Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Baia Mare

For one person, living is cheaper in Baia Mare: $882 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Baia Mare
Learn more

Baia Mare Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Baia Mare

🇷🇴 Romania

$882

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Baia Mare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $882 in Baia Mare.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Baia Mare $882

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,385 in Baia Mare.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Baia Mare $1,385

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,888 in Baia Mare.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Baia Mare $1,888

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 88% more expensive than in Baia Mare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Baia Mare is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$12.30 RON 58.2

55.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$31.87 RON 151

106.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.21 RON 38.85

60.78%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.08 RON 9.82

85.10%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.74 RON 8.25

14.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.33 RON 6.30

20.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.60 RON 7.58

145.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.14 RON 10.11

115.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.45 RON 6.84

3.45%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$1.45 RON 6.84

74.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.48 RON 7.02

8.78%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.93 RON 13.88

-3.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.13 RON 29.01

68.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$6.48 RON 30.66

54.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$10.53 RON 49.80

26.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$1.13 RON 5.36

154.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.53 RON 7.24

43.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.32 RON 6.26

6.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$2.62 RON 12.41

-24.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.91 RON 4.33

32.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.07 RON 5.08

17.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.10 RON 5.23

55.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.81 RON 3.85

112.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$6.41 RON 30.35

-33.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$4.62 RON 21.88

23.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.09 RON 5.17

99.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$1.68 RON 7.93

64.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.66 RON 3.11

13.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$14.36 RON 67.9

89.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.76 RON 3.59

106.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.75 RON 3.53

37.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$5.94 RON 28.11

33.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.72 RON 8.12

-17.44%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$28.2K RON 133.3K

-0.80%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$25.4K RON 120.1K

37.82%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$103 RON 489

88.73%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$14.96 RON 70.8

68.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$11.75 RON 55.6

168.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$38.39 RON 182

32.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$16.14 RON 76.4

3.66%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$10.07 RON 47.66

2.68%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$527 RON 2,493

-12.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$5,253 RON 24.9K

67.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$36.87 RON 174

225.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$41.97 RON 199

127.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$62.1 RON 294

83.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$75.0 RON 355

85.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$278 RON 1,313

172.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$203 RON 960

156.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$489 RON 2,314

225.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$368 RON 1,743

225.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,044 RON 9,671

32.74%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,414 RON 6,691

34.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$859 RON 4,063

9.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

7.48

665.37%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Baia Mare: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Baia Mare

$203 23% 61% $317

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Baia Mare

$199 22.6% 29.6% $84

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Baia Mare

$173 19.6% 38.8% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Baia Mare

$130 14.8% 48.3% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Baia Mare

$97 11% 53.9% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Baia Mare

$59 6.6% 18.2% $13

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Baia Mare

$21 2.4% 41.9% $15

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $278 in Baia Mare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 9% 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: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $32.00 in Baia Mare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $199 per month, with Baia Mare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇷🇴 Baia Mare

🕒 Local time

14:20 2:20 PM

20:20 8:20 PM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

123,738

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Baia Mare 12,240 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Baia Mare

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 Baia Mare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Baia Mare is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 88% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 9% 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: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $278 in Baia Mare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $527 in Baia Mare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 42% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $882 in Baia Mare versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Baia Mare but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Baia Mare the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Baia Mare is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Buenos Aires, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and Baia Mare 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 Baia Mare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 88% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.