Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Acuna

For one person, living is cheaper in Acuna: $1,128 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Acuna
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Acuna Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Acuna

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,128

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Acuna

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Nosara and in Acuna actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $1,128 in Acuna, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Acuna $1,128

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,861 in Acuna, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Acuna $1,861

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $2,594 in Acuna, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Acuna $2,594

Nosara costs about 63% more than Acuna, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while Acuna is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$12.22 MX$226

1.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$40.26 MX$744

51.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$8.18 MX$151

-8.07%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.04 MX$56.1

45.07%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.26 MX$23.26

38.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.16 MX$21.43

12.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.25 MX$41.51

45.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.51 MX$64.9

27.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.82 MX$33.55

-14.29%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$2.58 MX$47.59

17.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.73 MX$31.92

45.09%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.50 MX$46.18

42.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$7.88 MX$146

-5.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$7.96 MX$147

32.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$12.30 MX$227

13.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$3.08 MX$57.0

-23.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.52 MX$28.10

5.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.95 MX$35.95

146.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.74 MX$32.16

-7.47%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.95 MX$36.12

94.87%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.86 MX$34.34

98.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.36 MX$25.17

-16.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.22 MX$22.50

118.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$4.08 MX$75.3

26.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$10.98 MX$203

81.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.58 MX$29.24

83.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$3.32 MX$61.3

9.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.59 MX$10.92

89.83%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$2.47 MX$45.72

-13.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$2.14 MX$39.55

-26.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$12.51 MX$231

-31.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.31 MX$24.23

16.03%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$22.6K MX$417.6K

-4.38%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$26.6K MX$491.6K

29.74%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$55.5 MX$1,025

73.62%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$21.62 MX$399

66.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$29.24 MX$540

83.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$37.72 MX$697

89.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$19.85 MX$367

75.87%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$5.30 MX$97.9

48.87%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$242 MX$4,477

103.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$4,625 MX$85.5K

156.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$55.0 MX$1,017

-2.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$43.44 MX$803

27.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$111 MX$2,043

-29.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$93.6 MX$1,729

-14.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$543 MX$10.0K

45.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$367 MX$6,785

116.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$963 MX$17.8K

309.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$817 MX$15.1K

73.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,129 MX$39.4K

224.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,319 MX$24.4K

-7.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.3

-23.72%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Acuna: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Acuna

$367 32.5% 53.8% $427

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Acuna

$268 23.8% 23.8% $84

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Acuna

$187 16.5% 11.9% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Acuna

$106 9.4% 42.8% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Acuna

$136 12.1% 13.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Acuna

$48 4.3% 44.7% $39

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Acuna

$16 * 1.4% 82.2% $72

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $788 in Nosara versus $543 in Acuna. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $40.00 in Acuna. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $268 – making Acuna the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇲🇽 Acuna

🕒 Local time

23:37 11:37 PM

00:37 12:37 AM

1 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

160,225

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Acuna 2,670 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Acuna

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

Nosara vs Acuna: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nosara is pricier by about 63%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $1,693 in Acuna. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Acuna, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara and $40.00 in Acuna. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 31% more in Nosara, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Acuna, where all-in costs run around $1,128, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Acuna it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Acuna – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Acuna. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.