Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Margate and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Margate: $889 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Margate
Learn more

Margate Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Margate

🇿🇦 South Africa

$889

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $889 in Margate versus $1,839 in Nosara.

Margate $889
Nosara $1,839

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,410 in Margate versus $2,828 in Nosara.

Margate $1,410
Nosara $2,828

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,932 in Margate versus $3,818 in Nosara.

Margate $1,932
Nosara $3,818

Living in Margate costs roughly 52% less than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Margate is 34% below, Nosara is 36% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.83 R 129

$12.35 ₡5,539

-36.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.95 R 592

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-41.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.97 R 98.4

$7.52 ₡3,373

-20.61%

Cappuccino

$1.80 R 29.58

$4.41 ₡1,978

-59.18%

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

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.74 ₡780

-40.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 R 12.60

$1.31 ₡587

-41.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.43 R 39.96

$3.28 ₡1,471

-25.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 R 37.38

$4.47 ₡2,004

-49.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R 16.77

$1.56 ₡701

-34.62%

White Bread (500g)

$0.92 R 15.10

$3.02 ₡1,355

-69.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.05 R 17.37

$2.51 ₡1,125

-58.17%

Eggs

$2.36 R 38.87

$3.57 ₡1,603

-33.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.98 R 82.0

$7.43 ₡3,333

-32.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.37 R 55.6

$10.52 ₡4,717

-67.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.05 R 99.7

$13.97 ₡6,265

-56.69%

Apples (1kg)

$1.15 R 18.87

$2.35 ₡1,052

-51.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.19 R 19.54

$1.61 ₡720

-26.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.05 R 17.37

$4.80 ₡2,152

-78.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.78

$1.61 ₡724

-10.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 R 17.78

$3.80 ₡1,703

-71.58%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 R 21.43

$3.69 ₡1,657

-64.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.96

$1.13 ₡507

-3.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 R 15.63

$2.66 ₡1,191

-64.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.58 R 26.04

$5.18 ₡2,321

-69.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.49 R 57.5

$19.88 ₡8,916

-82.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 23.92

$2.90 ₡1,300

-50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 R 29.90

$3.63 ₡1,626

-50.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 R 25.09

$1.12 ₡504

35.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.41 R 6.75

$2.14 ₡958

-80.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 R 12.23

$1.57 ₡703

-52.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.46 R 123

$8.52 ₡3,823

-12.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 R 22.31

$1.52 ₡682

-11.18%

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

$35.5K R 584.5K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

64.18%

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

$30.9K R 508.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-10.53%

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

$60.9 R 1,003

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-36.76%

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

$18.27 R 301

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-49.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.36 R 550

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-37.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.27 R 532

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-54.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.59 R 174

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-69.66%

Cinema Ticket

$4.12 R 68.0

$7.89 ₡3,539

-47.78%

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

$304 R 5,016

$494 ₡221.6K

-38.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,507 R 123.7K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-36.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 R 893

$53.9 ₡24.2K

0.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.33 R 302

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-66.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.8 R 1,183

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-7.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$48.57 R 800

$79.6 ₡35.7K

-38.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$396 R 6,527

$788 ₡353.4K

-49.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,028

$794 ₡356.2K

-53.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$741 R 12.2K

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-81.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$722 R 11.9K

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-49.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$888 R 14.6K

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-87.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$666 R 11.0K

$1,224 ₡549.0K

-45.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,528 R 25.2K

$864 ₡387.3K

76.98%

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 Margate: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Margate

$366 41.2%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 117% $428

Groceries & Markets

Margate

$147 16.5%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 140% $206

Eating Out

Margate

$126 14.2%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 68.2% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Margate

$113 12.7%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 65.1% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Margate

$87 9.8%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 38.3% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Margate

$41 4.6%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 116% $47

Getting Around

Margate

$10 * 1.2%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 753% $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 $396 in Margate and $788 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Margate pays 77% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36.00 in Margate vs $61.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $147 vs $352 per month, with Margate cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Margate

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

11:28 11:28 AM

03:28 3:28 AM

8 h behind Margate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,407

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Margate Nosara 13,050 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Margate
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

Margate vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Margate wins on cost – living expenses run 107% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Margate the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 77% higher in Margate, 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: $396 in Margate versus $788 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $304 in Margate 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 Margate – a meal for two runs $36.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $889 in Margate versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Margate but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Margate the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Margate delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $889 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Margate hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Margate 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 Margate gentler on the wallet – expenses run 107% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.