Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Xai-Xai and Nosara

For one person, living is cheaper in Xai-Xai: $680 a month against $1,839 in Nosara, rent and utilities included – about $13,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Xai-Xai
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Xai-Xai Living Index
89

Cost of Living Index in Nosara
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Nosara Living Index

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Xai-Xai

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$680

/mo nomad

Nosara

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,839

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $680 per month in Xai-Xai vs $1,839 in Nosara, rent included.

Xai-Xai $680
Nosara $1,839

A couple spends around $1,143 per month in Xai-Xai vs $2,828 in Nosara, rent included.

Xai-Xai $1,143
Nosara $2,828

A family of three spends $1,607 per month in Xai-Xai vs $3,818 in Nosara, rent included.

Xai-Xai $1,607
Nosara $3,818

Xai-Xai is about 63% cheaper than Nosara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Xai-Xai sits 50% below the global median, while Nosara is 36% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.00 MZN 632

$12.35 ₡5,539

-19.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.2 MZN 3,932

$61.2 ₡27.4K

1.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.29 MZN 461

$7.52 ₡3,373

-3.06%

Cappuccino

$2.25 MZN 142

$4.41 ₡1,978

-48.98%

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

$0.86 MZN 54.6

$1.74 ₡780

-50.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 MZN 44.08

$1.31 ₡587

-46.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.54 MZN 97.6

$3.28 ₡1,471

-53.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 MZN 150

$4.47 ₡2,004

-46.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 MZN 96.1

$1.56 ₡701

-2.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 MZN 65.4

$3.02 ₡1,355

-65.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 MZN 101

$2.51 ₡1,125

-36.65%

Eggs

$2.43 MZN 154

$3.57 ₡1,603

-31.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$21.25 MZN 1,344

$7.43 ₡3,333

186.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.69 MZN 360

$10.52 ₡4,717

-45.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.55 MZN 351

$13.97 ₡6,265

-60.27%

Apples (1kg)

$1.99 MZN 126

$2.35 ₡1,052

-15.32%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 MZN 48.08

$1.61 ₡720

-52.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 MZN 103

$4.80 ₡2,152

-66.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.05 MZN 66.2

$1.61 ₡724

-34.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.01 MZN 63.7

$3.80 ₡1,703

-73.42%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 MZN 50.2

$3.69 ₡1,657

-78.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 MZN 58.9

$1.13 ₡507

-17.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 MZN 54.5

$2.66 ₡1,191

-67.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.74 MZN 174

$5.18 ₡2,321

-47.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.08 MZN 638

$19.88 ₡8,916

-49.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 MZN 62.5

$2.90 ₡1,300

-65.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 MZN 81.1

$3.63 ₡1,626

-64.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.12 ₡504

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$72.6 ₡32.6K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.55 MZN 98.0

$2.14 ₡958

-27.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.19 MZN 75.4

$1.57 ₡703

-24.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.71 MZN 1,563

$8.52 ₡3,823

190.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.41 MZN 89.4

$1.52 ₡682

-7.24%

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

$32.1K MZN 2.0M

$21.6K ₡9.7M

48.73%

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

$22.8K MZN 1.4M

$34.5K ₡15.5M

-33.87%

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

$70.5 MZN 4,459

$96.3 ₡43.2K

-26.78%

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

$7.86 MZN 497

$35.89 ₡16.1K

-78.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.5 MZN 5,597

$53.6 ₡24.0K

65.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.6 ₡32.1K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.91 ₡15.7K

Cinema Ticket

$8.01 MZN 507

$7.89 ₡3,539

1.52%

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

$129 MZN 8,179

$494 ₡221.6K

-73.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,214 MZN 329.8K

$11.9K ₡5.3M

-56.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.93 MZN 3,158

$53.9 ₡24.2K

-7.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.0 MZN 3,541

$55.4 ₡24.8K

1.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 MZN 4,938

$77.9 ₡34.9K

0.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.1 MZN 5,065

$79.6 ₡35.7K

0.58%

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)

$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 %)

8.62

190.02%

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

Last update for Xai-Xai: October 11, 2026

Last update for Nosara: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Xai-Xai

$223 32.8%

Nosara

$352 19.2% 57.9% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Xai-Xai

$167 24.5%

Nosara

$186 10.1% 11.3% $19

Eating Out

Xai-Xai

$148 21.7%

Nosara

$212 11.5% 43.6% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Xai-Xai

$119 17.5%

Nosara

$120 6.5% 1.1% $1.3

Sport & Entertainment

Xai-Xai

$16 * 2.4%

Nosara

$87 4.8% 445% $71

Getting Around

Xai-Xai

$7.5 * 1.1%

Nosara

$87 4.7% 1060% $80

Accommodation & Living

Xai-Xai

- * 0%

Nosara

$794 43.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $62.0 in Xai-Xai versus $61.0 in Nosara. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Xai-Xai vs $352 in Nosara – so Xai-Xai wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Xai-Xai

🇨🇷 Nosara

🕒 Local time

03:15 3:15 AM

19:15 7:15 PM

8 h behind Xai-Xai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

116,343

4,912

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.23 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, USD, EUR to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

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 MZN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Xai-Xai Nosara 13,420 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Xai-Xai
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

Xai-Xai vs Nosara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $680 in Xai-Xai, $1,839 in Nosara – roughly 170% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,020 per month in Xai-Xai 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 $62.0 in Xai-Xai 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 58% 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 Xai-Xai, where all-in costs run around $680, than in Nosara at $1,839. In Xai-Xai 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 $680 in Xai-Xai 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 Xai-Xai. 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.