Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Alba

For one person, living costs are similar in Buenos Aires and in Alba: $1,656 and $1,630 a month, rent and utilities included.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Alba
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Alba Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Alba

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,630

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,656 per month in Buenos Aires vs $1,630 in Alba, rent included.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Alba $1,630

A couple spends around $2,697 per month in Buenos Aires vs $2,551 in Alba, rent included.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Alba $2,551

A family of three spends $3,737 per month in Buenos Aires vs $3,473 in Alba, rent included.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Alba $3,473

Buenos Aires costs about 2% more than Alba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Buenos Aires and Alba sit above the global median – Buenos Aires by 23%, Alba by 21%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$21.91 €19.49

-12.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$88.0 €78.3

-25.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$13.36 €11.89

-1.20%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.13 €1.90

80.75%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$3.68 €3.27

-45.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.82 €1.62

-12.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$5.55 €4.94

-29.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$6.83 €6.08

-32.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.68 €1.49

-10.71%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$3.32 €2.95

-23.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$3.49 €3.11

-53.87%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$5.08 €4.51

-44.09%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$23.19 €20.63

-55.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$14.68 €13.05

-31.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$22.94 €20.40

-42.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$3.09 €2.75

-6.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$2.32 €2.06

-5.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$3.40 €3.02

-58.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$4.16 €3.70

-52.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$2.32 €2.06

-47.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.02 €1.79

-37.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.73 €1.54

-1.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.61 €0.55

181.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$6.89 €6.13

-37.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$9.54 €8.48

-40.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.96 €1.75

10.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.43 €2.16

13.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$8.00 €7.11

-80.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$2.20 €1.95

-53.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$63.8 €56.8

-87.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$2.14 €1.90

-33.64%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$36.7K €32.6K

-23.80%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$36.7K €32.6K

-4.67%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$249 €221

-21.55%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$8.00 €7.12

214.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$29.33 €26.09

7.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$12.37 €11.00

-16.41%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$855 €761

-45.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$19.1K €17.0K

-53.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$99.7 €88.7

20.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$49.95 €44.43

91.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$115 €102

-0.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$164 €146

-15.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$535 €476

41.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$384 €342

35.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$732 €651

117.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$616 €548

94.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,916 €2,594

-6.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$2,652 €2,359

-64.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

3.18

1700.31%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Alba: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Alba

$384 23.6% 26.1% $136

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Alba

$419 25.7% 47.8% $136

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Alba

$304 18.7% 8% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Alba

$286 17.6% 13.6% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Alba

$193 11.8% 8.6% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Alba

$25 * 1.5% 65.4% $47

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Alba

$19 * 1.2% 48.7% $18

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 $535 in Alba. 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 183% higher in Alba, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Buenos Aires versus $88.0 in Alba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $283 vs $419 – making Buenos Aires the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇮🇹 Alba

🕒 Local time

03:43 3:43 AM

08:43 8:43 AM

5 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

29,910

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Alba 11,070 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Alba

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 Alba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Buenos Aires is pricier by about 2%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,484 per month in Buenos Aires and $2,445 in Alba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66.0 in Buenos Aires and $88.0 in Alba. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Interestingly, groceries are about 48% cheaper in Buenos Aires – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value, probably thanks to stronger retail competition or local farming.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Alba, where all-in costs run around $1,630, than in Buenos Aires at $1,656. In Alba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Buenos Aires it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Alba – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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 Alba. 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.