Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Gaborone

For one person, living is cheaper in Gaborone: $866 a month against $1,837 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Gaborone
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Gaborone Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Gaborone

🇧🇼 Botswana

$866

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Gaborone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,837 in Nosara versus $866 in Gaborone.

Nosara $1,837
Gaborone $866

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,775 in Nosara versus $1,301 in Gaborone.

Nosara $2,775
Gaborone $1,301

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,712 in Nosara versus $1,737 in Gaborone.

Nosara $3,712
Gaborone $1,737

Living in Nosara is roughly 112% more expensive than in Gaborone, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 37% above, Gaborone is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 ₡5,509

$11.04 P 148

10.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$60.2 ₡27.1K

$29.11 P 390

106.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 ₡3,399

$5.87 P 78.6

28.45%

Cappuccino

$4.31 ₡1,941

$2.37 P 31.70

81.86%

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

$1.72 ₡773

$0.71 P 9.45

142.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.35 ₡608

$0.44 P 5.87

206.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.24 ₡1,459

$1.98 P 26.47

63.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.48 ₡2,018

$2.56 P 34.24

75.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡707

$1.47 P 19.66

6.80%

White Bread (500g)

$3.17 ₡1,429

$0.87 P 11.59

264.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 ₡1,091

$1.98 P 26.48

22.22%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,609

$2.54 P 34.06

40.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,349

$6.45 P 86.4

15.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.42 ₡4,697

$4.77 P 63.9

118.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.66 ₡6,156

$4.88 P 65.4

179.92%

Apples (1kg)

$2.32 ₡1,044

$1.64 P 22.01

41.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡728

$1.40 P 18.73

15.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.74 ₡2,138

$1.95 P 26.07

143.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 ₡747

$1.65 P 22.13

0.61%

Potato (1kg)

$3.72 ₡1,679

$1.31 P 17.53

183.97%

Onion (1kg)

$3.57 ₡1,611

$1.15 P 15.40

210.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 ₡497

$1.28 P 17.20

-14.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.55 ₡1,149

$0.93 P 12.50

174.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.95 ₡2,232

$3.71 P 49.75

33.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$20.01 ₡9,020

$4.39 P 58.8

355.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.79 ₡1,256

$1.43 P 19.23

95.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 ₡1,589

$1.74 P 23.26

102.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.19 ₡537

$0.67 P 9.00

77.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.1 ₡32.5K

$30.16 P 404

138.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.24 ₡1,011

$0.64 P 8.60

250.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.55 ₡701

$2.61 P 35.04

-40.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.86 ₡3,993

$2.86 P 38.37

209.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 ₡708

$1.32 P 17.74

18.94%

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

$21.8K ₡9.8M

$19.6K P 263.0K

11.08%

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

$34.6K ₡15.6M

$19.9K P 266.4K

74.23%

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

$93.5 ₡42.1K

$60.2 P 807

55.26%

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

$35.11 ₡15.8K

$19.85 P 266

76.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.5 ₡23.2K

$42.94 P 575

19.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.4 ₡32.2K

$34.16 P 458

109.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.44 ₡16.0K

$16.03 P 215

121.09%

Cinema Ticket

$7.84 ₡3,535

$5.98 P 80.1

31.10%

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

$490 ₡220.7K

$130 P 1,740

276.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.4M

$2,526 P 33.8K

370.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 ₡24.1K

$48.16 P 645

11.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.8 ₡25.1K

$16.58 P 222

236.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 ₡35.7K

$74.0 P 991

7.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.9 ₡35.6K

$78.3 P 1,049

0.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$786 ₡354.3K

$363 P 4,860

116.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$780 ₡351.6K

$219 P 2,941

255.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,860 ₡1.7M

$542 P 7,263

612.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 ₡634.4K

$354 P 4,741

297.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,972 ₡3.1M

$2,021 P 27.1K

244.96%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,201 ₡541.3K

$1,252 P 16.8K

-4.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$876 ₡395.0K

$450 P 6,033

94.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.33

-23.92%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Last update for Gaborone: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$780 43%

Gaborone

$219 25.5% 71.9% $560

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$350 19.3%

Gaborone

$174 20.2% 50.3% $176

Eating Out

Nosara

$209 11.6%

Gaborone

$154 17.9% 26.5% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$180 9.9%

Gaborone

$123 14.3% 31.7% $57

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.6%

Gaborone

$98 11.4% 18.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Gaborone

$46 5.4% 47% $41

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Gaborone

$47 5.4% 46.4% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $786 in Nosara and $363 in Gaborone. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 95% 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: $60.0 in Nosara vs $29.00 in Gaborone for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $350 vs $174 per month, with Gaborone cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇼 Gaborone

🕒 Local time

02:19 2:19 AM

10:19 10:19 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

231,626 Capital

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Botswana Pula BWP P

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 BWP = 7.46 USD

100 BWP = 6.65 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BWP, 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).

Botswana Pula exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 13.4 BWP (100 BWP = 7.46 USD). 1 EUR = 15.03 BWP (100 BWP = 6.65 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Gaborone 12,640 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Gaborone

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 Gaborone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gaborone is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 112% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 95% 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: $786 in Nosara versus $363 in Gaborone. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 101% higher in Nosara. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Gaborone – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $60.0 in Nosara. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $866 in Gaborone versus $1,837 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gaborone but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Gaborone the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Gaborone 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.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Gaborone 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 Gaborone gentler on the wallet – expenses run 112% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.