Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Isidro and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in San Isidro: $1,080 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in San Isidro
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San Isidro Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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San Isidro

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,080

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,080 per month in San Isidro vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

San Isidro $1,080
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,774 per month in San Isidro vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

San Isidro $1,774
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $2,469 per month in San Isidro vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

San Isidro $2,469
Nosara $3,818

San Isidro is about 41% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

San Isidro sits 20% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.89 ARS 15.0K

$12.35 ₡5,539

-19.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.49 ARS 56.9K

$61.2 ₡27.4K

-38.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 ARS 17.7K

$7.52 ₡3,373

55.32%

Cappuccino

$2.93 ARS 4,444

$4.41 ₡1,978

-33.56%

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

$1.77 ARS 2,681

$1.74 ₡780

1.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 ARS 2,474

$1.31 ₡587

24.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.91 ARS 5,927

$3.28 ₡1,471

19.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 ARS 3,492

$4.47 ₡2,004

-48.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.25 ARS 1,892

$1.56 ₡701

-19.87%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 ARS 2,383

$3.02 ₡1,355

-48.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 ARS 2,431

$2.51 ₡1,125

-36.25%

Eggs

$2.29 ARS 3,472

$3.57 ₡1,603

-35.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 ARS 12.8K

$7.43 ₡3,333

13.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.09 ARS 9,242

$10.52 ₡4,717

-42.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.33 ARS 15.7K

$13.97 ₡6,265

-26.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.93 ARS 2,929

$2.35 ₡1,052

-17.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.59 ARS 2,406

$1.61 ₡720

-1.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.02 ARS 1,555

$4.80 ₡2,152

-78.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.01 ARS 3,046

$1.61 ₡724

24.84%

Potato (1kg)

$0.94 ARS 1,424

$3.80 ₡1,703

-75.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.69 ARS 1,046

$3.69 ₡1,657

-81.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.52 ARS 2,311

$1.13 ₡507

34.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 ARS 2,563

$2.66 ₡1,191

-36.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.25 ARS 4,925

$5.18 ₡2,321

-37.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.87 ARS 7,383

$19.88 ₡8,916

-75.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ARS 1,915

$2.90 ₡1,300

-56.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 ARS 4,298

$3.63 ₡1,626

-22.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.94 ARS 1,430

$1.12 ₡504

-16.07%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 ARS 2,494

$2.14 ₡958

-23.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 ARS 1,549

$1.57 ₡703

-35.03%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.78 ARS 11.8K

$8.52 ₡3,823

-8.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.09 ARS 1,657

$1.52 ₡682

-28.29%

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

$27.6K ARS 41.9M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

27.76%

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

$29.5K ARS 44.7M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-14.67%

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

$59.0 ARS 89.6K

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-38.72%

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

$19.65 ARS 29.8K

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-45.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.03 ARS 41.0K

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-49.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 ARS 50.8K

$71.6 ₡32.1K

-53.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$4.78 ARS 7,246

$7.89 ₡3,539

-39.42%

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

$470 ARS 713.2K

$494 ₡221.6K

-4.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,938 ARS 13.6M

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-24.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.2 ARS 138.3K

$53.9 ₡24.2K

69.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.1 ARS 89.7K

$55.4 ₡24.8K

6.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.7K

$77.9 ₡34.9K

46.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 ARS 214.2K

$79.6 ₡35.7K

77.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 779.4K

$788 ₡353.4K

-34.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$335 ARS 507.9K

$794 ₡356.2K

-57.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,063 ARS 1.6M

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-73.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$777 ARS 1.2M

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-45.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,912 ₡3.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,224 ₡549.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$864 ₡387.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

8.62

564.15%

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

Last update for San Isidro: October 13, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Isidro

$335 31%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 137% $460

Groceries & Markets

San Isidro

$216 20%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 63% $136

Eating Out

San Isidro

$187 17.3%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 13.3% $25

Clothing & Footwear

San Isidro

$183 16.9%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 34.3% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Isidro

$106 9.8%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 75.8% $80

Sport & Entertainment

San Isidro

$43 4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 103% $44

Getting Around

San Isidro

$11 * 1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 728% $77

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $514 in San Isidro versus $788 in Nosara. 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 $37.00 in San Isidro versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $216 vs $352 – making San Isidro the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Isidro

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

14:38 2:38 PM

11:38 11:38 AM

3 h behind San Isidro

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,190

4,912

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

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 ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

San Isidro Nosara 5,710 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

San Isidro
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

San Isidro vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,080 in San Isidro, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 70% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,619 per month in San Isidro and $2,758 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Isidro, 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 $37.00 in San Isidro 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 63% 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 $2,000 monthly budget goes further in San Isidro, where all-in costs run around $1,080, than in Nosara at $1,839. In San Isidro 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 $1,080 in San Isidro 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 San Isidro. 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.