Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sutomore and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Sutomore: $1,095 a month against $1,835 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Sutomore
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Sutomore Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Sutomore

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,095

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,835

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,095 per month in Sutomore vs $1,835 in Nosara, rent included.

Sutomore $1,095
Nosara $1,835

A couple spends around $1,682 per month in Sutomore vs $2,825 in Nosara, rent included.

Sutomore $1,682
Nosara $2,825

A family of three spends $2,269 per month in Sutomore vs $3,814 in Nosara, rent included.

Sutomore $2,269
Nosara $3,814

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

Sutomore sits 19% below the global median, while Nosara is 35% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.24 €10.00

$12.34 ₡5,535

-8.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.96 €31.99

$61.3 ₡27.5K

-41.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.16 €8.14

$7.76 ₡3,481

18.04%

Cappuccino

$2.59 €2.30

$4.44 ₡1,992

-41.67%

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

$2.20 €1.96

$1.79 ₡803

22.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.29 ₡580

13.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.85 €2.53

$3.24 ₡1,451

-12.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 €3.06

$4.43 ₡1,985

-22.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.06

$1.55 ₡696

-23.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.01 €0.90

$3.08 ₡1,380

-67.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 €2.00

$2.53 ₡1,133

-11.07%

Eggs

$3.08 €2.74

$3.45 ₡1,546

-10.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.77 €7.80

$7.32 ₡3,284

19.81%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.55 €6.71

$10.24 ₡4,594

-26.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.24 €10.89

$14.10 ₡6,326

-13.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.26 €1.12

$2.29 ₡1,027

-44.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.49 €1.32

$1.64 ₡737

-9.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 €1.31

$4.79 ₡2,149

-69.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.87 €2.56

$1.64 ₡735

75.00%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 €0.75

$3.85 ₡1,727

-77.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 €0.97

$3.75 ₡1,681

-70.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.09 ₡488

33.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 €0.79

$2.59 ₡1,160

-65.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.85 €3.42

$5.12 ₡2,295

-24.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.56 €4.05

$19.92 ₡8,931

-77.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.10

$2.80 ₡1,255

-55.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 €1.50

$3.52 ₡1,580

-52.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.65 €1.47

$1.22 ₡549

35.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.44 €34.19

$73.9 ₡33.1K

-47.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.14 €1.01

$2.17 ₡973

-47.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.56 ₡698

-26.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.91 €15.04

$8.67 ₡3,886

95.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.55 ₡697

14.19%

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

$28.7K €25.5K

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-16.90%

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

$21.3K €18.9K

$38.7K ₡17.4M

-45.07%

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

$133 €118

$94.8 ₡42.5K

39.79%

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

$13.19 €11.73

$36.15 ₡16.2K

-63.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.34 €29.65

$53.1 ₡23.8K

-37.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.68 €40.63

$73.8 ₡33.1K

-38.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.42 €12.83

$35.63 ₡16.0K

-59.53%

Cinema Ticket

$5.97 €5.31

$7.91 ₡3,548

-24.53%

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

$395 €352

$490 ₡219.9K

-19.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,959 €6,190

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-41.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.5 €75.2

$54.8 ₡24.6K

54.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.24 €29.56

$55.9 ₡25.1K

-40.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$72.2 €64.2

$80.4 ₡36.0K

-10.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.0 €82.8

$77.9 ₡34.9K

19.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$370 €329

$801 ₡359.1K

-53.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$275 €245

$790 ₡354.1K

-65.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$559 €497

$4,005 ₡1.8M

-86.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$494 €439

$1,409 ₡632.0K

-64.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,356 €2,985

$7,064 ₡3.2M

-52.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,300 €2,046

$1,236 ₡554.3K

86.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$669 €595

$887 ₡397.6K

-24.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.62

-42.00%

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

Last update for Sutomore: October 18, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sutomore

$275 25.1%

Nosara

$790 43% 187% $514

Groceries & Markets

Sutomore

$219 20%

Nosara

$350 19.1% 59.4% $130

Eating Out

Sutomore

$184 16.8%

Nosara

$213 11.6% 15.4% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sutomore

$179 16.4%

Nosara

$184 10% 2.8% $4.9

Clothing & Footwear

Sutomore

$127 11.6%

Nosara

$121 6.6% 5% $6.3

Sport & Entertainment

Sutomore

$58 5.3%

Nosara

$90 4.9% 55.5% $32

Getting Around

Sutomore

$52 4.7%

Nosara

$89 4.8% 71% $37

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $370 in Sutomore versus $801 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 32% higher in Nosara, 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 $36.00 in Sutomore versus $61.0 in Nosara. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $219 vs $350 – making Sutomore the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇪 Sutomore

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

00:17 12:17 AM

16:17 4:17 PM

8 h behind Sutomore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,000

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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Sutomore Nosara 10,450 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Sutomore
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

Sutomore vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,095 in Sutomore, $1,835 in Nosara – roughly 68% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,642 per month in Sutomore and $2,753 in Nosara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Public transport costs about 92% less in Sutomore. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

Kindergarten costs $395 per month in Sutomore and $490 in Nosara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sutomore, where all-in costs run around $1,095, than in Nosara at $1,835. In Sutomore 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 $1,095 in Sutomore 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 Sutomore. 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.