Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santorini and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Nosara: $1,839 a month against $2,113 in Santorini, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Santorini
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Santorini Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Santorini

🇬🇷 Greece

$2,113

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,113 per month in Santorini vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Santorini $2,113
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $3,080 per month in Santorini vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Santorini $3,080
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $4,046 per month in Santorini vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Santorini $4,046
Nosara $3,818

Santorini costs about 15% more than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Santorini and Nosara sit above the global median – Santorini by 57%, Nosara by 36%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.66 €23.72

$12.35 ₡5,539

115.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.6 €77.9

$61.2 ₡27.4K

43.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.56 €13.84

$7.52 ₡3,373

106.91%

Cappuccino

$4.64 €4.13

$4.41 ₡1,978

5.22%

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

$3.71 €3.30

$1.74 ₡780

113.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.33 €1.18

$1.31 ₡587

1.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 €5.01

$3.28 ₡1,471

71.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.20 €6.41

$4.47 ₡2,004

61.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.99 €1.77

$1.56 ₡701

27.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$3.02 ₡1,355

-53.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.38 €3.00

$2.51 ₡1,125

34.66%

Eggs

$6.54 €5.82

$3.57 ₡1,603

83.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.26 €12.68

$7.43 ₡3,333

91.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.71 €6.86

$10.52 ₡4,717

-26.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.06 €16.07

$13.97 ₡6,265

29.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 €2.46

$2.35 ₡1,052

17.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.22 €1.97

$1.61 ₡720

37.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$4.80 ₡2,152

-66.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 €3.01

$1.61 ₡724

110.56%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$3.80 ₡1,703

-32.89%

Onion (1kg)

$3.40 €3.02

$3.69 ₡1,657

-7.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 €0.90

$1.13 ₡507

-10.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 €0.53

$2.66 ₡1,191

-77.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.53 €5.81

$5.18 ₡2,321

26.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.68 €5.05

$19.88 ₡8,916

-71.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.73

$2.90 ₡1,300

-32.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 €2.42

$3.63 ₡1,626

-25.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.72 €2.42

$1.12 ₡504

142.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.26 €26.03

$72.6 ₡32.6K

-59.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.20 €1.95

$2.14 ₡958

2.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.57 ₡703

31.85%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.23 €12.66

$8.52 ₡3,823

67.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.52 ₡682

49.34%

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

$44.6K €39.7K

$21.6K ₡9.7M

106.61%

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

$45.7K €40.6K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

32.29%

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

$305 €271

$96.3 ₡43.2K

216.65%

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

$43.85 €39.00

$35.89 ₡16.1K

22.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.93 €30.18

$53.6 ₡24.0K

-36.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$78.9 €70.2

$71.6 ₡32.1K

10.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.20 €22.41

$34.91 ₡15.7K

-27.81%

Cinema Ticket

$6.59 €5.86

$7.89 ₡3,539

-16.48%

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

$601 €535

$494 ₡221.6K

21.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.9K ₡5.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.3 €59.9

$53.9 ₡24.2K

24.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 €44.54

$55.4 ₡24.8K

-9.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.1 €66.8

$77.9 ₡34.9K

-3.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 €100

$79.6 ₡35.7K

41.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,587 €1,411

$788 ₡353.4K

101.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$758 €674

$794 ₡356.2K

-4.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,299 €1,155

$3,939 ₡1.8M

-67.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,034 €920

$1,419 ₡636.5K

-27.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,070 €4,510

$6,912 ₡3.1M

-26.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,313 €2,947

$1,224 ₡549.0K

170.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,181 €1,050

$864 ₡387.3K

36.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.15

8.62

-51.86%

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

Last update for Santorini: October 12, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santorini

$758 35.9%

Nosara

$794 43.2% 4.8% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santorini

$383 18.1%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 51.5% $197

Eating Out

Santorini

$378 17.9%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 44% $167

Groceries & Markets

Santorini

$312 14.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 12.9% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Santorini

$137 6.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 12.5% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Santorini

$92 4.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 5.1% $4.7

Getting Around

Santorini

$53 2.5%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 65.4% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,587 in Santorini 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.

Salaries run about 37% higher in Santorini, 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 $88.0 in Santorini versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $312 in Santorini vs $352 in Nosara – so Santorini wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇬🇷 Santorini

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

22:05 10:05 PM

13:05 1:05 PM

9 h behind Santorini

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,233

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

Santorini Nosara 11,180 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Santorini
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

Santorini vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $2,113 in Santorini, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 15% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,170 per month in Santorini 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 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 148% less in Nosara. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $601 per month in Santorini and $494 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 $1,839, than in Santorini at $2,113. In Nosara it covers expenses comfortably, while in Santorini 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 $1,839 in Nosara to $2,113 in Santorini. 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, Santorini makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.