Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Midrand

For one person, living is cheaper in Midrand: $1,085 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Midrand
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Midrand Living Index

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Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Midrand

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,085

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Midrand

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,839 in Nosara versus $1,085 in Midrand.

Nosara $1,839
Midrand $1,085

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,828 in Nosara versus $1,611 in Midrand.

Nosara $2,828
Midrand $1,611

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,818 in Nosara versus $2,138 in Midrand.

Nosara $3,818
Midrand $2,138

Living in Nosara is roughly 70% more expensive than in Midrand, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Nosara is 36% above, Midrand is 20% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$5.84 R 96.2

111.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$29.52 R 486

107.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$2.96 R 48.74

154.05%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$1.83 R 30.09

140.98%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$1.21 R 19.94

43.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.86 R 14.16

52.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$2.21 R 36.44

48.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$2.36 R 38.89

89.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.28 R 21.12

21.88%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.16 R 19.10

160.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$1.29 R 21.27

94.57%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$2.71 R 44.72

31.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$8.41 R 139

-11.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$5.53 R 91.2

90.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$8.75 R 144

59.66%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$2.02 R 33.32

16.34%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.10 R 18.14

46.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$1.77 R 29.21

171.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.53 R 25.24

5.23%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.70 R 27.94

123.53%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.79 R 29.52

106.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$1.23 R 20.22

-8.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$1.26 R 20.77

111.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$3.24 R 53.4

59.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$5.34 R 87.9

272.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$0.89 R 14.73

225.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.17 R 19.34

210.26%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

$1.52 R 25.03

-26.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ₡958

$0.87 R 14.39

145.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.58 R 9.57

170.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$14.32 R 236

-40.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$1.38 R 22.67

10.14%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$33.5K R 552.3K

-35.54%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$30.0K R 493.5K

15.23%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$105 R 1,738

-8.72%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$23.81 R 392

50.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$36.03 R 594

48.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$31.53 R 519

127.05%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$10.92 R 180

219.69%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$7.63 R 126

3.41%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$179 R 2,955

175.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$5,551 R 91.5K

113.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$56.5 R 931

-4.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$46.37 R 764

19.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$85.1 R 1,402

-8.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$82.8 R 1,364

-3.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$472 R 7,775

66.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$442 R 7,282

79.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$834 R 13.7K

372.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$739 R 12.2K

92.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$886 R 14.6K

679.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$655 R 10.8K

86.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

10.91

-20.99%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Midrand: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Midrand

$442 40.8% 44.4% $352

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Midrand

$197 18.2% 44% $155

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Midrand

$102 9.4% 52.1% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Midrand

$165 15.2% 11% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Midrand

$122 11.2% 1.5% $1.8

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Midrand

$47 4.3% 46.5% $41

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Midrand

$9.9 * 0.9% 88.7% $77

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 $472 in Midrand. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $61.0 in Nosara vs $30.00 in Midrand for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $352 vs $197 per month, with Midrand cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇿🇦 Midrand

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

14:12 2:12 PM

8 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

87,387

💱 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

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Between locations

Nosara Midrand 12,860 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Midrand

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 Midrand: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Midrand is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and utilities. The 70% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,758 in Nosara and $1,627 in Midrand 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 $472 in Midrand. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 79% 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 $1,085 in Midrand – a 70% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,085 in Midrand versus $1,839 in Nosara, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Midrand but tight or insufficient in Nosara. The gap between the two cities makes Midrand the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Midrand 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 Midrand 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 Midrand gentler on the wallet – expenses run 70% less than in Nosara. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.