Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Ashgabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $3,331 in Ashgabat, rent and utilities included – about $19,800 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
164

Cost of Living Index in Ashgabat
Learn more

Ashgabat Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Ashgabat

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan

$3,331

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $3,331 in Ashgabat.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Ashgabat $3,331

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $5,094 in Ashgabat.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Ashgabat $5,094

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $6,857 in Ashgabat.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Ashgabat $6,857

Living in Buenos Aires costs roughly 49% less than in Ashgabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Ashgabat 149% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$31.23 TMT 105

-40.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$85.1 TMT 286

-24.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$12.65 TMT 42.51

1.82%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$6.59 TMT 22.13

-39.61%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.53 TMT 5.16

33.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.82 TMT 2.75

89.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$5.67 TMT 19.04

-32.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$13.74 TMT 46.18

-66.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$4.48 TMT 15.05

-67.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$2.05 TMT 6.90

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$5.82 TMT 19.54

-71.99%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$5.93 TMT 19.93

-51.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$37.90 TMT 127

-71.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$20.09 TMT 67.5

-50.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$23.50 TMT 79.0

-41.53%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$4.98 TMT 16.75

-44.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$8.53 TMT 28.66

-74.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$7.32 TMT 24.60

-80.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$3.61 TMT 12.12

-44.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$2.33 TMT 7.82

-46.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.46 TMT 4.91

-13.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$2.69 TMT 9.03

-36.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$1.12 TMT 3.75

54.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$25.56 TMT 85.9

-83.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$42.09 TMT 141

-86.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$5.26 TMT 17.67

-60.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.89 TMT 9.70

-4.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.15 TMT 0.49

400.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$9.89 TMT 33.23

174.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.90 TMT 9.76

-44.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$0.88 TMT 2.97

11.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$8.41 TMT 28.25

-8.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$0.44 TMT 1.49

209.09%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$44.6K TMT 149.7K

-37.13%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$57.2K TMT 192.0K

-39.58%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$580 TMT 1,950

-62.85%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$56.8 TMT 191

-54.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$103 TMT 348

-69.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$191 TMT 642

-73.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$45.50 TMT 153

-62.51%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$8.53 TMT 28.67

22.27%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$23.05 TMT 77.5

1921.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$24.8K TMT 83.3K

-63.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$54.8 TMT 184

122.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$115 TMT 386

-15.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$365 TMT 1,227

-67.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$189 TMT 634

-25.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$1,402 TMT 4,709

-45.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$1,000 TMT 3,361

-49.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$2,288 TMT 7,686

-30.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$1,920 TMT 6,452

-38.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$3,527 TMT 11.9K

-24.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$2,813 TMT 9,450

-33.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$736 TMT 2,475

29.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

9.5

502.63%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Ashgabat: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Ashgabat

$1K 29.5% 98% $495

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Ashgabat

$671 19.8% 136% $387

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Ashgabat

$432 12.7% 54.9% $153

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Ashgabat

$741 21.8% 172% $468

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Ashgabat

$326 9.6% 51.9% $111

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Ashgabat

$208 6.1% 195% $137

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Ashgabat

$18 0.5% 51.4% $19

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 30% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $85.0 in Ashgabat for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $671 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇹🇲 Ashgabat

🕒 Local time

04:26 4:26 AM

12:26 12:26 PM

8 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

909,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Turkmenistani Manat TMT m

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 TMT = 0.298 USD

1 TMT = 0.265 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TMT, 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).

Turkmenistani Manat exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.36 TMT (1 TMT = 0.298 USD). 1 EUR = 3.77 TMT (1 TMT = 0.265 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Ashgabat 14,450 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Ashgabat

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 Ashgabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Ashgabat differ by about 98% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $3,331 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 30% 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 $1,402 in Ashgabat. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $23.05 in Ashgabat. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 136% higher in Ashgabat. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $3,331 in Ashgabat, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Ashgabat. 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 Ashgabat 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 98% less than in Ashgabat. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.