Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Alexandria

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $859 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half 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 Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Alexandria

🇷🇴 Romania

$859

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $859 in Alexandria.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Alexandria $859

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,320 in Alexandria.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Alexandria $1,320

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,781 in Alexandria.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Alexandria $1,781

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 93% more expensive than in Alexandria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Alexandria is 36% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$8.30 RON 39.26

130.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$30.10 RON 142

118.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.24 RON 34.24

82.32%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$1.62 RON 7.68

137.65%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.76 RON 8.34

13.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.49 RON 7.03

7.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.11 RON 9.99

86.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.46 RON 11.66

87.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.39 RON 6.56

7.91%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.80 RON 3.78

216.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.10 RON 5.21

46.36%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.16 RON 10.23

31.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$4.98 RON 23.57

106.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$4.30 RON 20.35

132.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$7.67 RON 36.31

73.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$0.88 RON 4.16

227.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.18 RON 5.57

86.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$0.98 RON 4.61

42.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$0.98 RON 4.62

102.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.70 RON 3.33

72.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.61 RON 2.87

106.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.72 RON 3.40

137.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.86 RON 4.06

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$5.43 RON 25.69

-20.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$5.15 RON 24.38

10.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$0.92 RON 4.34

135.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$1.08 RON 5.10

155.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.60 RON 2.86

25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$42.28 RON 200

-35.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.44 RON 2.07

256.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.40 RON 1.91

157.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$5.49 RON 25.97

43.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.72 RON 8.14

-17.44%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$16.1K RON 76.2K

73.56%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$23.1K RON 109.4K

51.25%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$115 RON 545

69.44%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$5.18 RON 24.53

385.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$7.60 RON 35.96

315.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$58.6 RON 277

-13.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$24.59 RON 116

-31.96%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$6.36 RON 30.10

62.58%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$308 RON 1,459

50.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$6,663 RON 31.5K

31.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$51.7 RON 245

131.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$22.37 RON 106

326.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$63.2 RON 299

80.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$64.0 RON 303

117.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$319 RON 1,511

136.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$238 RON 1,127

118.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$577 RON 2,731

175.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$419 RON 1,981

186.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$1,235 RON 5,842

119.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$778 RON 3,679

144.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$844 RON 3,995

11.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

6.73

750.67%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Alexandria: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Alexandria

$238 27.7% 54.2% $282

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Alexandria

$148 17.2% 47.7% $135

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Alexandria

$136 15.8% 51.7% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Alexandria

$128 14.9% 49.2% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Alexandria

$91 10.5% 57.1% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Alexandria

$71 8.3% 0.5% $0.3

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Alexandria

$47 5.5% 27.5% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $319 in Alexandria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 11% 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: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $30.00 in Alexandria for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $148 per month, with Alexandria cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇷🇴 Alexandria

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

05:40 5:40 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

45,434

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Alexandria 12,150 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Alexandria

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 Alexandria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Alexandria wins on cost – living expenses run 93% lower than in Buenos Aires. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Alexandria the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 11% higher in Buenos Aires, 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: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $319 in Alexandria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,656 per month in Buenos Aires versus $859 in Alexandria – a 93% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Alexandria runs roughly 55% less than in Buenos Aires. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $859 in Alexandria versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Alexandria but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Alexandria the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Alexandria delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $859 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Alexandria hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and Alexandria 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 Alexandria gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.