Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Acapulco

For one person, living is cheaper in Acapulco: $859 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
42

Cost of Living Index in Acapulco
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Acapulco Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Acapulco

🇲🇽 Mexico

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Acapulco

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 Acapulco actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,656 per month in Buenos Aires vs $859 in Acapulco, rent included.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Acapulco $859

A couple spends around $2,697 per month in Buenos Aires vs $1,435 in Acapulco, rent included.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Acapulco $1,435

A family of three spends $3,737 per month in Buenos Aires vs $2,012 in Acapulco, rent included.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Acapulco $2,012

Buenos Aires costs about 93% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Buenos Aires sits 23% above the global median, while Acapulco is 36% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$9.48 MX$175

101.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$37.64 MX$696

74.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$11.97 MX$221

10.28%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$3.76 MX$69.5

2.39%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.63 MX$30.10

22.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.66 MX$30.65

-3.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$3.00 MX$55.4

31.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$4.79 MX$88.4

-3.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.59 MX$29.36

-5.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$2.89 MX$53.5

-12.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.68 MX$31.11

-4.17%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.79 MX$33.06

58.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.64 MX$123

55.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$8.04 MX$149

24.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$10.78 MX$199

23.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$4.58 MX$84.7

-37.12%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.65 MX$30.46

33.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$3.38 MX$62.5

-58.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$3.13 MX$57.9

-36.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$3.47 MX$64.2

-65.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.96 MX$54.7

-57.43%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.31 MX$24.12

30.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.78 MX$14.46

120.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$8.16 MX$151

-47.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$6.66 MX$123

-14.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.12 MX$20.74

93.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.70 MX$49.94

2.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.88 MX$16.27

-14.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$4.85 MX$89.6

-67.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.47 MX$27.16

-3.40%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$21.1K MX$389.7K

32.52%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$24.8K MX$458.4K

40.98%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$39.89 MX$737

389.35%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$14.81 MX$274

69.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$21.72 MX$401

45.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$19.02 MX$351

167.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$13.85 MX$256

20.79%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$3.87 MX$71.6

167.18%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$162 MX$2,994

185.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$64.4 MX$1,191

85.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$44.58 MX$824

114.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$107 MX$1,985

6.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$83.2 MX$1,538

67.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$519 MX$9,593

45.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$150 MX$2,763

247.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$956 MX$17.7K

66.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$331 MX$6,118

261.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$449 MX$8,293

108.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.6

393.53%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Acapulco: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Acapulco

$150 17.4% 71.2% $370

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Acapulco

$269 31.3% 5.2% $15

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Acapulco

$195 22.7% 30.9% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Acapulco

$76 8.9% 69.7% $175

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Acapulco

$135 15.7% 36.1% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Acapulco

$27 3.1% 62.6% $45

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Acapulco

$8.4 * 1% 77.4% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $756 in Buenos Aires versus $519 in Acapulco. 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 109% higher in Buenos Aires, 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 $66.0 in Buenos Aires versus $38.00 in Acapulco. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $283 vs $269 – making Acapulco the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Acapulco

🕒 Local time

16:27 4:27 PM

13:27 1:27 PM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

658,609

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Acapulco 7,210 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Acapulco

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 Acapulco: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires costs about 93% more than Acapulco, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,484 per month in Buenos Aires and $1,288 in Acapulco. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,656 in Buenos Aires and $859 in Acapulco. That's a gap of about 93%.

Kindergarten costs $463 per month in Buenos Aires and $162 in Acapulco. 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 Acapulco, where all-in costs run around $859, than in Buenos Aires at $1,656. In Acapulco it covers expenses comfortably, while in Buenos Aires it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Acapulco costs $859 versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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 Acapulco. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Buenos Aires makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.