Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manta and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Manta: $678 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Manta
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Manta Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Manta

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$678

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $678 in Manta versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Manta $678
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,157 in Manta versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Manta $1,157
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,636 in Manta versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Manta $1,636
Nosara $3,818

Living in Manta costs roughly 63% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Manta is 50% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.96 $2.96

$12.35 ₡5,539

-76.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 $52.2

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-14.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.39 $5.39

$7.52 ₡3,373

-28.32%

Cappuccino

$2.92 $2.92

$4.41 ₡1,978

-33.79%

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

$0.52 $0.52

$1.74 ₡780

-70.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 $0.38

$1.31 ₡587

-70.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 $2.97

$3.28 ₡1,471

-9.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 $3.72

$4.47 ₡2,004

-16.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.56 ₡701

-33.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 $1.91

$3.02 ₡1,355

-36.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$2.51 ₡1,125

-60.96%

Eggs

$2.13 $2.13

$3.57 ₡1,603

-40.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$7.43 ₡3,333

-59.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$10.52 ₡4,717

-71.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.83 $6.83

$13.97 ₡6,265

-51.11%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 $0.97

$2.35 ₡1,052

-58.72%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 $0.78

$1.61 ₡720

-51.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.71 $0.71

$4.80 ₡2,152

-85.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.78 $0.78

$1.61 ₡724

-51.55%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 $0.52

$3.80 ₡1,703

-86.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 $0.48

$3.69 ₡1,657

-86.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 $0.69

$1.13 ₡507

-38.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 $0.99

$2.66 ₡1,191

-62.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.08 $4.08

$5.18 ₡2,321

-21.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.89 $6.89

$19.88 ₡8,916

-65.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 $1.03

$2.90 ₡1,300

-64.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$3.63 ₡1,626

-39.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.50 $0.50

$1.12 ₡504

-55.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.70 $1.70

$2.14 ₡958

-20.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.57 ₡703

10.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.27 $9.27

$8.52 ₡3,823

8.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 $0.72

$1.52 ₡682

-52.63%

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

$20.7K $20.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

-4.36%

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

$30.8K $30.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-10.77%

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

$97.1 $97.1

$96.3 ₡43.2K

0.87%

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

$11.13 $11.13

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-68.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.84 $25.84

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-51.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.23 $20.23

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-71.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.58 $34.58

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-0.95%

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 $4.89

$7.89 ₡3,539

-38.02%

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

$369 $369

$494 ₡221.6K

-25.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,783 $5,783

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-51.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 $55.2

$53.9 ₡24.2K

2.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.87 $40.87

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-26.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 $101

$77.9 ₡34.9K

29.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.8 $61.8

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-22.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$303 $303

$788 ₡353.4K

-61.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$141 $141

$794 ₡356.2K

-82.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$917 $917

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-76.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 $334

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-76.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$474 $474

$864 ₡387.3K

-45.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

8.62

16.59%

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

Last update for Manta: October 10, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Manta

$143 21.1%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 146% $209

Accommodation & Living

Manta

$141 20.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 462% $653

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manta

$134 19.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 38.5% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Manta

$116 17.2%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 3.2% $3.7

Eating Out

Manta

$101 14.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 110% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Manta

$30 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 191% $57

Getting Around

Manta

$12 * 1.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 604% $75

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 $303 in Manta and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 82% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $52.0 in Manta vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $143 vs $352 per month, with Manta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Manta

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

16:32 4:32 PM

15:32 3:32 PM

1 h behind Manta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,553

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Manta Nosara 1,330 km ≈ 2 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Manta
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

Manta vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Manta is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. The 171% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 82% lower in Nosara. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $303 in Manta versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $369 in Manta 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 Manta – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $678 in Manta versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Manta but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Manta the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Manta 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, Manta 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 Manta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 171% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.