Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Dubasari

For one person, living is cheaper in Dubasari: $646 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Nosara
🇨🇷 Costa Rica
$1,839
/mo nomad
Dubasari
🇲🇩 Moldova
$646
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Dubasari

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $646 in Dubasari.

  • Nosara $1,839
  • Dubasari $646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $959 in Dubasari.

  • Nosara $2,828
  • Dubasari $959

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,272 in Dubasari.

  • Nosara $3,818
  • Dubasari $1,272

Living in Nosara is roughly 184% more expensive than in Dubasari, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Dubasari is 52% below.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.35 ₡5,539
$8.36 MDL 148
47.73%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.2 ₡27.4K
$29.57 MDL 525
106.90%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.52 ₡3,373
$10.56 MDL 187
-28.79%
Cappuccino
$4.41 ₡1,978
$1.68 MDL 29.84
162.50%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 ₡780
$1.09 MDL 19.40
59.63%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 ₡587
$0.64 MDL 11.37
104.69%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.28 ₡1,471
$1.93 MDL 34.35
69.95%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.47 ₡2,004
$2.22 MDL 39.45
101.35%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.56 ₡701
$1.21 MDL 21.55
28.93%
White Bread (500g)
$3.02 ₡1,355
$0.46 MDL 8.23
556.52%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.51 ₡1,125
$1.60 MDL 28.40
56.87%
Eggs
$3.57 ₡1,603
$2.16 MDL 38.38
65.28%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.43 ₡3,333
$6.74 MDL 120
10.24%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$10.52 ₡4,717
$4.71 MDL 83.6
123.35%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$13.97 ₡6,265
$6.22 MDL 110
124.60%
Apples (1kg)
$2.35 ₡1,052
$1.03 MDL 18.22
128.16%
Banana (1kg)
$1.61 ₡720
$2.20 MDL 39.09
-26.82%
Oranges (1kg)
$4.80 ₡2,152
$1.87 MDL 33.17
156.68%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 ₡724
$2.30 MDL 40.92
-30.00%
Potato (1kg)
$3.80 ₡1,703
$0.77 MDL 13.71
393.51%
Onion (1kg)
$3.69 ₡1,657
$0.48 MDL 8.53
668.75%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.13 ₡507
$0.46 MDL 8.22
145.65%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$2.66 ₡1,191
$0.58 MDL 10.29
358.62%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.18 ₡2,321
$3.45 MDL 61.3
50.14%
Wine (Bottle)
$19.88 ₡8,916
$4.40 MDL 78.2
351.82%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.90 ₡1,300
$1.38 MDL 24.47
110.14%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.63 ₡1,626
$1.93 MDL 34.30
88.08%
🚌 Getting Around
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.12 ₡504
-
-
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$72.6 ₡32.6K
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.14 ₡958
$2.85 MDL 50.6
-24.91%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.57 ₡703
$0.24 MDL 4.24
554.17%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$8.52 ₡3,823
$5.44 MDL 96.5
56.62%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.52 ₡682
$1.62 MDL 28.79
-6.17%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21.6K ₡9.7M
$33.1K MDL 587.9K
-34.72%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.5K ₡15.5M
$24.6K MDL 436.8K
40.34%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$96.3 ₡43.2K
$225 MDL 4,001
-57.25%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$35.89 ₡16.1K
$7.97 MDL 142
350.31%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$53.6 ₡24.0K
$11.03 MDL 196
385.86%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$71.6 ₡32.1K
$11.29 MDL 201
534.10%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$34.91 ₡15.7K
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.89 ₡3,539
$7.71 MDL 137
2.33%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$494 ₡221.6K
$110 MDL 1,952
349.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$11.9K ₡5.3M
$5,271 MDL 93.6K
124.96%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$53.9 ₡24.2K
$45.35 MDL 805
18.94%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$55.4 ₡24.8K
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$77.9 ₡34.9K
$56.4 MDL 1,001
38.23%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$79.6 ₡35.7K
$50.4 MDL 895
58.02%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$788 ₡353.4K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$794 ₡356.2K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$3,939 ₡1.8M
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,419 ₡636.5K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,912 ₡3.1M
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,224 ₡549.0K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Nosara
Dubasari
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$864 ₡387.3K
-
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.62
8
7.75%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Dubasari: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Nosara
$794
Dubasari
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Nosara
$352
Dubasari
$163 53.7% $189
Eating Out
Nosara
$212
Dubasari
$140 34% $72
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Nosara
$186
Dubasari
$244 31.5% $59
Clothing & Footwear
Nosara
$120
Dubasari
$68 * 43% $52
Sport & Entertainment
Nosara
$87
Dubasari
$27 69.4% $61
Getting Around
Nosara
$87
Dubasari
$4 * 95.4% $83

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $30.00 in Dubasari for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $163 per month, with Dubasari cheaper across the board.

Good to know
🇨🇷 Nosara
🇲🇩 Dubasari
🕒 Local time
20:27 8:27 PM
05:27 5:27 AM
9 h ahead of Nosara
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
4,912
23,254
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

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

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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Nosara Dubasari 10,990 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Nosara
  • Dubasari

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 Dubasari: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dubasari cheaper than Nosara?
Dubasari is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 184% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.
What income do you need for each city?
You'd need roughly $2,758 in Nosara and $970 in Dubasari 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.
How do food prices compare in Nosara and in Dubasari?
Supermarket bills run roughly 116% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
What are total monthly expenses in Nosara and in Dubasari?
All in, you'll spend $1,839 per month in Nosara versus $646 in Dubasari – a 184% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.
Is $1,500 a realistic budget for living in Nosara or in Dubasari?
At $646 in Dubasari versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Dubasari but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Dubasari the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
Is Nosara or Dubasari more family-friendly?
For families, Dubasari 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.
Which city is safer, Nosara or Dubasari?
Safety-wise, Nosara and Dubasari are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.
Which city is easier to live in as a foreigner?
Expats usually find Dubasari gentler on the wallet – expenses run 184% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Nosara vs other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?