Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Abu Dhabi and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $2,588 in Abu Dhabi, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Abu Dhabi

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,588

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Abu Dhabi and in Buenos Aires

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Abu Dhabi and in Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,588 in Abu Dhabi versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Abu Dhabi $2,588
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,950 in Abu Dhabi versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Abu Dhabi $3,950
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,312 in Abu Dhabi versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Abu Dhabi $5,312
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Abu Dhabi is roughly 54% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Abu Dhabi 93% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.05 AED 29.58

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-57.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.7 AED 197

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

-16.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.63 AED 35.38

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-25.23%

Cappuccino

$5.79 AED 21.27

$3.98 ARS 6,027

45.48%

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

$1.17 AED 4.28

$2.05 ARS 3,102

-42.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 AED 1.61

$1.55 ARS 2,348

-71.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$11.40 AED 41.86

$3.84 ARS 5,828

196.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$11.76 AED 43.18

$4.60 ARS 6,968

155.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.00 AED 7.36

$1.44 ARS 2,180

38.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 AED 5.89

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-34.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.27 AED 8.33

$1.63 ARS 2,466

39.26%

Eggs

$3.44 AED 12.64

$2.89 ARS 4,384

19.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.56 AED 42.47

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

8.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.47 AED 34.79

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-5.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.21 AED 37.51

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-25.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 AED 9.20

$2.75 ARS 4,165

-8.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.04 AED 7.49

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-6.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.87 AED 6.88

$1.45 ARS 2,204

28.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.60 AED 5.89

$1.99 ARS 3,012

-19.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 AED 4.40

$1.24 ARS 1,884

-3.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 AED 4.44

$1.27 ARS 1,920

-4.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 AED 6.08

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-2.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 AED 2.10

$1.73 ARS 2,616

-67.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.49 AED 23.83

$4.18 ARS 6,335

55.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.52 AED 49.65

$5.80 ARS 8,787

133.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.54 AED 9.32

$2.09 ARS 3,162

21.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.55 AED 9.38

$2.77 ARS 4,197

-7.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.67 AED 2.45

$0.75 ARS 1,131

-10.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.63 AED 97.8

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-1.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 AED 12.08

$1.62 ARS 2,450

103.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.57 AED 2.08

$0.98 ARS 1,480

-41.84%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.30 AED 30.50

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

7.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.98 AED 3.60

$1.36 ARS 2,057

-27.94%

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

$29.9K AED 109.8K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

6.73%

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

$21.9K AED 80.6K

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

-36.48%

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

$193 AED 708

$216 ARS 326.8K

-10.60%

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

$56.8 AED 209

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

121.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$88.8 AED 326

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

183.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$96.1 AED 353

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

92.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.64 AED 160

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

155.80%

Cinema Ticket

$15.20 AED 55.8

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

45.73%

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

$781 AED 2,867

$466 ARS 706.5K

67.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K AED 54.6K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

64.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$62.7 AED 230

$122 ARS 185.1K

-48.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.25 AED 177

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-50.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 AED 404

$117 ARS 177.3K

-5.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$112 AED 411

$140 ARS 211.8K

-19.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,945 AED 7,143

$763 ARS 1.2M

154.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,387 AED 5,095

$505 ARS 765.8K

174.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,954 AED 14.5K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

147.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,722 AED 9,998

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

129.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,896 AED 18.0K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

82.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,856 AED 10.5K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

53.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,881 AED 10.6K

$954 ARS 1.4M

201.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.55

57.25

-92.05%

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

Last update for Abu Dhabi: October 6, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Abu Dhabi

$1.4K 54.1%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 63.6% $882

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Abu Dhabi

$338 13.2%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 19.4% $66

Groceries & Markets

Abu Dhabi

$276 10.8%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 2.8% $7.9

Eating Out

Abu Dhabi

$250 9.7%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 11.7% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Abu Dhabi

$150 5.9%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 43% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Abu Dhabi

$127 4.9%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 44.1% $56

Getting Around

Abu Dhabi

$35 1.4%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 3.4% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,945 in Abu Dhabi and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Abu Dhabi pays 202% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $54.0 in Abu Dhabi vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $276 vs $284 per month, with Abu Dhabi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

14:16 2:16 PM

07:16 7:16 AM

7 h behind Abu Dhabi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

921,000 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.89 EUR).

USD to AED in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Abu Dhabi Buenos Aires 13,530 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Abu Dhabi
Buenos Aires

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

Abu Dhabi vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires wins on cost – living expenses run 54% lower than in Abu Dhabi. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Buenos Aires the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 202% higher in Abu Dhabi, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,945 in Abu Dhabi versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Buenos Aires runs roughly 2% less than in Abu Dhabi. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $781 in Abu Dhabi versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,588 in Abu Dhabi, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Abu Dhabi. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Buenos Aires delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,685 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Buenos Aires hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Abu Dhabi and Buenos Aires are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Abu Dhabi. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.