Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Karratha and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,835 a month against $2,473 in Karratha, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Karratha
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Karratha Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Karratha

🇦🇺 Australia

$2,473

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,473 per month in Karratha vs $1,835 in Nosara, rent included.

Karratha $2,473
Nosara $1,835

A couple spends around $3,581 per month in Karratha vs $2,825 in Nosara, rent included.

Karratha $3,581
Nosara $2,825

A family of three spends $4,690 per month in Karratha vs $3,814 in Nosara, rent included.

Karratha $4,690
Nosara $3,814

Karratha costs about 35% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Karratha and Nosara sit above the global median – Karratha by 83%, Nosara by 35%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.59 A$25.31

$12.34 ₡5,535

42.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.6 A$119

$61.3 ₡27.5K

34.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.31 A$14.84

$7.76 ₡3,481

32.86%

Cappuccino

$3.88 A$5.59

$4.44 ₡1,992

-12.61%

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

$2.83 A$4.07

$1.79 ₡803

58.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 A$3.15

$1.29 ₡580

69.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.54 A$10.85

$3.24 ₡1,451

132.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.58 A$10.91

$4.43 ₡1,985

71.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 A$2.19

$1.55 ₡696

-1.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.72 A$3.91

$3.08 ₡1,380

-11.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 A$3.25

$2.53 ₡1,133

-10.67%

Eggs

$4.83 A$6.94

$3.45 ₡1,546

40.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 A$13.56

$7.32 ₡3,284

28.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.43 A$13.56

$10.24 ₡4,594

-7.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.89 A$21.42

$14.10 ₡6,326

5.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 A$5.72

$2.29 ₡1,027

73.36%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 A$4.48

$1.64 ₡737

89.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.29 A$4.74

$4.79 ₡2,149

-31.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.75 A$6.84

$1.64 ₡735

189.63%

Potato (1kg)

$2.81 A$4.04

$3.85 ₡1,727

-27.01%

Onion (1kg)

$2.39 A$3.44

$3.75 ₡1,681

-36.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.33 A$3.35

$1.09 ₡488

113.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 A$2.12

$2.59 ₡1,160

-43.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$41.46 A$59.7

$5.12 ₡2,295

709.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.65 A$19.64

$19.92 ₡8,931

-31.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.76 A$6.84

$2.80 ₡1,255

70.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.35 A$7.70

$3.52 ₡1,580

51.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.89 A$4.16

$1.22 ₡549

136.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$82.2 A$118

$73.9 ₡33.1K

11.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.38 A$4.87

$2.17 ₡973

55.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.58 A$2.27

$1.56 ₡698

1.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.46 A$56.8

$8.67 ₡3,886

355.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 A$1.96

$1.55 ₡697

-12.26%

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

$27.0K A$38.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-21.92%

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

$29.6K A$42.6K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-23.57%

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

$202 A$290

$94.8 ₡42.5K

112.58%

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

$27.87 A$40.10

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-22.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.4 A$79.7

$53.1 ₡23.8K

4.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.7 A$81.6

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-23.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.66 A$25.42

$35.63 ₡16.0K

-50.44%

Cinema Ticket

$14.78 A$21.27

$7.91 ₡3,548

86.85%

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

$2,176 A$3,131

$490 ₡219.9K

343.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.4K A$29.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

71.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.6 A$112

$54.8 ₡24.6K

41.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.7 A$78.6

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-2.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 A$155

$80.4 ₡36.0K

34.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 A$173

$77.9 ₡34.9K

54.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,391 A$2,002

$801 ₡359.1K

73.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,176 A$1,692

$790 ₡354.1K

48.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,113 A$3,041

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-47.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,779 A$2,559

$1,409 ₡632.0K

26.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,861 A$8,434

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-17.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,940 A$7,109

$1,236 ₡554.3K

299.72%

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 Karratha: 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

Karratha

$1.2K 47.5%

Nosara

$790 43% 32.8% $386

Groceries & Markets

Karratha

$368 14.9%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 5% $18

Eating Out

Karratha

$291 11.8%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 27% $79

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Karratha

$285 11.5%

Nosara

$184 10% 35.4% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Karratha

$162 6.6%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 25.4% $41

Getting Around

Karratha

$105 4.3%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 15.5% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Karratha

$86 3.5%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 3.9% $3.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,391 in Karratha 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 $83.0 in Karratha versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $368 vs $350 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇺 Karratha

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

05:07 5:07 AM

15:07 3:07 PM

14 h behind Karratha

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,013

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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Highest

Between locations

Karratha Nosara 17,330 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Karratha
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

Karratha vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,473 in Karratha, $1,835 in Nosara – roughly 35% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,710 per month in Karratha 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,473 in Karratha and $1,835 in Nosara. That's a gap of about 35%.

Public transport costs about 11% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,835, than in Karratha at $2,473. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Karratha it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Nosara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,835 in Nosara to $2,473 in Karratha. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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, Karratha makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.