Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Ad Dammam

For one person, living is cheaper in Ad Dammam: $1,180 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in Ad Dammam
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Ad Dammam Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Ad Dammam

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,180

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Ad Dammam

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,180 in Ad Dammam.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Ad Dammam $1,180

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $1,809 in Ad Dammam.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Ad Dammam $1,809

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $2,437 in Ad Dammam.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Ad Dammam $2,437

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 43% more expensive than in Ad Dammam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Ad Dammam is 12% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$7.04 SAR 26.45

166.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$34.90 SAR 131

84.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$6.69 SAR 25.12

92.53%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.89 SAR 7.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 SAR 8.66

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.08 SAR 11.55

29.22%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$0.76 SAR 2.86

169.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.16 SAR 0.60

868.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.81 SAR 6.80

-20.44%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$1.33 SAR 5.01

84.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.96 SAR 7.36

-16.84%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.17 SAR 8.16

33.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$7.29 SAR 27.38

46.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$8.10 SAR 30.40

23.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$12.71 SAR 47.73

8.10%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.21 SAR 8.30

24.43%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.67 SAR 6.27

30.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$1.60 SAR 5.99

-9.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$1.63 SAR 6.10

22.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.13 SAR 4.24

9.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.21 SAR 4.54

4.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.28 SAR 4.79

32.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.58 SAR 2.17

198.28%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.04 SAR 15.18

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.60

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 SAR 8.29

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$7.71 SAR 28.97

-45.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.97 SAR 3.64

-22.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$35.53 SAR 133

-23.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.71 SAR 10.16

-40.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$2.73 SAR 10.27

-64.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$13.52 SAR 50.8

-42.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$0.63 SAR 2.38

115.87%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$67.2K SAR 252.4K

-58.33%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$21.3K SAR 80.1K

61.97%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$131 SAR 494

64.01%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$32.52 SAR 122

-21.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$63.8 SAR 240

-50.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$75.6 SAR 284

-34.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$27.99 SAR 105

-39.05%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$13.59 SAR 51.0

-23.25%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$421 SAR 1,582

10.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$7,860 SAR 29.5K

15.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$42.50 SAR 160

187.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$49.83 SAR 187

95.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$95.7 SAR 359

22.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$92.1 SAR 346

51.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$583 SAR 2,188

31.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$370 SAR 1,390

36.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,003 SAR 3,767

59.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$677 SAR 2,543

74.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$1,395 SAR 5,238

91.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$609 SAR 2,287

205.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$1,507 SAR 5,659

-36.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

5.9

870.34%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Ad Dammam: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Ad Dammam

$370 30.8% 26.7% $135

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Ad Dammam

$202 16.8% 28.9% $82

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Ad Dammam

$117 9.7% 58% $162

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Ad Dammam

$228 19% 16.4% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Ad Dammam

$126 10.5% 41.2% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Ad Dammam

$103 8.6% 45.4% $32

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Ad Dammam

$56 4.6% 52.3% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $583 in Ad Dammam. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ad Dammam pays 58% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $35.00 in Ad Dammam for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $202 per month, with Ad Dammam cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇸🇦 Ad Dammam

🕒 Local time

09:12 9:12 AM

15:12 3:12 PM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

903,312

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.238 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Ad Dammam 13,250 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Ad Dammam

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 Ad Dammam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Ad Dammam wins on cost – living expenses run 43% lower than in Buenos Aires. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Ad Dammam the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 58% lower in Ad Dammam. 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 $583 in Ad Dammam. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,685 per month in Buenos Aires versus $1,180 in Ad Dammam – a 43% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Ad Dammam runs roughly 31% less than in Buenos Aires. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,180 in Ad Dammam versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Ad Dammam but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Ad Dammam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Ad Dammam delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,180 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Ad Dammam hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and Ad Dammam 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 Ad Dammam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 43% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.