Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Cartago

For one person, living is cheaper in Cartago: $1,281 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
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Cartago Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Cartago

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,281

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Cartago

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $1,281 in Cartago, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Cartago $1,281

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,972 in Cartago, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Cartago $1,972

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $2,663 in Cartago, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Cartago $2,663

Nosara costs about 44% more than Cartago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while Cartago is 5% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,550

$7.58 COP 24.1K

62.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.5K

$37.20 COP 118.3K

64.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,379

$8.47 COP 26.9K

-11.22%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,982

$1.54 COP 4,884

186.36%

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

$1.74 ₡781

$1.28 COP 4,063

35.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡588

$0.83 COP 2,634

57.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,474

$3.10 COP 9,869

5.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,008

$3.66 COP 11.7K

22.13%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡702

$1.60 COP 5,088

-2.50%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,358

$1.88 COP 5,973

60.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,127

$1.49 COP 4,751

68.46%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,606

$2.93 COP 9,334

21.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,340

$6.58 COP 20.9K

12.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,727

$7.11 COP 22.6K

47.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,277

$9.93 COP 31.6K

40.68%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,054

$3.57 COP 11.4K

-34.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡721

$1.32 COP 4,200

21.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,156

$1.74 COP 5,530

175.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡725

$1.63 COP 5,184

-1.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,706

$1.42 COP 4,522

167.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,660

$1.50 COP 4,758

146.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡508

$1.08 COP 3,443

4.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,193

$1.03 COP 3,261

158.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,326

$3.69 COP 11.7K

40.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,934

$13.12 COP 41.7K

51.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,303

$1.50 COP 4,756

93.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,629

$2.45 COP 7,794

48.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡505

$1.02 COP 3,244

9.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡960

$0.79 COP 2,524

170.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡705

$2.27 COP 7,230

-30.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,830

$8.40 COP 26.7K

1.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡683

$1.32 COP 4,211

15.15%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$28.0K COP 89.1M

-22.90%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$34.6K COP 110.2M

-0.37%

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

$96.3 ₡43.3K

$110 COP 349.3K

-12.34%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$13.23 COP 42.1K

171.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.1K

$30.26 COP 96.2K

77.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.2K

$42.32 COP 134.6K

69.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,546

$8.24 COP 26.2K

-4.25%

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

$494 ₡222.0K

$701 COP 2.2M

-29.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$6,430 COP 20.5M

84.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$77.8 COP 247.3K

-30.63%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.9K

$55.1 COP 175.4K

0.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡35.0K

$127 COP 403.0K

-38.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.8K

$111 COP 351.7K

-28.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡354.1K

$645 COP 2.1M

22.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.9K

$509 COP 1.6M

56.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$1,041 COP 3.3M

278.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡637.7K

$970 COP 3.1M

46.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$1,999 COP 6.4M

245.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡550.0K

$1,803 COP 5.7M

-32.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡388.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.58

-25.56%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Cartago

$509 39.7% 35.9% $285

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Cartago

$241 18.8% 31.6% $111

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Cartago

$136 10.6% 35.9% $76

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Cartago

$153 12% 17.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Cartago

$167 13% 38.7% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Cartago

$59 4.6% 32.7% $29

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Cartago

$16 * 1.3% 81.4% $71

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 $645 in Cartago. 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 $37.00 in Cartago. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $241 – making Cartago the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇨🇴 Cartago

🕒 Local time

03:33 3:33 AM

04:33 4:33 AM

1 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

135,365

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Cartago 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Cartago

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 Cartago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nosara is pricier by about 44%, 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 $1,921 in Cartago. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,839 in Nosara and $1,281 in Cartago. That's a gap of about 44%.

Kindergarten costs $494 per month in Nosara and $701 in Cartago. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Cartago, where all-in costs run around $1,281, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Cartago it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cartago – 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 Cartago. 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.