Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Caracas

For one person, living is cheaper in Caracas: $1,312 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
Learn more

Caracas Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,312

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,312 in Caracas.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Caracas $1,312

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,236 in Caracas.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Caracas $2,236

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $3,160 in Caracas.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Caracas $3,160

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 28% more expensive than in Caracas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Caracas is 2% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$10.63 VES 9,271

76.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

$68.2 VES 59.5K

-5.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$10.99 VES 9,589

17.20%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,027

$3.73 VES 3,258

6.70%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,102

$1.54 VES 1,346

33.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,348

$1.28 VES 1,119

21.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,828

$2.05 VES 1,792

87.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,968

$2.91 VES 2,540

58.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,180

$2.76 VES 2,407

-47.83%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,737

$2.32 VES 2,025

6.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,466

$1.89 VES 1,651

-13.76%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,384

$4.82 VES 4,210

-40.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$10.18 VES 8,879

4.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.44 VES 8,241

5.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$11.51 VES 10.0K

19.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,165

$7.23 VES 6,307

-61.96%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,299

$1.96 VES 1,709

11.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,204

$2.13 VES 1,860

-31.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,012

$2.37 VES 2,065

-16.03%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,884

$2.24 VES 1,951

-44.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,920

$2.24 VES 1,952

-43.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,574

$1.61 VES 1,408

5.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,616

$2.41 VES 2,099

-28.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,335

$4.57 VES 3,985

-8.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,787

$12.02 VES 10.5K

-51.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,162

$1.37 VES 1,193

52.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,197

$2.17 VES 1,891

27.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,131

$0.51 VES 448

47.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$29.63 VES 25.8K

-8.37%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,450

$4.88 VES 4,261

-66.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,480

$2.68 VES 2,340

-63.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$15.17 VES 13.2K

-49.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,057

$0.86 VES 752

58.14%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$25.1K VES 21.9M

11.40%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

$38.6K VES 33.7M

-10.63%

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

$216 ARS 326.8K

$22.07 VES 19.3K

876.76%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$11.81 VES 10.3K

116.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

$38.64 VES 33.7K

-18.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

$66.8 VES 58.3K

-25.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$17.23 VES 15.0K

-0.99%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$6.48 VES 5,652

60.96%

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

$466 ARS 706.5K

$159 VES 139.1K

192.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$6,138 VES 5.4M

47.54%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.1K

$77.8 VES 67.9K

56.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

$50.6 VES 44.1K

92.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.3K

$136 VES 118.9K

-14.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.8K

$136 VES 118.9K

2.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$619 VES 539.7K

23.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 765.8K

$418 VES 364.4K

20.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,106 VES 964.6K

44.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$887 VES 773.6K

33.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$1,458 VES 1.3M

83.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$690 VES 602.3K

169.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$304 VES 265.0K

214.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

160.23%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Caracas: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Caracas

$418 31.4% 17.3% $87

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Caracas

$340 25.6% 19.6% $56

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Caracas

$190 14.3% 31.8% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Caracas

$73 5.5% 73.4% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Caracas

$180 13.6% 15.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Caracas

$80 6% 12.9% $9.1

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Caracas

$50 3.8% 36.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $619 in Caracas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 214% 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: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $68.0 in Caracas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $340 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇻🇪 Caracas

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

04:36 4:36 AM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

3,274,000 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1,000 VES = 1.15 USD

1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

VES, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 873 VES (1,000 VES = 1.15 USD). 1 EUR = 979 VES (1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Caracas 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Caracas

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 Caracas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Caracas differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,312 including rent). Caracas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 214% 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 $619 in Caracas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $159 in Caracas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Buenos Aires pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,312 in Caracas versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caracas but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Caracas 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 Caracas 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 Caracas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.