Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Abu Dhabi

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.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
125

Cost of Living Index in Abu Dhabi
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Abu Dhabi Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Abu Dhabi

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,588

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Living in Buenos Aires costs roughly 35% less than in Abu Dhabi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$8.05 AED 29.58

132.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$53.7 AED 197

20.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$9.63 AED 35.38

33.75%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$5.79 AED 21.27

-31.26%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.17 AED 4.28

75.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.44 AED 1.61

252.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$11.40 AED 41.86

-66.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$11.76 AED 43.18

-60.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$2.00 AED 7.36

-28.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$1.60 AED 5.89

53.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$2.27 AED 8.33

-28.19%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$3.44 AED 12.64

-15.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$11.56 AED 42.47

-7.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.47 AED 34.80

5.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$10.21 AED 37.51

34.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.51 AED 9.20

9.56%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$2.04 AED 7.49

6.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$1.87 AED 6.88

-22.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$1.60 AED 5.89

24.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.20 AED 4.40

3.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.21 AED 4.44

4.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.66 AED 6.08

2.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.57 AED 2.10

203.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$6.49 AED 23.83

-35.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$13.52 AED 49.65

-57.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$2.54 AED 9.32

-17.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.55 AED 9.38

8.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.67 AED 2.45

11.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$26.63 AED 97.8

1.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$3.29 AED 12.08

-50.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$0.57 AED 2.08

71.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$8.30 AED 30.50

-6.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$0.98 AED 3.60

38.78%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$29.9K AED 109.8K

-6.30%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$21.9K AED 80.6K

57.42%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$193 AED 708

11.86%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$56.8 AED 209

-54.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$88.8 AED 326

-64.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$96.1 AED 353

-48.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$43.64 AED 160

-60.91%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$15.20 AED 55.8

-31.38%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$781 AED 2,867

-40.29%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$14.9K AED 54.6K

-39.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$62.7 AED 230

94.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$48.25 AED 177

101.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$110 AED 404

6.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$112 AED 411

24.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$1,945 AED 7,143

-60.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$1,387 AED 5,095

-63.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$3,954 AED 14.5K

-59.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$2,722 AED 9,998

-56.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$4,896 AED 18.0K

-45.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$2,856 AED 10.5K

-34.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$2,881 AED 10.6K

-66.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

4.55

1158.24%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Abu Dhabi: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Abu Dhabi

$1.4K 54.1% 175% $882

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Abu Dhabi

$276 10.8% 2.8% $7.9

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Abu Dhabi

$250 9.7% 10.5% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Abu Dhabi

$338 13.2% 24.1% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Abu Dhabi

$150 5.9% 30.1% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Abu Dhabi

$127 4.9% 79% $56

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Abu Dhabi

$35 1.4% 3.3% $1.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $1,945 in Abu Dhabi. 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: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $54.0 in Abu Dhabi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $276 per month, with Abu Dhabi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi

🕒 Local time

08:50 8:50 AM

15:50 3:50 PM

7 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

921,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

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).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Buenos Aires
Abu Dhabi

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

Buenos Aires vs Abu Dhabi: 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.

On paper, salaries run 202% lower in Abu Dhabi. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $1,945 in Abu Dhabi. 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 $466 in Buenos Aires versus $781 in Abu Dhabi. 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, Buenos Aires and Abu Dhabi 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.