59

8.62

-58.35%

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

Last update for Funchal: 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

Funchal

$1.2K 58.6%

Nosara

$780 43% 37.4% $465

Groceries & Markets

Funchal

$243 11.4%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 44.1% $107

Eating Out

Funchal

$217 10.2%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 3.6% $7.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Funchal

$189 8.9%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 4.8% $9

Clothing & Footwear

Funchal

$118 5.6%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 1.8% $2.2

Sport & Entertainment

Funchal

$58 2.7%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 51% $29

Getting Around

Funchal

$53 2.5%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 63.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,483 in Funchal and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Funchal pays 63% 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: $65.0 in Funchal vs $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries flip the comparison at $243 vs $350, with Funchal cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Funchal

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

08:10 8:10 AM

01:10 1:10 AM

7 h behind Funchal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

105,795

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Funchal Nosara 7,430 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Funchal
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

Funchal vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Funchal and Nosara differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($2,087 vs $1,837 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 63% higher in Funchal, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,483 in Funchal versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,087 per month in Funchal versus $1,837 in Nosara – a 14% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Nosara runs roughly 117% less than in Funchal. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,837 in Nosara versus $2,087 in Funchal, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Funchal. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Funchal 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Funchal. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.