Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Arima

For one person, living is cheaper in Arima: $1,300 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Arima
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Arima Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Arima

🇹🇹 Trinidad And Tobago

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,685 per month in Buenos Aires vs $1,300 in Arima, rent included.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Arima $1,300

A couple spends around $2,742 per month in Buenos Aires vs $2,187 in Arima, rent included.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Arima $2,187

A family of three spends $3,799 per month in Buenos Aires vs $3,075 in Arima, rent included.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Arima $3,075

Buenos Aires costs about 30% more than Arima, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Buenos Aires sits 26% above the global median, while Arima is 3% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$10.39 TTD 70.1

80.27%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$74.9 TTD 506

-13.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$9.08 TTD 61.3

41.85%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.75 TTD 25.33

6.13%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.04 TTD 7.01

97.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.71 TTD 4.82

118.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$1.89 TTD 12.74

103.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$2.98 TTD 20.12

54.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$2.46 TTD 16.62

-41.46%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$2.38 TTD 16.08

3.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$2.92 TTD 19.71

-44.18%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$4.41 TTD 29.79

-34.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$6.60 TTD 44.54

61.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$6.60 TTD 44.58

51.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$9.03 TTD 60.9

52.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$5.57 TTD 37.59

-50.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$2.26 TTD 15.23

-3.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$3.68 TTD 24.82

-60.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$4.83 TTD 32.61

-58.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.32 TTD 8.90

-6.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$0.96 TTD 6.45

32.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.40 TTD 9.46

21.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.94 TTD 6.38

84.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$4.62 TTD 31.20

-9.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$19.38 TTD 131

-70.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.91 TTD 12.89

9.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$3.01 TTD 20.30

-7.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$1.06 TTD 7.16

-29.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$0.71 TTD 4.76

128.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$0.70 TTD 4.76

40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$14.52 TTD 98.0

-46.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.15 TTD 7.78

18.26%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$27.2K TTD 183.9K

2.85%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$36.4K TTD 245.7K

-5.11%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$89.6 TTD 605

140.54%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$44.50 TTD 300

-42.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$56.0 TTD 378

-44.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$52.5 TTD 354

-5.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$8.63 TTD 58.2

20.86%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$177 TTD 1,198

162.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$11.0K TTD 74.5K

-17.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$63.3 TTD 428

92.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$44.48 TTD 300

119.06%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$148 TTD 997

-20.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$73.3 TTD 495

90.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$522 TTD 3,521

46.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$364 TTD 2,456

38.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,043 TTD 7,044

53.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$887 TTD 5,989

33.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$1,209 TTD 8,159

-21.03%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

5.75

895.65%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Arima: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Arima

$364 28.6% 28% $141

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Arima

$315 24.8% 10.9% $31

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Arima

$178 14% 36.3% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Arima

$190 14.9% 30.2% $82

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Arima

$148 11.6% 31% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Arima

$70 5.5% 1.3% $0.9

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Arima

$8.5 * 0.7% 76.9% $28

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $763 in Buenos Aires versus $522 in Arima. 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 27% higher in Arima, 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 $64.0 in Buenos Aires versus $75.0 in Arima. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $284 vs $315 – making Buenos Aires the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇹🇹 Arima

🕒 Local time

00:10 12:10 AM

23:10 11:10 PM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

35,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar TTD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 TTD = 0.148 USD

1 TTD = 0.132 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TTD, 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).

Trinidad and Tobago Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 6.75 TTD (1 TTD = 0.148 USD). 1 EUR = 7.57 TTD (1 TTD = 0.132 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Arima 5,040 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Arima

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 Arima: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires costs about 30% more than Arima, 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 $2,528 per month in Buenos Aires and $1,949 in Arima. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Arima, 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 $1,685 in Buenos Aires and $1,300 in Arima. That's a gap of about 30%.

Kindergarten costs $466 per month in Buenos Aires and $177 in Arima. 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 Arima, where all-in costs run around $1,300, than in Buenos Aires at $1,685. In Arima 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. Arima costs $1,300 versus $1,685 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 Arima. 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.