Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sabana Grande and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Sabana Grande: $1,322 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Nosara outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

64

Cost of Living Index in Sabana Grande
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Sabana Grande Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Sabana Grande

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,322

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sabana Grande and in Nosara

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Sabana Grande and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,322 per month in Sabana Grande vs $1,835 in Nosara, rent included.

Sabana Grande $1,322
Nosara $1,835

A couple spends around $2,076 per month in Sabana Grande vs $2,825 in Nosara, rent included.

Sabana Grande $2,076
Nosara $2,825

A family of three spends $2,830 per month in Sabana Grande vs $3,814 in Nosara, rent included.

Sabana Grande $2,830
Nosara $3,814

Sabana Grande is about 28% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Sabana Grande sits 2% below the global median, while Nosara is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.84 $18.84

$12.34 ₡5,535

52.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.6 $80.6

$61.3 ₡27.5K

31.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.04 $9.04

$7.76 ₡3,481

16.49%

Cappuccino

$3.67 $3.67

$4.44 ₡1,992

-17.34%

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

$1.85 $1.85

$1.79 ₡803

3.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 $1.50

$1.29 ₡580

16.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 $3.06

$3.24 ₡1,451

-5.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 $5.07

$4.43 ₡1,985

14.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.18 $2.18

$1.55 ₡696

40.65%

White Bread (500g)

$3.57 $3.57

$3.08 ₡1,380

15.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.41 $2.41

$2.53 ₡1,133

-4.74%

Eggs

$7.34 $7.34

$3.45 ₡1,546

112.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.41 $12.41

$7.32 ₡3,284

69.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.51 $9.51

$10.24 ₡4,594

-7.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.57 $13.57

$14.10 ₡6,326

-3.76%

Apples (1kg)

$4.98 $4.98

$2.29 ₡1,027

117.47%

Banana (1kg)

$2.53 $2.53

$1.64 ₡737

54.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.98 $4.98

$4.79 ₡2,149

3.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.74 $4.74

$1.64 ₡735

189.02%

Potato (1kg)

$3.84 $3.84

$3.85 ₡1,727

-0.26%

Onion (1kg)

$4.00 $4.00

$3.75 ₡1,681

6.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.53 $3.53

$1.09 ₡488

223.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 $1.65

$2.59 ₡1,160

-36.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.96 $11.96

$5.12 ₡2,295

133.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.75 $15.75

$19.92 ₡8,931

-20.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.10 $3.10

$2.80 ₡1,255

10.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.11 $4.11

$3.52 ₡1,580

16.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.22 ₡549

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.9 ₡33.1K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.43 $2.43

$2.17 ₡973

11.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 $1.48

$1.56 ₡698

-5.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.52 $41.52

$8.67 ₡3,886

378.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 $1.17

$1.55 ₡697

-24.52%

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

$34.8K $34.8K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

0.87%

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

$28.4K $28.4K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-26.71%

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

$327 $327

$94.8 ₡42.5K

244.55%

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

$69.6 $69.6

$36.15 ₡16.2K

92.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.8 $68.8

$53.1 ₡23.8K

29.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$73.8 ₡33.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.63 ₡16.0K

Cinema Ticket

$10.44 $10.44

$7.91 ₡3,548

31.98%

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

$810 $810

$490 ₡219.9K

65.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K $12.3K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

3.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.5 $56.5

$54.8 ₡24.6K

3.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.4 $60.4

$55.9 ₡25.1K

8.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 $107

$80.4 ₡36.0K

33.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 $112

$77.9 ₡34.9K

44.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$801 ₡359.1K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$790 ₡354.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,005 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,409 ₡632.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,064 ₡3.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,236 ₡554.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$887 ₡397.6K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

8.62

-24.01%

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

Last update for Sabana Grande: October 20, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sabana Grande

$465 35.2%

Nosara

$184 10% 60.4% $281

Groceries & Markets

Sabana Grande

$414 31.3%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 15.6% $65

Eating Out

Sabana Grande

$261 19.7%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 18.4% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Sabana Grande

$151 11.5%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 20.1% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Sabana Grande

$21 * 1.6%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 329% $69

Getting Around

Sabana Grande

$9.8 * 0.7%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 803% $79

Accommodation & Living

Sabana Grande

- * 0%

Nosara

$790 43%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81.0 in Sabana Grande versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $414 vs $350 – making Nosara the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Sabana Grande

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

18:09 6:09 PM

16:09 4:09 PM

2 h behind Sabana Grande

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

25,000

4,912

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇨🇷 Costa Rican Colón (₡)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 448 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 504 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

CRC to USD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sabana Grande Nosara 2,210 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Sabana Grande
Nosara

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

Sabana Grande vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,322 in Sabana Grande, $1,835 in Nosara – roughly 39% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,983 per month in Sabana Grande and $2,753 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $81.0 in Sabana Grande and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 18% cheaper in Nosara – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Sabana Grande, where all-in costs run around $1,322, than in Nosara at $1,835. In Sabana Grande 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 $1,322 in Sabana Grande to $1,835 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 Sabana Grande. 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.