Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Botucatu

For one person, living is cheaper in Botucatu: $701 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Botucatu
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Botucatu Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Botucatu

🇧🇷 Brazil

$701

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Botucatu

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $701 in Botucatu.

Nosara $1,839
Botucatu $701

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,140 in Botucatu.

Nosara $2,828
Botucatu $1,140

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,579 in Botucatu.

Nosara $3,818
Botucatu $1,579

Living in Nosara is roughly 162% more expensive than in Botucatu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Botucatu is 48% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$5.92 R$30.00

108.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$40.19 R$204

52.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$6.94 R$35.18

8.36%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.18 R$11.04

102.29%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.62 R$8.21

7.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.19 R$6.04

10.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.83 R$14.36

15.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$4.45 R$22.57

0.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$0.94 R$4.75

65.96%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.27 R$6.45

137.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$0.99 R$5.03

153.54%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.02 R$10.24

76.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$8.44 R$42.81

-11.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$3.99 R$20.22

163.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$7.61 R$38.59

83.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.19 R$11.12

7.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.37 R$6.93

17.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.02 R$5.17

370.59%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.23 R$6.24

30.89%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.37 R$6.95

177.37%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$0.95 R$4.82

288.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.95 R$4.83

18.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.80 R$4.04

232.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$2.78 R$14.10

86.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$6.98 R$35.38

184.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.18 R$5.97

145.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.73 R$13.84

32.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.87 R$4.40

28.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.30 R$6.59

64.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.44 R$7.28

9.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$9.90 R$50.2

-13.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.17 R$5.95

29.91%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$23.9K R$121.0K

-9.47%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$33.8K R$171.2K

2.24%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$26.44 R$134

264.18%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$9.99 R$50.6

259.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$16.21 R$82.2

230.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$7.91 R$40.09

-0.25%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$292 R$1,479

69.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$6,319 R$32.0K

87.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$53.4 R$271

0.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$58.4 R$296

-5.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$97.8 R$496

-20.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$86.3 R$438

-7.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$280 R$1,418

181.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$182 R$923

336.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$597 R$3,025

560.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$306 R$1,552

363.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$424 R$2,151

103.50%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

9.5

-9.26%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Botucatu: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Botucatu

$182 26% 77.1% $612

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Botucatu

$176 25.2% 49.9% $176

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Botucatu

$129 18.4% 39.3% $83

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Botucatu

$53 7.5% 71.7% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Botucatu

$133 19% 10.9% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Botucatu

$16 * 2.3% 81.9% $72

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Botucatu

$12 * 1.7% 86.3% $75

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 $788 in Nosara and $280 in Botucatu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 103% 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: $61.0 in Nosara vs $40.00 in Botucatu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $176 per month, with Botucatu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇷 Botucatu

🕒 Local time

07:05 7:05 AM

10:05 10:05 AM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

145,155

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 BRL = 0.197 USD

1 BRL = 0.175 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 5.07 BRL (1 BRL = 0.197 USD). 1 EUR = 5.7 BRL (1 BRL = 0.175 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Botucatu 5,460 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Botucatu

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 Botucatu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Botucatu wins on cost – living expenses run 162% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Botucatu the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 103% higher in Nosara, 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: $788 in Nosara versus $280 in Botucatu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $292 in Botucatu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Botucatu – a meal for two runs $40.00 versus $61.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $701 in Botucatu versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Botucatu but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Botucatu the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Botucatu delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $701 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Botucatu hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Botucatu 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 Botucatu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 162% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.