Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Howick and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,060 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,060

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,060 in Howick versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Howick $1,060
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,654 in Howick versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Howick $1,654
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,248 in Howick versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Howick $2,248
Nosara $3,818

Living in Howick costs roughly 42% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Howick is 22% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.59 R 125

$12.35 ₡5,539

-38.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.02 R 643

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-36.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.36 R 88.3

$7.52 ₡3,373

-28.72%

Cappuccino

$2.70 R 44.48

$4.41 ₡1,978

-38.78%

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

$1.11 R 18.34

$1.74 ₡780

-36.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 R 13.71

$1.31 ₡587

-36.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 R 38.83

$3.28 ₡1,471

-28.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.61 R 42.93

$4.47 ₡2,004

-41.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.28

$1.56 ₡701

-21.15%

White Bread (500g)

$0.97 R 16.06

$3.02 ₡1,355

-67.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.32

$2.51 ₡1,125

-41.04%

Eggs

$2.32 R 38.24

$3.57 ₡1,603

-35.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.08 R 133

$7.43 ₡3,333

8.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.04 R 83.1

$10.52 ₡4,717

-52.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.25 R 119

$13.97 ₡6,265

-48.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.94 R 32.00

$2.35 ₡1,052

-17.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.55

$1.61 ₡720

14.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.33

$4.80 ₡2,152

-60.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.63 R 26.89

$1.61 ₡724

1.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.36

$3.80 ₡1,703

-61.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.88

$3.69 ₡1,657

-60.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 R 19.16

$1.13 ₡507

2.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.66

$2.66 ₡1,191

-55.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.68 R 60.7

$5.18 ₡2,321

-28.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.72 R 77.8

$19.88 ₡8,916

-76.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 23.93

$2.90 ₡1,300

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 R 30.30

$3.63 ₡1,626

-49.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.47 R 24.20

$1.12 ₡504

31.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.43 R 7.17

$2.14 ₡958

-79.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.69 R 11.43

$1.57 ₡703

-56.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.48 R 123

$8.52 ₡3,823

-12.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 R 23.18

$1.52 ₡682

-7.24%

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

$35.0K R 576.3K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

61.87%

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

$31.0K R 510.4K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-10.26%

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

$148 R 2,434

$96.3 ₡43.2K

53.44%

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

$14.79 R 244

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-58.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.50 R 651

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-26.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.28 R 532

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-54.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.64 R 175

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-69.52%

Cinema Ticket

$7.20 R 119

$7.89 ₡3,539

-8.75%

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

$307 R 5,053

$494 ₡221.6K

-37.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,495 R 123.5K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-36.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.1 R 875

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-1.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.21 R 498

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-45.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.5 R 1,606

$77.9 ₡34.9K

25.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.1 R 1,353

$79.6 ₡35.7K

3.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$387 R 6,368

$788 ₡353.4K

-50.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 R 5,883

$794 ₡356.2K

-55.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$737 R 12.1K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-81.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$734 R 12.1K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-48.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$863 R 14.2K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-87.52%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$664 R 10.9K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-45.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

8.62

36.66%

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

Last update for Howick: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Howick

$357 33.7%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 123% $437

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Howick

$202 19.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 8.1% $16

Groceries & Markets

Howick

$192 18.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 83.7% $161

Eating Out

Howick

$134 12.6%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 58.2% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Howick

$118 11.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 1.5% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Howick

$47 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 87.2% $41

Getting Around

Howick

$9.8 * 0.9%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 791% $77

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 $387 in Howick and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $39.00 in Howick vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $192 vs $352 per month, with Howick cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Howick

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

01:04 1:04 AM

8 h behind Howick

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

32,453

4,912

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 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 ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Howick Nosara 13,050 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Howick
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

Howick vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Howick is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 74% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $1,589 in Howick and $2,758 in Nosara to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $387 in Howick versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $307 in Howick 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 Howick – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,060 in Howick versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Howick but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Howick the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Howick 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, Howick 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 Howick gentler on the wallet – expenses run 74% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.