Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Luanda and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Luanda: $1,002 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Luanda
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Luanda Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Luanda

🇦🇴 Angola

$1,002

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,002 in Luanda versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Luanda $1,002
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,894 in Luanda versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Luanda $1,894
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,787 in Luanda versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Luanda $2,787
Nosara $3,712

Living in Luanda costs roughly 45% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Luanda is 25% below, Nosara is 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.32 AOA 4,859

$12.22 ₡5,509

-56.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.65 AOA 33.5K

$60.2 ₡27.1K

-39.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.69 AOA 6,110

$7.54 ₡3,399

-11.27%

Cappuccino

$2.65 AOA 2,417

$4.31 ₡1,941

-38.52%

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

$1.35 AOA 1,231

$1.72 ₡773

-21.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.15 AOA 1,046

$1.35 ₡608

-14.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.68 AOA 1,533

$3.24 ₡1,459

-48.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 AOA 1,487

$4.48 ₡2,018

-63.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 AOA 1,750

$1.57 ₡707

22.29%

White Bread (500g)

$0.98 AOA 890

$3.17 ₡1,429

-69.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.62 AOA 1,479

$2.42 ₡1,091

-33.06%

Eggs

$1.89 AOA 1,729

$3.57 ₡1,609

-47.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.22 AOA 8,417

$7.43 ₡3,349

24.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.34 AOA 3,047

$10.42 ₡4,697

-67.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 AOA 7,130

$13.66 ₡6,156

-42.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 AOA 2,056

$2.32 ₡1,044

-3.02%

Banana (1kg)

$0.92 AOA 841

$1.61 ₡728

-42.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 AOA 2,519

$4.74 ₡2,138

-41.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.82 AOA 1,664

$1.66 ₡747

9.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 AOA 1,389

$3.72 ₡1,679

-59.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 AOA 1,366

$3.57 ₡1,611

-57.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 AOA 1,537

$1.10 ₡497

52.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.36 AOA 332

$2.55 ₡1,149

-85.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.69 AOA 1,539

$4.95 ₡2,232

-65.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 AOA 5,614

$20.01 ₡9,020

-69.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 AOA 388

$2.79 ₡1,256

-84.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 AOA 840

$3.53 ₡1,589

-73.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.32 AOA 291

$1.19 ₡537

-73.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.30 AOA 30.4K

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-53.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.11 AOA 1,016

$2.24 ₡1,011

-50.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.83 AOA 762

$1.55 ₡701

-46.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 AOA 4,911

$8.86 ₡3,993

-39.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.32 AOA 289

$1.57 ₡708

-79.62%

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

$14.3K AOA 13.1M

$21.8K ₡9.8M

-34.37%

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

$22.3K AOA 20.4M

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-35.51%

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

$101 AOA 92.2K

$93.5 ₡42.1K

8.08%

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

$17.81 AOA 16.3K

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-49.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$76.8 AOA 70.1K

$51.5 ₡23.2K

49.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.31 AOA 42.3K

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-35.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.27 AOA 13.9K

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-56.91%

Cinema Ticket

$3.65 AOA 3,332

$7.84 ₡3,535

-53.44%

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

$750 AOA 684.4K

$490 ₡220.7K

53.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.6K AOA 12.4M

$11.9K ₡5.4M

14.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 AOA 100.4K

$53.5 ₡24.1K

105.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$63.6 AOA 58.1K

$55.8 ₡25.1K

14.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.3 AOA 87.9K

$79.3 ₡35.7K

21.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$196 AOA 179.0K

$78.9 ₡35.6K

148.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$382 AOA 348.9K

$786 ₡354.3K

-51.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$203 AOA 185.2K

$780 ₡351.6K

-73.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,087 AOA 1.9M

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-45.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,039 AOA 948.5K

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-26.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$12.0K AOA 10.9M

$6,972 ₡3.1M

71.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$868 AOA 792.2K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

-27.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,374 AOA 1.3M

$876 ₡395.0K

56.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

143.62%

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

Last update for Luanda: October 4, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Clothing & Footwear

Luanda

$210 21%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 42.6% $89

Accommodation & Living

Luanda

$203 20.3%

Nosara

$780 43% 284% $577

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Luanda

$196 19.6%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 8% $16

Groceries & Markets

Luanda

$183 18.3%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 91.4% $167

Eating Out

Luanda

$116 11.6%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 80.5% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Luanda

$54 5.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 62.4% $33

Getting Around

Luanda

$40 4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 118% $47

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $382 in Luanda and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Luanda pays 57% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37.00 in Luanda vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $183 vs $350 per month, with Luanda cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇴 Luanda

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

05:46 5:46 AM

22:46 10:46 PM

7 h behind Luanda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,600,000 Capital

4,912

💱 Currency

Angolan Kwanza AOA Kz

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 AOA = 10.96 USD

10,000 AOA = 9.77 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to AOA – Angolan Kwanza Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇴 Angolan Kwanza (Kz)

Angolan Kwanza exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 913 AOA (1,000 AOA = 1.1 USD). 1 EUR = 1,024 AOA (10,000 AOA = 9.77 EUR).

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 AOA in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Luanda Nosara 11,140 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Luanda
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

Luanda vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Luanda and Nosara differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($1,002 vs $1,837 including rent). Luanda is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 57% higher in Luanda, 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: $382 in Luanda versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Luanda runs roughly 116% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $750 in Luanda versus $490 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,002 in Luanda versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Luanda but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Luanda 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, Luanda 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 Luanda gentler on the wallet – expenses run 83% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.