Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Canterbury, New Zealand

For one person, living is cheaper in Canterbury: $915 a month against $1,633 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Canterbury
Learn more

Canterbury Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

Canterbury

🇳🇿 New Zealand

$915

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,633 in Buenos Aires versus $915 in Canterbury.

Buenos Aires $1,633
Canterbury $915

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,640 in Buenos Aires versus $1,521 in Canterbury.

Buenos Aires $2,640
Canterbury $1,521

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,646 in Buenos Aires versus $2,127 in Canterbury.

Buenos Aires $3,646
Canterbury $2,127

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 79% more expensive than in Canterbury, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 20% above, Canterbury is 33% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.24 ARS 28.0K

$13.95 NZ$24.76

30.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.3 ARS 101.6K

$63.7 NZ$113

3.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

$11.52 NZ$20.45

12.50%

Cappuccino

$3.73 ARS 5,726

$3.06 NZ$5.44

21.90%

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

$2.03 ARS 3,119

$2.07 NZ$3.67

-1.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,605

$2.11 NZ$3.75

-19.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ARS 6,226

$3.94 NZ$7.00

3.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.75 ARS 7,281

$6.09 NZ$10.82

-22.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ARS 2,242

$2.22 NZ$3.93

-34.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 ARS 3,893

$1.93 NZ$3.42

31.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 ARS 2,427

$1.69 NZ$3.01

-6.51%

Eggs

$2.68 ARS 4,112

$5.53 NZ$9.82

-51.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

$8.34 NZ$14.81

33.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

$9.17 NZ$16.28

9.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 ARS 20.2K

$16.50 NZ$29.30

-20.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 ARS 4,238

$2.91 NZ$5.16

-5.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,375

$2.21 NZ$3.93

-0.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,142

$3.30 NZ$5.85

-57.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,047

$5.19 NZ$9.21

-61.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,840

$1.85 NZ$3.29

-35.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ARS 1,769

$1.87 NZ$3.32

-38.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,493

$2.33 NZ$4.14

-30.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 ARS 2,761

$0.59 NZ$1.06

205.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 ARS 6,460

$21.06 NZ$37.39

-80.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.51 ARS 8,457

$9.26 NZ$16.44

-40.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 ARS 3,168

$3.21 NZ$5.71

-35.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,242

$1.20 NZ$2.13

130.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 ARS 1,139

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 ARS 2,474

$5.73 NZ$10.17

-71.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,493

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

$28.19 NZ$50.1

-71.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ARS 2,154

$1.60 NZ$2.84

-12.50%

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

$23.2K ARS 35.6M

$28.5K NZ$50.6K

-18.58%

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

$32.8K ARS 50.4M

$23.3K NZ$41.3K

41.17%

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

$196 ARS 301.1K

$113 NZ$201

73.57%

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

$23.91 ARS 36.7K

$29.09 NZ$51.6

-17.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.50 ARS 48.3K

$51.7 NZ$91.8

-39.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.01 ARS 73.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.62 ARS 25.5K

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 ARS 16.2K

$11.46 NZ$20.34

-7.77%

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

$501 ARS 768.0K

$590 NZ$1,048

-15.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$121 ARS 186.3K

$59.9 NZ$106

102.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.6 ARS 146.6K

$22.35 NZ$39.69

327.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 178.0K

$91.2 NZ$162

27.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 212.6K

$139 NZ$247

-0.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 ARS 1.1M

$898 NZ$1,595

-18.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 ARS 771.6K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$921 ARS 1.4M

$2,733 NZ$4,853

-66.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

1331.25%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 26, 2026

Last update for Canterbury: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8%

Canterbury

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4%

Canterbury

$320 35% 12.9% $37

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8%

Canterbury

$232 25.3% 15.6% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4%

Canterbury

$194 21.2% 23% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$212 13%

Canterbury

$141 15.4% 33.7% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2%

Canterbury

$23 * 2.5% 66.8% $46

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4%

Canterbury

$5.7 * 0.6% 85.4% $34

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 $731 in Buenos Aires and $898 in Canterbury. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canterbury pays about 3 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66 in Buenos Aires vs $64 in Canterbury. Groceries flip the comparison at $284 vs $320, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇳🇿 Canterbury

🕒 Local time

23:01 11:01 PM

15:01 3:01 PM

16 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

New Zealand Dollar NZD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.52 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

1 NZD = 0.563 USD

1 NZD = 0.504 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

NZD, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1,534 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,713 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

New Zealand Dollar exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1.78 NZD (1 NZD = 0.563 USD). 1 EUR = 1.98 NZD (1 NZD = 0.504 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Canterbury 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Canterbury

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 Canterbury: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,633 in Buenos Aires and $915 in Canterbury, so Canterbury is about 44% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 66% lower in Buenos Aires. 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: $731 in Buenos Aires versus $898 in Canterbury. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $501 in Buenos Aires versus $590 in Canterbury. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Canterbury – a meal for two runs $64 versus $66 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $915 in Canterbury versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Canterbury but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Canterbury 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.