Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Grahamstown

For one person, living is cheaper in Grahamstown: $1,121 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 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
54

Cost of Living Index in Grahamstown
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Grahamstown Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Grahamstown

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Grahamstown

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,121 in Grahamstown.

Nosara $1,839
Grahamstown $1,121

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,757 in Grahamstown.

Nosara $2,828
Grahamstown $1,757

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,392 in Grahamstown.

Nosara $3,818
Grahamstown $2,392

Living in Nosara is roughly 64% more expensive than in Grahamstown, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Grahamstown is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$10.85 R 179

13.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$42.03 R 692

45.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$6.06 R 99.9

24.09%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.13 R 35.03

107.04%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.04 R 17.21

67.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.72 R 11.94

81.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.76 R 45.45

18.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.07 R 50.6

45.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.12 R 18.45

39.29%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.01 R 16.57

199.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.45 R 23.86

73.10%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.82 R 46.40

26.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$8.78 R 145

-15.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$5.25 R 86.5

100.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$8.51 R 140

64.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.19 R 36.07

7.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.47 R 24.17

9.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.69 R 27.91

184.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.72 R 28.34

-6.40%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.67 R 27.50

127.54%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.37 R 22.55

169.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.30 R 21.36

-13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.02 R 16.73

160.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.20 R 52.7

61.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$4.68 R 77.1

324.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.22 R 20.02

137.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.78 R 29.34

103.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.54 R 25.32

-27.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$0.62 R 10.13

245.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.47 R 7.72

234.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$8.17 R 135

4.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.40 R 23.07

8.57%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$35.0K R 576.1K

-38.20%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$32.8K R 540.0K

5.31%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$120 R 1,983

-20.00%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$34.81 R 574

3.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$44.20 R 728

21.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$31.55 R 520

126.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$10.55 R 174

230.90%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$10.60 R 175

-25.57%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$175 R 2,891

181.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$4,834 R 79.6K

145.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$71.5 R 1,178

-24.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$36.90 R 608

50.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$109 R 1,803

-28.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$94.3 R 1,553

-15.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$394 R 6,497

99.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$366 R 6,038

116.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$726 R 12.0K

442.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$719 R 11.9K

97.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$874 R 14.4K

690.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$646 R 10.6K

89.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$1,164 R 19.2K

-25.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

11.94

-27.81%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Grahamstown: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Grahamstown

$366 32.7% 53.9% $428

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Grahamstown

$196 17.5% 44.5% $157

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Grahamstown

$158 14.1% 25.6% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Grahamstown

$199 17.8% 7.3% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Grahamstown

$140 12.5% 17% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Grahamstown

$53 4.7% 39.6% $35

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Grahamstown

$9.1 * 0.8% 89.5% $78

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 $394 in Grahamstown. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Grahamstown pays 35% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $42.00 in Grahamstown for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $196 per month, with Grahamstown cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇿🇦 Grahamstown

🕒 Local time

02:30 2:30 AM

10:30 10:30 AM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

67,264

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Grahamstown 12,670 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Grahamstown

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 Grahamstown: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Grahamstown wins on cost – living expenses run 64% lower than in Nosara. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Grahamstown the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 35% lower in Grahamstown. 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: $788 in Nosara versus $394 in Grahamstown. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 80% 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 $1,121 in Grahamstown – a 64% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,121 in Grahamstown versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Grahamstown but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Grahamstown the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Grahamstown delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,121 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Grahamstown hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Nosara and Grahamstown 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 Grahamstown gentler on the wallet – expenses run 64% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.