Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Aruba

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $2,376 in Aruba, rent and utilities included – about $8,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Aruba outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
141

Cost of Living Index in Aruba
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Aruba Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Aruba

🇦🇼 Aruba

$2,376

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,376 in Aruba.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Aruba $2,376

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $4,248 in Aruba.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Aruba $4,248

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $6,119 in Aruba.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Aruba $6,119

Living in Buenos Aires costs roughly 29% less than in Aruba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Aruba 77% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$14.50 AWG 25.95

29.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$90.9 AWG 163

-29.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$10.62 AWG 19.01

21.28%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$5.19 AWG 9.29

-23.31%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$2.35 AWG 4.21

-12.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$2.30 AWG 4.11

-32.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$5.24 AWG 9.38

-26.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$6.84 AWG 12.25

-32.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.67 AWG 2.98

-13.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$2.88 AWG 5.15

-14.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$3.04 AWG 5.44

-46.38%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$3.80 AWG 6.81

-23.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$13.97 AWG 25.00

-23.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$4.22 AWG 7.55

136.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.96 AWG 3.51

11.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

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

$2.49 AWG 4.45

-69.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$2.38 AWG 4.26

-42.86%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$233 AWG 418

-7.62%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$133 AWG 239

-80.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$86.6 AWG 155

-63.80%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$302 AWG 541

54.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$17.9K AWG 32.0K

-49.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$64.9 AWG 116

50.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$118 AWG 212

-1.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$652 AWG 1,167

17.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$1,419 AWG 2,540

-64.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$3,256 AWG 5,828

-50.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$4,034 AWG 7,222

-70.63%

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

$1,886 AWG 3,377

-49.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Aruba: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Aruba

$1.4K 59.6% 181% $914

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Aruba

$148 * 6.2% 48.1% $137

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Aruba

$269 11.3% 3.7% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Aruba

$453 19% 66.4% $181

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Aruba

$82 * 3.5% 61.6% $132

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Aruba

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Aruba

$10 * 0.4% 72.8% $27

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 $652 in Aruba. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Aruba pays 98% 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 $91.0 in Aruba. Groceries flip the comparison at $284 vs $148, with Aruba cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇦🇼 Aruba

🕒 Local time

11:04 11:04 AM

10:04 10:04 AM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

15,236

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Aruban Florin AWG ƒ

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 AWG = 0.559 USD

1 AWG = 0.499 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AWG, 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).

Aruban Florin exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.79 AWG (1 AWG = 0.559 USD). 1 EUR = 2.01 AWG (1 AWG = 0.499 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Aruba 5,380 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Aruba

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 Aruba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Aruba differ by about 41% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $2,376 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 98% lower in Aruba. 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 $652 in Aruba. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Aruba pay roughly 93% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $1,685 per month in Buenos Aires versus $2,376 in Aruba – a 41% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,376 in Aruba, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Aruba. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires 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 Aruba 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 Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 41% less than in Aruba. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.