Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Mercedes

For one person, living is cheaper in Mercedes: $1,293 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Mercedes
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Mercedes Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Mercedes

🇺🇾 Uruguay

$1,293

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Mercedes

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $1,293 in Mercedes, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Mercedes $1,293

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,970 in Mercedes, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Mercedes $1,970

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $2,647 in Mercedes, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Mercedes $2,647

Nosara costs about 42% more than Mercedes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while Mercedes is 4% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$14.84 UYU 595

-16.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$62.3 UYU 2,501

-1.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$14.30 UYU 574

-47.41%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$2.52 UYU 101

75.00%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$2.73 UYU 110

-36.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.93 UYU 37.27

40.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.53 UYU 102

29.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$3.81 UYU 153

17.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.32 UYU 53.2

18.18%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$2.89 UYU 116

4.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.45 UYU 58.4

73.10%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.79 UYU 112

27.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$13.95 UYU 560

-46.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$11.88 UYU 477

-11.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$7.56 UYU 304

84.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.01 UYU 80.7

16.92%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$2.51 UYU 101

-35.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.09 UYU 43.65

340.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$2.95 UYU 119

-45.42%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.98 UYU 79.4

91.92%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$2.14 UYU 86.0

72.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.34 UYU 54.0

-15.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.71 UYU 68.8

55.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$5.06 UYU 203

2.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$8.96 UYU 359

121.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$2.31 UYU 92.8

25.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$2.77 UYU 111

31.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$1.82 UYU 73.2

17.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.44 UYU 17.54

256.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$10.48 UYU 421

-18.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$2.22 UYU 89.3

-31.53%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$26.8K UYU 1.1M

-19.26%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$37.1K UYU 1.5M

-6.93%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$191 UYU 7,680

-49.68%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$21.03 UYU 844

70.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$44.67 UYU 1,793

19.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$12.15 UYU 488

-35.06%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$613 UYU 24.6K

-19.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$10.9K UYU 435.7K

9.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$104 UYU 4,192

-48.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$56.1 UYU 2,250

-1.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$125 UYU 5,005

-37.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$131 UYU 5,255

-39.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$581 UYU 23.3K

35.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$296 UYU 11.9K

168.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$619 UYU 24.9K

535.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$446 UYU 17.9K

217.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$3,032 UYU 121.7K

127.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$2,007 UYU 80.5K

-39.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

5.74

50.17%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mercedes: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Mercedes

$296 22.9% 62.8% $499

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Mercedes

$298 23.1% 15.3% $54

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Mercedes

$227 17.5% 7% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Mercedes

$257 19.9% 38.4% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Mercedes

$187 14.5% 55.9% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Mercedes

$24 * 1.9% 72.2% $63

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Mercedes

$4 * 0.3% 95.4% $83

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 $581 in Mercedes. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara versus $62.0 in Mercedes. Groceries tell a different story – $352 in Nosara vs $298 in Mercedes – so Mercedes wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇺🇾 Mercedes

🕒 Local time

18:34 6:34 PM

21:34 9:34 PM

3 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

41,975

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Uruguayan Peso UYU $U

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100 UYU = 2.49 USD

100 UYU = 2.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UYU, 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).

Uruguayan Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 40.14 UYU (100 UYU = 2.49 USD). 1 EUR = 45.12 UYU (100 UYU = 2.22 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nosara Mercedes 5,630 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Mercedes

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 Mercedes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Nosara costs about 42% more than Mercedes, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $1,940 in Mercedes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $61.0 in Nosara and $62.0 in Mercedes. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 18% more in Nosara, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Mercedes, where all-in costs run around $1,293, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Mercedes it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Mercedes costs $1,293 versus $1,839 in Nosara. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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 Mercedes. 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.