Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Herceg Novi and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Herceg Novi: $1,237 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Herceg Novi
Learn more

Herceg Novi Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Herceg Novi

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,237

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,237 in Herceg Novi versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Herceg Novi $1,237
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,973 in Herceg Novi versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Herceg Novi $1,973
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,710 in Herceg Novi versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Herceg Novi $2,710
Nosara $3,712

Living in Herceg Novi costs roughly 33% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Herceg Novi is 8% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.23 €10.02

$12.22 ₡5,509

-8.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.34 €32.43

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-39.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 €8.20

$7.54 ₡3,399

21.88%

Cappuccino

$2.59 €2.31

$4.31 ₡1,941

-39.91%

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

$2.47 €2.20

$1.72 ₡773

43.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 €1.46

$1.35 ₡608

21.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 €2.52

$3.24 ₡1,459

-12.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 €3.02

$4.48 ₡2,018

-24.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.04

$1.57 ₡707

-26.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 €0.91

$3.17 ₡1,429

-67.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 €2.52

$2.42 ₡1,091

16.53%

Eggs

$3.03 €2.70

$3.57 ₡1,609

-15.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.94 €7.98

$7.43 ₡3,349

20.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.27 €6.48

$10.42 ₡4,697

-30.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.81 €11.43

$13.66 ₡6,156

-6.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.34 €1.20

$2.32 ₡1,044

-42.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.61 ₡728

-3.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.58 €1.41

$4.74 ₡2,138

-66.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.02 €2.70

$1.66 ₡747

81.93%

Potato (1kg)

$0.89 €0.80

$3.72 ₡1,679

-76.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 €1.16

$3.57 ₡1,611

-63.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 €1.36

$1.10 ₡497

38.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$2.55 ₡1,149

-63.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.98 €3.55

$4.95 ₡2,232

-19.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.43 €3.96

$20.01 ₡9,020

-77.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.11

$2.79 ₡1,256

-55.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.72 €1.54

$3.53 ₡1,589

-51.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.19 ₡537

42.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.08 €40.23

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-37.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.91 €2.60

$2.24 ₡1,011

29.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.09 €0.97

$1.55 ₡701

-29.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.59 €14.81

$8.86 ₡3,993

87.25%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.57 ₡708

9.55%

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

$33.0K €29.5K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

51.56%

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

$20.9K €18.7K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-39.57%

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

$131 €117

$93.5 ₡42.1K

40.71%

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

$12.86 €11.48

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-63.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.38 €29.79

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-35.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.7 €49.71

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-21.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.00 €9.81

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-68.96%

Cinema Ticket

$8.00 €7.14

$7.84 ₡3,535

2.04%

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

$443 €395

$490 ₡220.7K

-9.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,028 €6,272

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-40.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$82.5 €73.7

$53.5 ₡24.1K

54.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.95 €30.30

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-39.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.9 €65.9

$79.3 ₡35.7K

-6.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.6 €84.4

$78.9 ₡35.6K

19.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$657 €587

$786 ₡354.3K

-16.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$395 €353

$780 ₡351.6K

-49.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,232 €1,100

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-68.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$886 €791

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-37.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,642 €3,250

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-47.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,415 €2,155

$1,201 ₡541.3K

101.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,037 €926

$876 ₡395.0K

18.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-42.00%

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

Last update for Herceg Novi: October 6, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Herceg Novi

$395 31.8%

Nosara

$780 43% 97.4% $385

Groceries & Markets

Herceg Novi

$225 18.1%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 55.1% $124

Eating Out

Herceg Novi

$186 14.9%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 12.7% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Herceg Novi

$178 14.3%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 1.3% $2.3

Clothing & Footwear

Herceg Novi

$128 10.3%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 6.1% $7.9

Sport & Entertainment

Herceg Novi

$72 5.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 21.5% $15

Getting Around

Herceg Novi

$60 4.8%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 44.2% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $657 in Herceg Novi and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Herceg Novi pays 18% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36.00 in Herceg Novi vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $350 per month, with Herceg Novi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Herceg Novi

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

10:44 10:44 AM

02:44 2:44 AM

8 h behind Herceg Novi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

11,059

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

Herceg Novi Nosara 10,400 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Herceg Novi
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

Herceg Novi vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Herceg Novi and Nosara differ by about 49% in total monthly costs ($1,237 vs $1,837 including rent). Herceg Novi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 18% higher in Herceg Novi, 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: $657 in Herceg Novi versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 55% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Herceg Novi – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,237 in Herceg Novi versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Herceg Novi but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Herceg Novi 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, Herceg Novi 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 Herceg Novi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.