Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Barbacena

For one person, living is cheaper in Barbacena: $857 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,800 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Barbacena
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Barbacena Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Barbacena

🇧🇷 Brazil

$857

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Barbacena

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 Barbacena actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $857 in Barbacena.

Nosara $1,839
Barbacena $857

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,305 in Barbacena.

Nosara $2,828
Barbacena $1,305

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,753 in Barbacena.

Nosara $3,818
Barbacena $1,753

Living in Nosara is roughly 115% more expensive than in Barbacena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Barbacena is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,547

$5.35 R$26.86

130.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.5K

$20.84 R$105

193.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,377

$5.93 R$29.74

26.81%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,981

$1.74 R$8.73

153.45%

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

$1.74 ₡781

$1.57 R$7.89

10.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡588

$0.86 R$4.30

52.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,473

$1.32 R$6.62

148.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,007

$2.27 R$11.37

96.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡702

$1.14 R$5.69

36.84%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,357

$2.06 R$10.36

46.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,127

$1.22 R$6.12

105.74%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,605

$2.38 R$11.96

50.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,338

$10.81 R$54.3

-31.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,724

$4.44 R$22.25

136.94%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,274

$9.97 R$50.0

40.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,054

$2.90 R$14.54

-18.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡721

$1.83 R$9.19

-12.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,155

$1.57 R$7.89

205.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡725

$1.79 R$9.00

-10.06%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,706

$1.21 R$6.08

214.05%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,659

$1.04 R$5.20

254.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.71 R$3.55

59.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,193

$0.70 R$3.50

280.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,324

$3.02 R$15.17

71.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,929

$7.83 R$39.29

153.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,302

$1.18 R$5.93

145.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,628

$2.42 R$12.14

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡505

$0.97 R$4.87

15.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$45.05 R$226

61.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡959

$1.26 R$6.34

69.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡704

$0.85 R$4.26

84.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,828

$9.35 R$46.91

-8.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡683

$1.31 R$6.56

16.03%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$23.5K R$118.0K

-8.08%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$32.7K R$164.1K

5.55%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$136 R$685

-29.44%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$11.02 R$55.3

225.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.1K

$22.95 R$115

133.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$26.50 R$133

170.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$29.48 R$148

18.42%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,544

$7.94 R$39.85

-0.63%

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

$494 ₡221.9K

$596 R$2,992

-17.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$13.4K R$67.3K

-11.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$41.74 R$209

29.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.9K

$48.77 R$245

13.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡35.0K

$75.6 R$379

3.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.8K

$67.2 R$337

18.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.9K

$234 R$1,172

237.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.7K

$168 R$841

373.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$434 R$2,178

807.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡637.4K

$307 R$1,539

362.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$1,629 R$8,175

324.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.8K

$1,334 R$6,692

-8.22%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.8K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.93

-27.75%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barbacena: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Barbacena

$168 19.6% 78.9% $627

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Barbacena

$215 25.1% 39% $137

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Barbacena

$102 11.9% 51.7% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Barbacena

$170 19.9% 8.3% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Barbacena

$105 12.3% 12.6% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Barbacena

$42 5% 51.5% $45

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Barbacena

$54 6.4% 37.5% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $234 in Barbacena. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $21.00 in Barbacena for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $215 per month, with Barbacena cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇷 Barbacena

🕒 Local time

06:42 6:42 AM

09:42 9:42 AM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

125,317

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.02 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.62 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Barbacena 5,740 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Barbacena

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 Barbacena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara and Barbacena differ by about 115% in total monthly costs ($1,839 vs $857 including rent). Barbacena is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,758 in Nosara and $1,286 in Barbacena to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $788 in Nosara versus $234 in Barbacena. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $857 in Barbacena – a 115% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Barbacena runs roughly 61% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $857 in Barbacena versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Barbacena but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Barbacena 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, Nosara and Barbacena 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 Barbacena gentler on the wallet – expenses run 115% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.