Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Florianopolis

For one person, living is cheaper in Florianopolis: $1,276 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Florianopolis
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Florianopolis Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Florianopolis

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,276

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Florianopolis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $1,276 in Florianopolis.

Nosara $1,837
Florianopolis $1,276

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $2,070 in Florianopolis.

Nosara $2,775
Florianopolis $2,070

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $2,864 in Florianopolis.

Nosara $3,712
Florianopolis $2,864

Living in Nosara is roughly 44% more expensive than in Florianopolis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 37% above, Florianopolis is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$9.55 R$47.68

27.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$45.58 R$228

32.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$7.95 R$39.69

-5.16%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$2.40 R$11.98

79.58%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$1.36 R$6.78

26.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$1.08 R$5.40

25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$2.96 R$14.78

9.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$3.50 R$17.48

28.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$1.03 R$5.17

52.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$1.62 R$8.10

95.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$1.27 R$6.34

90.55%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$2.63 R$13.14

35.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$9.71 R$48.47

-23.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$4.16 R$20.75

150.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$10.04 R$50.1

36.06%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$2.32 R$11.57

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$1.30 R$6.51

23.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$1.48 R$7.38

220.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$1.65 R$8.23

0.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$1.04 R$5.20

257.69%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$0.99 R$4.96

260.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$0.81 R$4.06

35.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$0.70 R$3.52

264.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$2.93 R$14.63

68.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$10.14 R$50.6

97.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$1.47 R$7.35

89.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$2.90 R$14.47

21.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

$1.35 R$6.75

-11.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

$81.9 R$409

-11.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

$1.59 R$7.93

40.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$1.63 R$8.15

-4.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$12.07 R$60.2

-26.59%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.31 R$6.56

19.85%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$24.1K R$120.3K

-9.52%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$34.3K R$171.0K

1.12%

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$85.5 R$427

9.29%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$12.52 R$62.5

180.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$22.21 R$111

131.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

$29.90 R$149

138.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

$19.18 R$95.7

84.78%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$7.84 R$39.13

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

$490 ₡220.7K

$771 R$3,851

-36.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$11.0K R$54.7K

8.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$65.4 R$327

-18.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$69.8 R$349

-20.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$113 R$566

-30.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$68.9 R$344

14.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$656 R$3,273

19.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$507 R$2,531

53.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$1,362 R$6,796

183.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

$1,061 R$5,297

32.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$2,805 R$14.0K

148.57%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

$1,584 R$7,905

-24.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

$996 R$4,971

-12.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

10.61

-18.76%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Florianopolis: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Florianopolis

$507 39.6% 35% $273

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Florianopolis

$206 16.1% 41% $143

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Florianopolis

$161 12.6% 23.3% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Florianopolis

$120 9.4% 33.2% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Florianopolis

$143 11.2% 18.7% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Florianopolis

$46 3.6% 47.7% $42

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Florianopolis

$97 7.6% 11.7% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $786 in Nosara and $656 in Florianopolis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Florianopolis pays 14% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $60.0 in Nosara vs $46.00 in Florianopolis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $206 per month, with Florianopolis cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇷 Florianopolis

🕒 Local time

21:08 9:08 PM

00:08 12:08 AM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

537,211

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Florianopolis 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Florianopolis

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 Florianopolis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Florianopolis wins on cost – living expenses run 44% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Florianopolis the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 14% lower in Florianopolis. 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: $786 in Nosara versus $656 in Florianopolis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Florianopolis – a meal for two runs $46.00 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,837 per month in Nosara versus $1,276 in Florianopolis – a 44% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,276 in Florianopolis versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Florianopolis but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Florianopolis the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Florianopolis delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,276 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Florianopolis hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Florianopolis 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 Florianopolis gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.