Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Chaguanas

For one person, living is cheaper in Chaguanas: $1,287 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Chaguanas
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Chaguanas Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Chaguanas

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,287

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Chaguanas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,287 in Chaguanas.

Nosara $1,839
Chaguanas $1,287

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $2,082 in Chaguanas.

Nosara $2,828
Chaguanas $2,082

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,876 in Chaguanas.

Nosara $3,818
Chaguanas $2,876

Living in Nosara is roughly 43% more expensive than in Chaguanas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Chaguanas is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$10.39 TTD 69.9

18.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$59.9 TTD 403

2.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$8.18 TTD 55.0

-8.07%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.32 TTD 22.32

32.83%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.26 TTD 8.44

38.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$1.00 TTD 6.71

31.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$1.73 TTD 11.64

89.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$2.63 TTD 17.69

69.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$2.39 TTD 16.07

-34.73%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$2.14 TTD 14.36

41.12%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$2.17 TTD 14.61

15.67%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$3.87 TTD 26.01

-7.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$7.33 TTD 49.31

1.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$8.03 TTD 54.0

31.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$11.80 TTD 79.4

18.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.97 TTD 19.98

-20.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$3.01 TTD 20.23

-46.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$2.86 TTD 19.22

67.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$5.01 TTD 33.68

-67.86%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$2.47 TTD 16.59

53.85%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$2.16 TTD 14.55

70.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.99 TTD 13.37

-43.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.29 TTD 8.68

106.20%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$2.89 TTD 19.41

79.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$19.92 TTD 134

-0.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.91 TTD 12.87

51.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.56 TTD 17.19

41.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.76 TTD 5.10

47.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$2.21 TTD 14.87

-3.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.33 TTD 8.95

18.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$14.46 TTD 97.3

-41.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.12 TTD 7.52

35.71%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$33.1K TTD 223.0K

-34.80%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$33.6K TTD 226.2K

2.65%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$103 TTD 691

-6.27%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$38.71 TTD 260

-7.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$51.3 TTD 345

4.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$51.3 TTD 345

39.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$44.48 TTD 299

-21.52%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$8.58 TTD 57.7

-8.04%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$304 TTD 2,042

62.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$45.03 TTD 303

19.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$42.30 TTD 285

30.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$98.7 TTD 664

-21.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$106 TTD 716

-25.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$463 TTD 3,112

70.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$386 TTD 2,597

105.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$948 TTD 6,376

315.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$759 TTD 5,106

86.95%

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

$773 TTD 5,203

11.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

72.40%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Chaguanas: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Chaguanas

$386 30% 51.4% $408

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Chaguanas

$326 25.3% 7.5% $26

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Chaguanas

$170 13.2% 19.6% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Chaguanas

$193 15% 3.8% $7

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Chaguanas

$132 10.2% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Chaguanas

$68 5.3% 21.7% $19

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Chaguanas

$12 * 0.9% 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 $463 in Chaguanas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 12% 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 $60.0 in Chaguanas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $326 per month, with Chaguanas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇹🇹 Chaguanas

🕒 Local time

05:48 5:48 AM

07:48 7:48 AM

2 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

83,489

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 TTD = 0.149 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 6.73 TTD (1 TTD = 0.149 USD). 1 EUR = 7.56 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nosara Chaguanas 2,650 km ≈ 3 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Chaguanas

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 Chaguanas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chaguanas wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Chaguanas the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 12% 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 $463 in Chaguanas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 8% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $1,287 in Chaguanas – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,287 in Chaguanas versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chaguanas but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Chaguanas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Chaguanas delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,287 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Chaguanas hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Chaguanas 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 Chaguanas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.