Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Antigua Guatemala

For one person, living is cheaper in Antigua Guatemala: $1,269 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $5,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Antigua Guatemala
Learn more

Antigua Guatemala Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Antigua Guatemala

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$1,269

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Antigua Guatemala

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,269 in Antigua Guatemala.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Antigua Guatemala $1,269

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,123 in Antigua Guatemala.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Antigua Guatemala $2,123

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $2,977 in Antigua Guatemala.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Antigua Guatemala $2,977

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 33% more expensive than in Antigua Guatemala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Antigua Guatemala is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$6.63 Q 50.7

182.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$51.7 Q 395

24.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$7.64 Q 58.4

68.59%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.41 Q 26.08

16.72%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.15 Q 8.81

78.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.93 Q 7.14

66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$3.23 Q 24.69

18.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$4.63 Q 35.41

-0.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$2.04 Q 15.60

-29.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$3.11 Q 23.78

-20.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.93 Q 14.76

-15.54%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.44 Q 18.65

18.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$5.48 Q 41.88

94.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.20 Q 70.3

8.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$10.54 Q 80.6

30.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$3.79 Q 28.97

-27.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.64 Q 12.55

32.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$2.83 Q 21.62

-48.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$1.67 Q 12.75

19.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.53 Q 11.67

-18.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.74 Q 13.27

-27.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$0.67 Q 5.16

153.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$1.19 Q 9.10

45.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$3.86 Q 29.49

8.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$8.02 Q 61.3

-27.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.74 Q 13.30

20.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.58 Q 19.74

7.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$2.58 Q 19.75

-70.93%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$4.56 Q 34.81

-64.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$10.49 Q 80.2

-26.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.28 Q 9.82

6.25%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$22.8K Q 174.4K

22.76%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$21.8K Q 166.8K

58.21%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$57.0 Q 436

277.99%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$28.77 Q 220

-10.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$45.71 Q 349

-31.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$41.18 Q 315

20.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$28.13 Q 215

-39.35%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$6.51 Q 49.73

60.22%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$338 Q 2,585

37.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$6,808 Q 52.0K

33.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$43.44 Q 332

181.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$48.13 Q 368

102.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$92.1 Q 704

26.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$79.5 Q 608

75.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$884 Q 6,757

-13.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$518 Q 3,960

-2.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,900 Q 14.5K

-15.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$1,195 Q 9,129

-0.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$2,963 Q 22.6K

-9.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$1,198 Q 9,155

55.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$609 Q 4,655

56.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.62

392.69%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Antigua Guatemala: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Antigua Guatemala

$518 41.3% 2.6% $13

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Antigua Guatemala

$267 21.2% 6.2% $18

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Antigua Guatemala

$151 12% 46% $128

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Antigua Guatemala

$132 10.5% 51.7% $141

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Antigua Guatemala

$118 9.4% 44.7% $96

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Antigua Guatemala

$54 4.3% 23.3% $16

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Antigua Guatemala

$15 * 1.2% 59.4% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $884 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 57% 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 $52.0 in Antigua Guatemala for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $267 per month, with Antigua Guatemala cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇬🇹 Antigua Guatemala

🕒 Local time

02:54 2:54 AM

23:54 11:54 PM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

46,054

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, 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 = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Antigua Guatemala 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Antigua Guatemala

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 Antigua Guatemala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Antigua Guatemala differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,269 including rent). Antigua Guatemala is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 57% 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: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $884 in Antigua Guatemala. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $338 in Antigua Guatemala. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Antigua Guatemala – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,269 in Antigua Guatemala versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Antigua Guatemala but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Antigua Guatemala the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and Antigua Guatemala 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 Antigua Guatemala gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.