Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Maceio - Alagoas

For one person, living is cheaper in Maceio - Alagoas: $851 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Maceio - Alagoas
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Maceio - Alagoas Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Maceio - Alagoas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$851

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Maceio - Alagoas

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 Maceio - Alagoas actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $851 in Maceio - Alagoas.

Nosara $1,839
Maceio - Alagoas $851

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,333 in Maceio - Alagoas.

Nosara $2,828
Maceio - Alagoas $1,333

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $1,815 in Maceio - Alagoas.

Nosara $3,818
Maceio - Alagoas $1,815

Living in Nosara is roughly 116% more expensive than in Maceio - Alagoas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Maceio - Alagoas is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,547

$5.92 R$29.77

108.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.5K

$29.81 R$150

105.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,377

$5.87 R$29.49

28.11%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,981

$1.77 R$8.89

149.15%

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

$1.74 ₡781

$1.09 R$5.46

59.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡588

$0.48 R$2.44

172.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,473

$1.64 R$8.23

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,007

$4.18 R$21.02

6.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡702

$1.11 R$5.57

40.54%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,357

$2.07 R$10.42

45.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,127

$1.06 R$5.31

136.79%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,605

$1.94 R$9.77

84.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,338

$9.54 R$47.94

-22.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,724

$4.52 R$22.72

132.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,274

$7.66 R$38.50

82.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,054

$2.86 R$14.36

-17.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡721

$1.13 R$5.66

42.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,155

$1.38 R$6.94

247.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡725

$1.35 R$6.81

19.26%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,706

$1.42 R$7.14

167.61%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,659

$1.32 R$6.64

179.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.58 R$2.92

94.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,193

$0.84 R$4.21

216.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,324

$2.09 R$10.52

147.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,929

$6.96 R$34.97

185.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,302

$1.61 R$8.09

80.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,628

$1.45 R$7.30

150.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡505

$0.79 R$3.97

41.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡959

$0.39 R$1.94

448.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡704

$0.42 R$2.10

273.81%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,828

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡683

$1.28 R$6.44

18.75%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$21.7K R$109.3K

-0.60%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$31.4K R$157.7K

10.05%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$81.5 R$410

18.19%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$16.69 R$83.9

115.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.1K

$17.82 R$89.6

200.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$24.34 R$122

194.12%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,544

$5.98 R$30.06

31.94%

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

$494 ₡221.9K

$219 R$1,102

125.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$7,075 R$35.6K

67.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$55.5 R$279

-2.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.9K

$78.3 R$394

-29.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡35.0K

$94.0 R$472

-17.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.8K

$79.2 R$398

0.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.9K

$295 R$1,481

167.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.7K

$250 R$1,258

217.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$500 R$2,513

687.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡637.4K

$474 R$2,381

199.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$1,507 R$7,573

358.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.8K

$698 R$3,508

75.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.8K

$601 R$3,020

43.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

10.17

-15.24%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Maceio - Alagoas: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Maceio - Alagoas

$250 29.4% 68.5% $544

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Maceio - Alagoas

$195 23% 44.5% $157

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Maceio - Alagoas

$109 12.8% 48.5% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Maceio - Alagoas

$116 13.6% 37.6% $70

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Maceio - Alagoas

$138 16.2% 15% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Maceio - Alagoas

$36 4.3% 58.5% $51

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Maceio - Alagoas

$5.6 * 0.7% 93.5% $81

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 $295 in Maceio - Alagoas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Nosara pays 44% 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: $61.0 in Nosara vs $30.00 in Maceio - Alagoas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $195 per month, with Maceio - Alagoas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇧🇷 Maceio - Alagoas

🕒 Local time

06:00 6:00 AM

09:00 9:00 AM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

1,031,597

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR

1 BRL = 0.199 USD

1 BRL = 0.178 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 14, 2026: 1 USD = 449 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 503 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.99 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 14, 2026: 1 USD = 5.03 BRL (1 BRL = 0.199 USD). 1 EUR = 5.63 BRL (1 BRL = 0.178 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Maceio - Alagoas 5,940 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Maceio - Alagoas

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 Maceio - Alagoas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Maceio - Alagoas is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 116% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 44% 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: $788 in Nosara versus $295 in Maceio - Alagoas. 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 $851 in Maceio - Alagoas – a 116% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $851 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Maceio - Alagoas but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Maceio - Alagoas the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Maceio - Alagoas 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 Maceio - Alagoas 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 Maceio - Alagoas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 116% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.