Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Balti

For one person, living is cheaper in Balti: $977 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Balti
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Balti Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Balti

🇲🇩 Moldova

$977

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,685 per month in Buenos Aires vs $977 in Balti, rent included.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Balti $977

A couple spends around $2,742 per month in Buenos Aires vs $1,405 in Balti, rent included.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Balti $1,405

A family of three spends $3,799 per month in Buenos Aires vs $1,832 in Balti, rent included.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Balti $1,832

Buenos Aires costs about 72% more than Balti, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Buenos Aires sits 26% above the global median, while Balti is 27% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$8.14 MDL 144

130.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$22.56 MDL 400

185.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$10.40 MDL 184

23.85%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$1.78 MDL 31.46

123.60%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.10 MDL 19.54

86.36%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.69 MDL 12.16

124.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$1.11 MDL 19.67

245.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$1.43 MDL 25.39

221.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.26 MDL 22.42

14.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$0.46 MDL 8.13

434.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.60 MDL 28.35

1.87%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.19 MDL 38.78

31.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$6.89 MDL 122

54.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$4.78 MDL 84.6

109.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$6.27 MDL 111

119.14%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$1.02 MDL 18.08

169.61%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$2.18 MDL 38.70

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$1.87 MDL 33.07

-22.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$2.30 MDL 40.71

-13.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$0.76 MDL 13.43

63.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$0.52 MDL 9.20

144.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$0.46 MDL 8.23

269.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.54 MDL 9.65

220.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$3.30 MDL 58.5

26.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$4.36 MDL 77.3

33.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.38 MDL 24.42

51.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$1.99 MDL 35.26

39.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.33 MDL 5.80

127.27%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$17.05 MDL 302

59.24%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.83 MDL 50.1

-42.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$0.24 MDL 4.23

308.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$5.63 MDL 99.8

37.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.60 MDL 28.39

-15.00%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$33.2K MDL 587.5K

-15.51%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$24.0K MDL 424.9K

44.03%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$228 MDL 4,036

-5.36%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$7.65 MDL 136

234.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$11.35 MDL 201

176.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$36.50 MDL 647

36.49%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$15.11 MDL 268

12.91%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$7.73 MDL 137

34.93%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$111 MDL 1,975

318.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$5,202 MDL 92.2K

74.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$44.48 MDL 788

174.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$33.04 MDL 586

194.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$55.2 MDL 979

111.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$51.0 MDL 904

173.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$390 MDL 6,915

95.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$278 MDL 4,932

81.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$674 MDL 12.0K

137.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$506 MDL 8,960

134.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$1,419 MDL 25.2K

88.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$999 MDL 17.7K

85.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$605 MDL 10.7K

57.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

615.63%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Balti: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Balti

$278 28.4% 44.9% $227

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Balti

$164 16.8% 42.2% $120

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Balti

$133 13.6% 52.2% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Balti

$247 25.2% 9.5% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Balti

$83 8.4% 61.4% $132

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Balti

$52 5.3% 26.5% $19

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Balti

$22 2.3% 38.9% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $763 in Buenos Aires versus $390 in Balti. 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 58% higher in Buenos Aires, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $64.0 in Buenos Aires versus $23.00 in Balti. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $284 vs $164 – making Balti the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇩 Balti

🕒 Local time

04:52 4:52 AM

10:52 10:52 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

144,800

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 MDL = 5.64 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17.72 MDL (100 MDL = 5.64 USD). 1 EUR = 19.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Balti 12,530 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Balti

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 Balti: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires, $977 in Balti – roughly 72% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,528 per month in Buenos Aires and $1,466 in Balti. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Balti, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $466 per month in Buenos Aires and $111 in Balti. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 73% more in Buenos Aires, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Balti, where all-in costs run around $977, than in Buenos Aires at $1,685. In Balti it covers expenses comfortably, while in Buenos Aires it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Buenos Aires has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $977 in Balti to $1,685 in Buenos Aires. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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 Balti. 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.