Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Luque

For one person, living is cheaper in Luque: $1,050 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Luque
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Luque Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Luque

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$1,050

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Luque

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $1,050 in Luque, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Luque $1,050

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,582 in Luque, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Luque $1,582

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $2,115 in Luque, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Luque $2,115

Nosara costs about 75% more than Luque, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while Luque is 22% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$4.41 ₲25.1K

180.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$35.23 ₲200.3K

73.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$5.17 ₲29.4K

45.45%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.40 ₲19.3K

29.71%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.07 ₲6,078

62.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.57 ₲3,265

129.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$1.95 ₲11.1K

68.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$1.80 ₲10.2K

148.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.29 ₲7,347

20.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.53 ₲8,720

97.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.40 ₲7,950

79.29%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.09 ₲11.9K

70.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$10.18 ₲57.9K

-27.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$5.20 ₲29.6K

102.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$10.19 ₲57.9K

37.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$3.01 ₲17.1K

-21.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.25 ₲7,119

28.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.25 ₲7,101

284.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$2.47 ₲14.0K

-34.82%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.35 ₲7,685

181.48%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.38 ₲7,853

167.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.91 ₲5,194

24.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.78 ₲4,425

241.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$2.30 ₲13.1K

125.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$9.54 ₲54.2K

108.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.35 ₲7,682

114.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.81 ₲10.3K

100.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$0.73 ₲4,153

53.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.50 ₲8,529

42.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$1.62 ₲9,191

-3.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$10.44 ₲59.4K

-18.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.29 ₲7,311

17.83%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$17.9K ₲101.8M

20.67%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$35.3K ₲200.6M

-2.16%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$26.84 ₲152.6K

258.76%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$17.64 ₲100.3K

103.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$20.79 ₲118.2K

157.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$49.51 ₲281.5K

44.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$8.65 ₲49.2K

-8.79%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$184 ₲1.0M

168.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$4,747 ₲27.0M

149.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$64.0 ₲363.9K

-15.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$57.6 ₲327.5K

-3.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$107 ₲607.9K

-27.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$71.7 ₲407.6K

11.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$440 ₲2.5M

78.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$440 ₲2.5M

80.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$1,484 ₲8.4M

165.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$672 ₲3.8M

111.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$1,272 ₲7.2M

443.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$488 ₲2.8M

77.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

10.15

-15.07%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Luque: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Luque

$440 41.9% 44.6% $354

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Luque

$218 20.8% 38% $134

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Luque

$112 10.6% 47.4% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Luque

$65 6.2% 64.9% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Luque

$135 12.9% 12.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Luque

$67 6.4% 23.5% $21

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Luque

$13 * 1.2% 85.7% $75

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $788 in Nosara versus $440 in Luque. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 77% higher in Nosara, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $35.00 in Luque. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $218 – making Luque the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇵🇾 Luque

🕒 Local time

14:10 2:10 PM

17:10 5:10 PM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

224,000

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.76 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.56 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 5,686 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 6,393 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.56 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Luque 4,970 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Luque

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 Luque: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Nosara is pricier by about 75%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $1,575 in Luque. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Luque, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,839 in Nosara and $1,050 in Luque. That's a gap of about 75%.

Kindergarten costs $494 per month in Nosara and $184 in Luque. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Luque, where all-in costs run around $1,050, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Luque it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Luque – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Luque. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Nosara makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.