Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saku and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Saku: $1,099 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Saku
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Saku Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Saku

🇪🇪 Estonia

$1,099

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Saku 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 Saku and in Nosara actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,099 per month in Saku vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Saku $1,099
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,717 per month in Saku vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Saku $1,717
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $2,335 per month in Saku vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Saku $2,335
Nosara $3,818

Saku is about 40% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Saku sits 19% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.76 €14.91

$12.35 ₡5,539

35.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.7 €62.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

15.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.11 €9.88

$7.52 ₡3,373

47.74%

Cappuccino

$3.97 €3.53

$4.41 ₡1,978

-9.98%

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

$2.23 €1.98

$1.74 ₡780

28.16%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 €2.00

$1.31 ₡587

70.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 €5.82

$3.28 ₡1,471

99.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.87 €6.11

$4.47 ₡2,004

53.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.13 €1.00

$1.56 ₡701

-27.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.40 €1.25

$3.02 ₡1,355

-53.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.38 €2.11

$2.51 ₡1,125

-5.18%

Eggs

$2.88 €2.56

$3.57 ₡1,603

-19.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 €9.98

$7.43 ₡3,333

51.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.72 €7.76

$10.52 ₡4,717

-17.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.88 €13.24

$13.97 ₡6,265

6.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.35 ₡1,052

-13.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 €1.28

$1.61 ₡720

-10.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.54 €2.26

$4.80 ₡2,152

-47.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.92 €2.60

$1.61 ₡724

81.37%

Potato (1kg)

$0.74 €0.66

$3.80 ₡1,703

-80.53%

Onion (1kg)

$0.76 €0.68

$3.69 ₡1,657

-79.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 €1.67

$1.13 ₡507

65.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$2.66 ₡1,191

-63.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.54 €5.82

$5.18 ₡2,321

26.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.88 €8.79

$19.88 ₡8,916

-50.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 €1.66

$2.90 ₡1,300

-35.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 €1.88

$3.63 ₡1,626

-41.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.51 €3.12

$2.14 ₡958

64.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.57 ₡703

-37.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.71 €23.75

$8.52 ₡3,823

213.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 €1.79

$1.52 ₡682

32.24%

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

$27.7K €24.6K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

28.13%

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

$30.6K €27.2K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-11.44%

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

$301 €268

$96.3 ₡43.2K

213.03%

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

$17.48 €15.55

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-51.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.69 €29.07

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-39.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$11.71 €10.42

$7.89 ₡3,539

48.42%

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

$438 €390

$494 ₡221.6K

-11.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,942 €8,844

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-16.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 €89.0

$53.9 ₡24.2K

85.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.96 €43.55

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-11.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.9

$77.9 ₡34.9K

32.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 €108

$79.6 ₡35.7K

52.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₡353.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$794 ₡356.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,939 ₡1.8M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,419 ₡636.5K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,013 €3,570

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-41.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,700 €2,402

$1,224 ₡549.0K

120.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,813 €1,613

$864 ₡387.3K

110.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.44

8.62

-60.09%

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

Last update for Saku: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saku

$352 32%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 47.2% $166

Eating Out

Saku

$279 25.4%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 24.2% $67

Groceries & Markets

Saku

$268 24.4%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 31.5% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Saku

$168 15.3%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 28.6% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Saku

$23 * 2.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 273% $64

Getting Around

Saku

$8.4 * 0.8%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 937% $79

Accommodation & Living

Saku

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 110% higher in Saku, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $71.0 in Saku versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $268 in Saku vs $352 in Nosara – so Saku wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇪 Saku

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

00:37 12:37 AM

15:37 3:37 PM

9 h behind Saku

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,548

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Saku Nosara 10,170 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Saku
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

Saku vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,099 in Saku, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 67% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,648 per month in Saku and $2,758 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 $71.0 in Saku and $61.0 in Nosara. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 31% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Saku, where all-in costs run around $1,099, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Saku 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 $1,099 in Saku 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 Saku. 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.