Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Matsudo

For one person, living is cheaper in Matsudo: $1,200 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Matsudo
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Matsudo Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Matsudo

🇯🇵 Japan

$1,200

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Matsudo

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,200 in Matsudo.

Nosara $1,839
Matsudo $1,200

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,896 in Matsudo.

Nosara $2,828
Matsudo $1,896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,593 in Matsudo.

Nosara $3,818
Matsudo $2,593

Living in Nosara is roughly 53% more expensive than in Matsudo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Matsudo is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$6.47 ¥1,023

90.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$37.31 ¥5,895

63.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$5.02 ¥793

49.80%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$3.43 ¥542

28.57%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.10 ¥174

58.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.78 ¥124

67.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.45 ¥387

33.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.17 ¥501

41.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.44 ¥227

8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.65 ¥260

83.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$3.59 ¥567

-30.08%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.09 ¥330

70.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$10.21 ¥1,613

-27.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$6.06 ¥957

73.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$14.09 ¥2,226

-0.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$4.81 ¥759

-51.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.29 ¥361

-29.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$2.94 ¥464

63.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$4.21 ¥666

-61.76%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$2.64 ¥417

43.94%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$2.67 ¥421

38.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.15 ¥181

-1.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.76 ¥120

250.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.79 ¥599

36.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$6.21 ¥981

220.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$1.63 ¥258

77.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.01 ¥318

80.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.53 ¥241

-26.80%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

$53.9 ¥8,521

34.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$3.17 ¥501

-32.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$2.74 ¥433

-42.70%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$18.67 ¥2,950

-54.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.04 ¥164

46.15%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$21.4K ¥3.4M

0.82%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$15.7K ¥2.5M

120.51%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$130 ¥20.5K

-25.86%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$21.89 ¥3,458

63.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$30.21 ¥4,772

77.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$55.9 ¥8,832

28.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$12.39 ¥1,957

-36.32%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$628 ¥99.3K

-21.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$14.8K ¥2.3M

-20.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$54.9 ¥8,670

-1.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$33.28 ¥5,257

66.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$61.5 ¥9,718

26.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$71.8 ¥11.3K

10.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$456 ¥72.1K

72.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$348 ¥54.9K

128.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$1,160 ¥183.3K

239.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$738 ¥116.6K

92.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$4,559 ¥720.3K

51.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$1,840 ¥290.7K

-33.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

2.25

283.11%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Matsudo: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Matsudo

$348 29% 56.2% $447

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Matsudo

$279 23.2% 20.8% $73

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Matsudo

$134 11.2% 36.7% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Matsudo

$182 15.2% 2% $3.8

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Matsudo

$100 8.3% 17% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Matsudo

$81 6.7% 7.7% $6.7

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Matsudo

$77 6.4% 11.7% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $788 in Nosara and $456 in Matsudo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $37.00 in Matsudo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $279 per month, with Matsudo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇯🇵 Matsudo

🕒 Local time

08:09 8:09 AM

23:09 11:09 PM

15 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

485,803

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Japanese Yen JPY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD

1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

Japanese Yen exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JPY (1,000 JPY = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JPY (1,000 JPY = 5.63 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Matsudo 13,040 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Matsudo

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 Matsudo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Matsudo is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 53% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,758 in Nosara and $1,800 in Matsudo to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $788 in Nosara versus $456 in Matsudo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Matsudo runs roughly 35% less than in Nosara. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $494 in Nosara versus $628 in Matsudo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,200 in Matsudo versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Matsudo but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Matsudo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Matsudo 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 Matsudo 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 Matsudo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.