Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Nosara

For one person, living costs are similar in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in Nosara: $1,920 and $1,837 a month, rent and utilities included.

94

Cost of Living Index in Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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Santa Cruz de Tenerife Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
Learn more

Nosara Living Index

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Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,920

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,837

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,920 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $1,837 in Nosara, rent included.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $1,920
Nosara $1,837

A couple spends around $2,849 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $2,775 in Nosara, rent included.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,849
Nosara $2,775

A family of three spends $3,777 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $3,712 in Nosara, rent included.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,777
Nosara $3,712

Santa Cruz de Tenerife costs about 5% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Nosara sit above the global median – Santa Cruz de Tenerife by 43%, Nosara by 37%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.06 €17.88

$12.22 ₡5,509

64.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.9 €55.2

$60.2 ₡27.1K

2.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.40 €10.17

$7.54 ₡3,399

51.19%

Cappuccino

$2.00 €1.78

$4.31 ₡1,941

-53.60%

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

$1.90 €1.69

$1.72 ₡773

10.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$1.35 ₡608

-3.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.87 €2.56

$3.24 ₡1,459

-11.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 €2.94

$4.48 ₡2,018

-26.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.57 ₡707

-12.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 €2.20

$3.17 ₡1,429

-22.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 €1.42

$2.42 ₡1,091

-34.30%

Eggs

$4.19 €3.73

$3.57 ₡1,609

17.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.69 €17.55

$7.43 ₡3,349

165.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 €8.83

$10.42 ₡4,697

-4.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.92 €15.98

$13.66 ₡6,156

31.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 €2.48

$2.32 ₡1,044

19.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.41 €2.15

$1.61 ₡728

49.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.24 €2.00

$4.74 ₡2,138

-52.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.52 €2.24

$1.66 ₡747

51.81%

Potato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$3.72 ₡1,679

-42.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$3.57 ₡1,611

-44.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.10 ₡497

53.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 €0.81

$2.55 ₡1,149

-64.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.71 €5.09

$4.95 ₡2,232

15.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.67 €6.84

$20.01 ₡9,020

-61.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$2.79 ₡1,256

-39.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 €1.56

$3.53 ₡1,589

-50.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.38 €1.23

$1.19 ₡537

15.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.25 €37.67

$72.1 ₡32.5K

-41.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.11 €3.66

$2.24 ₡1,011

83.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.55 ₡701

11.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.93 €15.09

$8.86 ₡3,993

91.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.57 ₡708

10.83%

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

$34.8K €31.0K

$21.8K ₡9.8M

59.45%

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

$29.4K €26.2K

$34.6K ₡15.6M

-15.00%

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

$127 €113

$93.5 ₡42.1K

35.73%

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

$23.02 €20.52

$35.11 ₡15.8K

-34.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.10 €31.29

$51.5 ₡23.2K

-31.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.5 €48.63

$71.4 ₡32.2K

-23.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.52 €10.27

$35.44 ₡16.0K

-67.49%

Cinema Ticket

$10.09 €9.00

$7.84 ₡3,535

28.70%

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

$405 €361

$490 ₡220.7K

-17.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,015 €4,472

$11.9K ₡5.4M

-57.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.3 €84.1

$53.5 ₡24.1K

76.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.88 €37.34

$55.8 ₡25.1K

-24.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 €81.9

$79.3 ₡35.7K

15.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 €99.2

$78.9 ₡35.6K

41.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 €1,015

$786 ₡354.3K

44.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$882 €786

$780 ₡351.6K

13.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,705 €1,521

$3,860 ₡1.7M

-55.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,255 €1,119

$1,407 ₡634.4K

-10.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,834 €3,418

$6,972 ₡3.1M

-45.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,170 €1,934

$1,201 ₡541.3K

80.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,864 €1,662

$876 ₡395.0K

112.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.56

8.62

-58.70%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: October 3, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$882 45.6%

Nosara

$780 43% 11.6% $102

Groceries & Markets

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$329 17%

Nosara

$350 19.3% 6.2% $20

Eating Out

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$252 13%

Nosara

$209 11.6% 17% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$185 9.6%

Nosara

$180 9.9% 2.7% $4.9

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$153 7.9%

Nosara

$120 6.6% 21.2% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$75 3.9%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 16.5% $12

Getting Around

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

$61 3.1%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 43.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,138 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $786 in Nosara. 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 113% higher in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 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 $62.0 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $60.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $329 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $350 in Nosara – so Santa Cruz de Tenerife wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

09:05 9:05 AM

02:05 2:05 AM

7 h behind Santa Cruz de Tenerife

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

209,395

4,912

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 CRC = 2.22 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 506 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Nosara 7,470 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
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

Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, $1,837 in Nosara – roughly 5% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,880 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $2,756 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nosara, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Public transport costs about 71% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $405 per month in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $490 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $3,000 monthly budget goes further in Nosara, where all-in costs run around $1,837, than in Santa Cruz de Tenerife at $1,920. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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 $1,837 in Nosara to $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. 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 Nosara. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Santa Cruz de Tenerife makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.