Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Cartago

For one person, living is cheaper in Cartago: $1,281 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
60

Cost of Living Index in Cartago
Learn more

Cartago Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Cartago

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,281

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,281 in Cartago.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Cartago $1,281

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,972 in Cartago.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Cartago $1,972

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,663 in Cartago.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Cartago $2,663

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 29% more expensive than in Cartago, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Cartago is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 28.9K

$7.58 COP 24.1K

151.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.6K

$37.20 COP 118.3K

76.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.47 COP 26.9K

55.84%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,823

$1.54 COP 4,884

150.00%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,011

$1.28 COP 4,063

55.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,423

$0.83 COP 2,634

92.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,942

$3.10 COP 9,869

26.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 6,982

$3.66 COP 11.7K

25.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,265

$1.60 COP 5,088

-6.25%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,826

$1.88 COP 5,973

34.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,438

$1.49 COP 4,751

8.05%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,303

$2.93 COP 9,334

-3.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.58 COP 20.9K

56.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.1K

$7.11 COP 22.6K

40.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.1K

$9.93 COP 31.6K

33.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,353

$3.57 COP 11.4K

-19.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,324

$1.32 COP 4,200

66.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,114

$1.74 COP 5,530

-19.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 2,995

$1.63 COP 5,184

21.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,830

$1.42 COP 4,522

-14.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,905

$1.50 COP 4,758

-16.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,584

$1.08 COP 3,443

58.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,596

$1.03 COP 3,261

66.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,486

$3.69 COP 11.7K

16.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,619

$13.12 COP 41.7K

-56.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,278

$1.50 COP 4,756

44.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,175

$2.45 COP 7,794

12.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,137

$1.02 COP 3,244

-26.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,368

$0.79 COP 2,524

98.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,554

$2.27 COP 7,230

-54.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 11.9K

$8.40 COP 26.7K

-5.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,154

$1.32 COP 4,211

7.58%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.3M

$28.0K COP 89.1M

-0.28%

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

$35.0K ARS 52.9M

$34.6K COP 110.2M

0.94%

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

$195 ARS 295.3K

$110 COP 349.3K

77.71%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.1K

$13.23 COP 42.1K

90.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.7K

$30.26 COP 96.2K

4.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.0K

$42.32 COP 134.6K

20.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.3K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.6K

$8.24 COP 26.2K

25.49%

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

$463 ARS 701.1K

$701 COP 2.2M

-33.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$6,430 COP 20.5M

36.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.3K

$77.8 COP 247.3K

54.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.5K

$55.1 COP 175.4K

73.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 172.6K

$127 COP 403.0K

-9.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 210.8K

$111 COP 351.7K

25.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$645 COP 2.1M

17.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 786.5K

$509 COP 1.6M

2.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$1,041 COP 3.3M

52.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$970 COP 3.1M

23.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$1,999 COP 6.4M

35.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,803 COP 5.7M

5.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.58

394.39%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cartago: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Cartago

$509 39.7% 2.1% $11

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Cartago

$241 18.8% 14.9% $42

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Cartago

$136 10.6% 51.8% $146

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Cartago

$153 12% 39.1% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Cartago

$167 13% 21% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Cartago

$59 4.6% 17.9% $13

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Cartago

$16 * 1.3% 56.1% $21

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 $756 in Buenos Aires and $645 in Cartago. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $37.00 in Cartago for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $241 per month, with Cartago cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇨🇴 Cartago

🕒 Local time

06:34 6:34 AM

04:34 4:34 AM

2 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

135,365

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.9 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.14 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 1,513 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD). 1 EUR = 1,694 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.9 EUR).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 3,181 COP (10,000 COP = 3.14 USD). 1 EUR = 3,562 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Cartago 4,740 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Cartago

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 Cartago: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Cartago differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,281 including rent). Cartago is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,484 in Buenos Aires and $1,921 in Cartago 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $645 in Cartago. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $701 in Cartago. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cartago – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,281 in Cartago versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cartago but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Cartago 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 Cartago 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 Cartago gentler on the wallet – expenses run 29% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.