Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Assela

For one person, living is cheaper in Assela: $848 a month against $1,624 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Assela
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Assela Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,624

/mo nomad

Assela

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$848

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,624 in Buenos Aires versus $848 in Assela.

Buenos Aires $1,624
Assela $848

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,637 in Buenos Aires versus $1,219 in Assela.

Buenos Aires $2,637
Assela $1,219

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,650 in Buenos Aires versus $1,591 in Assela.

Buenos Aires $3,650
Assela $1,591

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 92% more expensive than in Assela, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 20% above, Assela is 37% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.72 ARS 27.4K

$4.11 ETB 661

331.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 ARS 102.0K

$43.23 ETB 6,951

52.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.07 ARS 20.2K

$6.64 ETB 1,068

96.84%

Cappuccino

$3.96 ARS 6,124

$0.90 ETB 144

340.00%

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

$2.01 ARS 3,102

$0.63 ETB 101

219.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ARS 2,489

$0.68 ETB 109

136.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.03 ARS 6,227

$0.78 ETB 126

416.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 ARS 7,201

$2.22 ETB 356

109.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,192

$1.05 ETB 169

35.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 ARS 3,978

$1.16 ETB 187

122.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 ARS 2,452

$2.15 ETB 345

-26.05%

Eggs

$2.64 ARS 4,073

$1.79 ETB 287

47.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.40 ARS 16.1K

$7.60 ETB 1,222

36.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.33 ARS 15.9K

$10.23 ETB 1,645

0.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 ARS 20.7K

$9.05 ETB 1,455

47.96%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 ARS 4,187

$5.35 ETB 860

-49.35%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 ARS 3,196

$0.63 ETB 101

228.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 ARS 2,017

$2.21 ETB 355

-40.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,058

$0.71 ETB 114

178.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 ARS 1,932

$0.47 ETB 74.8

165.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,841

$1.09 ETB 175

9.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,524

$0.66 ETB 106

146.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 ARS 2,824

$0.60 ETB 97.2

205.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ARS 6,390

$8.07 ETB 1,298

-48.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.79 ARS 8,942

$5.50 ETB 884

5.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 ARS 3,171

$0.72 ETB 116

184.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 ARS 4,071

$1.27 ETB 205

107.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,070

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ARS 45.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.50 ARS 2,315

$1.29 ETB 208

16.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 ARS 1,232

$0.29 ETB 47.03

175.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.47 ARS 11.5K

$2.02 ETB 324

269.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ARS 2,207

$0.90 ETB 145

58.89%

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

$23.8K ARS 36.7M

$55.7K ETB 9.0M

-57.31%

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

$31.8K ARS 49.1M

$54.7K ETB 8.8M

-41.97%

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

$196 ARS 303.3K

$209 ETB 33.6K

-6.05%

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

$23.20 ARS 35.8K

$7.22 ETB 1,161

221.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.52 ARS 48.7K

$212 ETB 34.1K

-85.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.93 ARS 74.0K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.90 ARS 26.1K

Cinema Ticket

$10.91 ARS 16.8K

$3.77 ETB 607

189.39%

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

$504 ARS 778.2K

$627 ETB 100.8K

-19.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K ARS 21.1M

$30.6K ETB 4.9M

-55.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 ARS 180.8K

$33.49 ETB 5,386

249.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 150.5K

$72.2 ETB 11.6K

34.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 ARS 176.9K

$77.8 ETB 12.5K

47.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 ARS 217.8K

$81.6 ETB 13.1K

72.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$725 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$498 ARS 769.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,492 ARS 2.3M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,137 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,749 ARS 4.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,902 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$945 ARS 1.5M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

56.86

18.5

207.35%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 31, 2026

Last update for Assela: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$498 30.7%

Assela

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.4%

Assela

$213 25.1% 24.8% $70

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.8%

Assela

$77 9.1% 71.7% $195

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$251 15.5%

Assela

$428 50.5% 70.6% $177

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$212 13%

Assela

$119 14.1% 43.6% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$70 4.3%

Assela

$7.6 * 0.9% 89.2% $62

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$38 2.3%

Assela

$2.8 * 0.3% 92.7% $35

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66 in Buenos Aires vs $43 in Assela for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $213 per month, with Assela cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇪🇹 Assela

🕒 Local time

05:02 5:02 AM

11:02 11:02 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

139,500

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.76 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,544 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,735 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.76 EUR).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 181 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.54 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Assela 11,200 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Assela

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 Assela: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Assela is about 48% cheaper overall, especially in eating out, clothing, and groceries. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,436 in Buenos Aires and $1,271 in Assela to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $504 in Buenos Aires versus $627 in Assela. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Assela – a meal for two runs $43 versus $66 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $848 in Assela versus $1,624 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Assela but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Assela 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 Assela are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.