Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Monaco and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,837 a month against $10.4K in Monaco, rent and utilities included – about $103,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

506

Cost of Living Index in Monaco
Learn more

Monaco Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

Jump to prices

Monaco

🇲🇨 Monaco

$10.4K

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $10.4K in Monaco versus $1,837 in Nosara.

Monaco $10.4K
Nosara $1,837

Estimated couple costs with rent: $11.9K in Monaco versus $2,775 in Nosara.

Monaco $11.9K
Nosara $2,775

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $13.5K in Monaco versus $3,712 in Nosara.

Monaco $13.5K
Nosara $3,712

Living in Monaco is roughly 467% more expensive than in Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Monaco 678% above, Nosara 37% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.41 €17.32

$12.22 ₡5,509

58.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$168 €150

$60.2 ₡27.1K

179.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.48 €11.14

$7.54 ₡3,399

65.52%

Cappuccino

$3.80 €3.39

$4.31 ₡1,941

-11.83%

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

$6.21 €5.55

$1.72 ₡773

261.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.40 €3.93

$1.35 ₡608

225.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$10.16 €9.07

$3.24 ₡1,459

213.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.87 €7.92

$4.48 ₡2,018

97.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.57 ₡707

16.56%

White Bread (500g)

$3.29 €2.94

$3.17 ₡1,429

3.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.18 €3.73

$2.42 ₡1,091

72.73%

Eggs

$4.79 €4.27

$3.57 ₡1,609

34.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.80 €12.32

$7.43 ₡3,349

85.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.97 €15.14

$10.42 ₡4,697

62.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.13 €16.18

$13.66 ₡6,156

32.72%

Apples (1kg)

$3.23 €2.89

$2.32 ₡1,044

39.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.86 €2.55

$1.61 ₡728

77.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.73 €2.44

$4.74 ₡2,138

-42.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.57 €3.18

$1.66 ₡747

115.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$3.72 ₡1,679

-32.53%

Onion (1kg)

$2.85 €2.55

$3.57 ₡1,611

-20.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 €1.69

$1.10 ₡497

71.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$7.71 €6.88

$2.55 ₡1,149

202.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$14.06 €12.55

$4.95 ₡2,232

184.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.85 €6.11

$20.01 ₡9,020

-65.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.62 €1.45

$2.79 ₡1,256

-41.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.07

$3.53 ₡1,589

29.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.19 ₡537

85.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.31 €20.80

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-67.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.55 ₡701

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$90.2 €80.5

$8.86 ₡3,993

918.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.30 €2.05

$1.57 ₡708

46.50%

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

$48.4K €43.2K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

121.99%

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

$39.8K €35.5K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

14.99%

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

$422 €376

$93.5 ₡42.1K

351.25%

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

$42.56 €37.98

$35.11 ₡15.8K

21.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.9 €57.0

$51.5 ₡23.2K

24.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$223 €199

$71.4 ₡32.2K

212.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$54.1 €48.31

$35.44 ₡16.0K

52.74%

Cinema Ticket

$13.56 €12.10

$7.84 ₡3,535

72.96%

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

$2,176 €1,942

$490 ₡220.7K

344.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$45.4K €40.5K

$11.9K ₡5.4M

282.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$151 €135

$53.5 ₡24.1K

181.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$84.0 €74.9

$55.8 ₡25.1K

50.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$169 €151

$79.3 ₡35.7K

113.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$726 €648

$78.9 ₡35.6K

820.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$9,011 €8,041

$786 ₡354.3K

1046.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$8,111 €7,238

$780 ₡351.6K

940.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$16.4K €14.7K

$3,860 ₡1.7M

326.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$8,521 €7,605

$1,407 ₡634.4K

505.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$71.4K €63.7K

$6,972 ₡3.1M

923.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$55.0K €49.1K

$1,201 ₡541.3K

4482.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$8,805 €7,857

$876 ₡395.0K

904.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.25

8.62

-62.30%

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

Last update for Monaco: October 5, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Monaco

$8.1K 79%

Nosara

$780 43% 90.4% $7.3K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Monaco

$528 5.2%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 65.9% $348

Clothing & Footwear

Monaco

$509 5%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 76.3% $388

Groceries & Markets

Monaco

$474 4.6%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 26.3% $125

Eating Out

Monaco

$349 3.4%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 40% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Monaco

$250 2.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 65.2% $163

Getting Around

Monaco

$40 * 0.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 118% $47

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 $9,011 in Monaco and $786 in Nosara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monaco pays 905% 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: $168 in Monaco vs $60.0 in Nosara for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $474 vs $350 per month, with Nosara cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇨 Monaco

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

23:10 11:10 PM

8 h behind Monaco

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,050 Capital

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Monaco Nosara 9,490 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Monaco
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

Monaco vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monaco and Nosara differ by about 467% in total monthly costs ($10.4K vs $1,837 including rent). Nosara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 905% higher in Monaco, 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: $9,011 in Monaco versus $786 in Nosara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Nosara – a meal for two runs $60.0 versus $168 in Monaco. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $10.4K per month in Monaco versus $1,837 in Nosara – a 467% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,837 in Nosara versus $10.4K in Monaco, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Nosara but tight or insufficient in Monaco. The gap between the two cities makes Nosara 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, Monaco 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 Nosara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 467% less than in Monaco. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.