Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Barcelos

For one person, living is cheaper in Barcelos: $1,190 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,800 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Barcelos
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Barcelos Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Barcelos

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,190

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Barcelos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,190 in Barcelos.

Nosara $1,839
Barcelos $1,190

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,885 in Barcelos.

Nosara $2,828
Barcelos $1,885

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,579 in Barcelos.

Nosara $3,818
Barcelos $2,579

Living in Nosara is roughly 55% more expensive than in Barcelos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Barcelos is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$11.09 €9.86

11.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$48.16 €42.84

27.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$8.85 €7.87

-15.03%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$1.84 €1.63

139.67%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.93 €1.72

-9.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.32 €1.18

-0.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$3.37 €3.00

-2.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$2.84 €2.52

57.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.11 €0.99

40.54%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.85 €1.65

63.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.79 €1.59

40.22%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$3.30 €2.94

8.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$11.93 €10.61

-37.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$8.04 €7.15

30.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$14.83 €13.19

-5.80%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$1.98 €1.76

18.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.37 €1.22

17.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.86 €1.65

158.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$2.52 €2.25

-36.11%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.72 €1.53

120.93%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.84 €1.63

100.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.54 €1.37

-26.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.97 €0.87

174.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$6.56 €5.84

-21.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$4.58 €4.08

334.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.19 €1.05

143.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.20 €1.95

65.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$2.29 €2.03

-51.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$22.15 €19.70

227.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$4.27 €3.80

-49.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.43 €1.27

9.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$16.25 €14.46

-47.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$2.15 €1.91

-29.30%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$33.2K €29.5K

-34.90%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$37.8K €33.7K

-8.78%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$111 €98.8

-13.29%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$17.73 €15.77

102.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$44.28 €39.39

21.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$38.52 €34.27

85.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$6.57 €5.84

431.35%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$9.12 €8.11

-13.49%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$339 €302

45.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$6,374 €5,670

86.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$72.5 €64.5

-25.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$37.75 €33.58

46.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$78.7 €70.0

-1.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$105 €93.4

-24.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$494 €439

59.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$357 €318

122.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$895 €796

340.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$696 €619

104.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$2,651 €2,358

160.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,510 €1,343

-18.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,072 €954

-19.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

3.7

132.97%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelos: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Barcelos

$357 30% 55% $437

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Barcelos

$255 21.4% 27.7% $98

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Barcelos

$173 14.5% 18.4% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Barcelos

$173 14.6% 6.8% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Barcelos

$132 11.1% 10.2% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Barcelos

$57 4.8% 35% $31

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Barcelos

$43 3.6% 51% $44

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $494 in Barcelos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelos pays 24% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $48.00 in Barcelos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $255 per month, with Barcelos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇵🇹 Barcelos

🕒 Local time

13:23 1:23 PM

20:23 8:23 PM

7 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

116,766

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to CRC – Costa Rican Colón Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Barcelos 8,200 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Barcelos

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 Barcelos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 55% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Barcelos. 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: $788 in Nosara versus $494 in Barcelos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Barcelos – a meal for two runs $48.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,190 in Barcelos versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Barcelos but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Barcelos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Barcelos 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, Nosara and Barcelos 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 Barcelos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.