Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maldonado and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Maldonado: $1,371 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

67

Cost of Living Index in Maldonado
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Maldonado Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Maldonado

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,371

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,371 in Maldonado versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Maldonado $1,371
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,178 in Maldonado versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Maldonado $2,178
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,985 in Maldonado versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Maldonado $2,985
Nosara $3,818

Living in Maldonado costs roughly 25% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Maldonado 2% above, Nosara 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.94 UYU 600

$12.35 ₡5,539

20.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$54.8 UYU 2,198

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-10.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.58 UYU 545

$7.52 ₡3,373

80.59%

Cappuccino

$4.61 UYU 185

$4.41 ₡1,978

4.54%

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

$2.64 UYU 106

$1.74 ₡780

51.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 UYU 80.3

$1.31 ₡587

52.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 UYU 119

$3.28 ₡1,471

-9.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.61 UYU 145

$4.47 ₡2,004

-19.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 UYU 46.70

$1.56 ₡701

-25.64%

White Bread (500g)

$2.74 UYU 110

$3.02 ₡1,355

-9.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 UYU 68.0

$2.51 ₡1,125

-32.67%

Eggs

$4.14 UYU 166

$3.57 ₡1,603

15.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.00 UYU 562

$7.43 ₡3,333

88.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.83 UYU 475

$10.52 ₡4,717

12.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.89 UYU 477

$13.97 ₡6,265

-14.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 UYU 112

$2.35 ₡1,052

18.30%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 UYU 86.4

$1.61 ₡720

33.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 UYU 71.1

$4.80 ₡2,152

-63.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 UYU 129

$1.61 ₡724

98.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 UYU 81.0

$3.80 ₡1,703

-46.84%

Onion (1kg)

$2.09 UYU 84.1

$3.69 ₡1,657

-43.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.44 UYU 57.8

$1.13 ₡507

27.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.87 UYU 75.2

$2.66 ₡1,191

-29.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.56 UYU 223

$5.18 ₡2,321

7.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.99 UYU 320

$19.88 ₡8,916

-59.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.32 UYU 93.1

$2.90 ₡1,300

-20.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 UYU 109

$3.63 ₡1,626

-25.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.42 UYU 57.0

$1.12 ₡504

26.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$50.1 UYU 2,011

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-31.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 UYU 136

$2.14 ₡958

58.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.41 UYU 16.27

$1.57 ₡703

-73.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.89 UYU 397

$8.52 ₡3,823

16.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 UYU 85.8

$1.52 ₡682

40.79%

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

$26.8K UYU 1.1M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

24.23%

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

$37.3K UYU 1.5M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

7.92%

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

$113 UYU 4,548

$96.3 ₡43.2K

17.69%

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

$19.05 UYU 765

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-46.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.11 UYU 1,770

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-17.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.11 UYU 1,931

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-32.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$30.02 UYU 1,205

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-14.01%

Cinema Ticket

$12.36 UYU 496

$7.89 ₡3,539

56.65%

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

$488 UYU 19.6K

$494 ₡221.6K

-1.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,539 UYU 262.4K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-44.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 UYU 3,632

$53.9 ₡24.2K

67.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.90 UYU 1,481

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-33.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 UYU 4,931

$77.9 ₡34.9K

57.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 UYU 4,796

$79.6 ₡35.7K

50.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$423 UYU 17.0K

$788 ₡353.4K

-46.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$318 UYU 12.8K

$794 ₡356.2K

-60.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$920 UYU 36.9K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-76.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$590 UYU 23.7K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-58.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,838 UYU 113.9K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-58.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,546 UYU 62.0K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

26.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,005 UYU 40.4K

$864 ₡387.3K

16.43%

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 Maldonado: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Maldonado

$321 23.4%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 9.9% $32

Accommodation & Living

Maldonado

$318 23.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 150% $477

Eating Out

Maldonado

$256 18.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 17.3% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maldonado

$176 12.9%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 5.3% $9.3

Clothing & Footwear

Maldonado

$166 12.1%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 27.8% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Maldonado

$73 5.3%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 20% $15

Getting Around

Maldonado

$61 4.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 42.3% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $423 in Maldonado and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Maldonado pays 16% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $55.0 in Maldonado vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $321 vs $352 per month, with Maldonado cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇺🇾 Maldonado

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

23:36 11:36 PM

20:36 8:36 PM

3 h behind Maldonado

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,592

4,912

💱 Currency

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to UYU – Uruguayan Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Peso ($U)

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to UYU in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Maldonado Nosara 5,940 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Maldonado
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

Maldonado vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maldonado and Nosara differ by about 34% in total monthly costs ($1,371 vs $1,839 including rent). Maldonado is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 16% higher in Maldonado, 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: $423 in Maldonado versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $488 in Maldonado versus $494 in Nosara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 10% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,371 in Maldonado versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Maldonado but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Maldonado 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, Maldonado 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 Maldonado gentler on the wallet – expenses run 34% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.