Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nosara and Vung Tau

For one person, living is cheaper in Vung Tau: $608 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $14,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Vung Tau
Learn more

Vung Tau Living Index

Jump to prices

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Vung Tau

🇻🇳 Vietnam

$608

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Nosara and in Vung Tau

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

A single person spends $1,839 per month in Nosara vs $608 in Vung Tau, rent included.

Nosara $1,839
Vung Tau $608

A couple spends around $2,828 per month in Nosara vs $1,015 in Vung Tau, rent included.

Nosara $2,828
Vung Tau $1,015

A family of three spends $3,818 per month in Nosara vs $1,423 in Vung Tau, rent included.

Nosara $3,818
Vung Tau $1,423

Nosara costs about 203% more than Vung Tau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Nosara sits 36% above the global median, while Vung Tau is 55% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.35 ₡5,539

$1.95 ₫50.5K

533.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.2 ₡27.4K

$15.66 ₫405.5K

290.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.52 ₡3,373

$3.75 ₫97.0K

100.53%

Cappuccino

$4.41 ₡1,978

$1.84 ₫47.6K

139.67%

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

$1.74 ₡780

$0.41 ₫10.6K

324.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 ₡587

$0.33 ₫8,662

296.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.28 ₡1,471

$0.78 ₫20.2K

320.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.47 ₡2,004

$1.01 ₫26.3K

342.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 ₡701

$1.40 ₫36.3K

11.43%

White Bread (500g)

$3.02 ₡1,355

$1.11 ₫28.7K

172.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 ₡1,125

$0.89 ₫23.1K

182.02%

Eggs

$3.57 ₡1,603

$1.65 ₫42.8K

116.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.43 ₡3,333

$4.79 ₫124.0K

55.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.52 ₡4,717

$3.60 ₫93.1K

192.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.97 ₡6,265

$9.44 ₫244.4K

47.99%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 ₡1,052

$3.06 ₫79.3K

-23.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 ₡720

$1.24 ₫32.1K

29.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.80 ₡2,152

$0.63 ₫16.3K

661.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 ₡724

$1.29 ₫33.5K

24.81%

Potato (1kg)

$3.80 ₡1,703

$1.15 ₫29.8K

230.43%

Onion (1kg)

$3.69 ₡1,657

$1.19 ₫30.8K

210.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 ₡507

$0.60 ₫15.7K

88.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.66 ₡1,191

$0.43 ₫11.0K

518.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.18 ₡2,321

$1.20 ₫31.1K

331.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$19.88 ₡8,916

$12.74 ₫329.7K

56.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.90 ₡1,300

$0.81 ₫21.1K

258.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₡1,626

$1.01 ₫26.2K

259.41%

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

$0.70 ₫18.1K

205.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.57 ₡703

$0.59 ₫15.3K

166.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.52 ₡3,823

$1.15 ₫29.7K

640.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 ₡682

$0.80 ₫20.7K

90.00%

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

$21.6K ₡9.7M

$30.2K ₫782.2M

-28.48%

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

$34.5K ₡15.5M

$31.4K ₫811.9M

10.07%

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

$96.3 ₡43.2K

$46.69 ₫1.2M

106.23%

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

$35.89 ₡16.1K

$5.90 ₫152.7K

508.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.6 ₡24.0K

$7.99 ₫206.9K

570.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

$17.04 ₫441.1K

320.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

$9.41 ₫243.6K

270.99%

Cinema Ticket

$7.89 ₡3,539

$3.54 ₫91.6K

122.88%

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

$494 ₡221.6K

$117 ₫3.0M

323.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

$9,586 ₫248.2M

23.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 ₡24.2K

$21.13 ₫547.1K

155.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$55.4 ₡24.8K

$18.89 ₫489.1K

193.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$77.9 ₡34.9K

$92.2 ₫2.4M

-15.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.6 ₡35.7K

$67.9 ₫1.8M

17.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

$304 ₫7.9M

159.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

$199 ₫5.2M

299.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

$752 ₫19.5M

423.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

$504 ₫13.0M

181.67%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

$7,301 ₫189.0M

-5.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

$4,367 ₫113.1M

-71.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

$572 ₫14.8M

51.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

8.64

-0.23%

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

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Last update for Vung Tau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nosara

$794 43.2%

Vung Tau

$199 32.7% 75% $595

Groceries & Markets

Nosara

$352 19.2%

Vung Tau

$173 28.4% 51% $180

Eating Out

Nosara

$212 11.5%

Vung Tau

$58 9.5% 72.7% $154

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nosara

$186 10.1%

Vung Tau

$61 10% 67.4% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Nosara

$120 6.5%

Vung Tau

$90 14.8% 25% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Nosara

$87 4.8%

Vung Tau

$24 4% 72.4% $63

Getting Around

Nosara

$87 4.7%

Vung Tau

$3.7 * 0.6% 95.8% $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 $304 in Vung Tau. 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 51% 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 $16.00 in Vung Tau. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $352 vs $173 – making Vung Tau the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇷 Nosara

🇻🇳 Vung Tau

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

19:50 7:50 PM

13 h ahead of Nosara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,912

380,000

💱 Currency

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

Vietnamese Dong VND ₫

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

100,000 VND = 3.86 USD

100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VND, 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).

Vietnamese Dong exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 25,889 VND (100,000 VND = 3.86 USD). 1 EUR = 29,108 VND (100,000 VND = 3.44 EUR).

USD to CRC in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Nosara Vung Tau 17,350 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Nosara
Vung Tau

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 Vung Tau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,839 in Nosara, $608 in Vung Tau – roughly 203% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,758 per month in Nosara and $912 in Vung Tau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Vung Tau, 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 $16.00 in Vung Tau. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 104% 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 Vung Tau, where all-in costs run around $608, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Vung Tau it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nosara it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Nosara has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $608 in Vung Tau to $1,839 in Nosara. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Vung Tau. 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.