Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Chimaltenango

For one person, living is cheaper in Chimaltenango: $745 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Chimaltenango
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Chimaltenango Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Chimaltenango

🇬🇹 Guatemala

$745

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $745 in Chimaltenango.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Chimaltenango $745

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $1,229 in Chimaltenango.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Chimaltenango $1,229

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $1,712 in Chimaltenango.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Chimaltenango $1,712

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 126% more expensive than in Chimaltenango, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Chimaltenango is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$6.92 Q 52.9

170.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$49.80 Q 381

29.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$7.69 Q 58.8

67.49%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.36 Q 25.67

18.45%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.16 Q 8.88

76.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.93 Q 7.10

66.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$3.19 Q 24.36

20.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$4.85 Q 37.04

-5.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$2.00 Q 15.30

-28.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$3.13 Q 23.94

-21.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$2.09 Q 15.96

-22.01%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.56 Q 19.59

12.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$6.46 Q 49.37

64.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.44 Q 72.1

5.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$13.47 Q 103

2.00%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$4.00 Q 30.54

-31.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.66 Q 12.66

31.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$2.82 Q 21.56

-48.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$1.66 Q 12.70

19.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.48 Q 11.27

-16.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$2.10 Q 16.08

-39.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$0.68 Q 5.17

150.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$1.15 Q 8.78

50.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$3.99 Q 30.48

4.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$8.36 Q 63.9

-30.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.75 Q 13.36

19.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.68 Q 20.49

3.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$5.27 Q 40.28

-69.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$10.27 Q 78.5

-24.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.21 Q 9.28

12.40%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$27.9K Q 213.3K

0.36%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$25.3K Q 193.1K

36.62%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$72.4 Q 553

197.79%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$29.30 Q 224

-12.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$47.04 Q 359

-33.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$6.34 Q 48.43

64.51%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$338 Q 2,583

37.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$6,593 Q 50.4K

37.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$49.38 Q 377

147.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$47.63 Q 364

104.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$116 Q 889

0.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$114 Q 873

22.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.62

392.69%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Chimaltenango: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Chimaltenango

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Chimaltenango

$282 37.7% 0.6% $1.7

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Chimaltenango

$153 20.4% 45.2% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Chimaltenango

$149 19.9% 45.4% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Chimaltenango

$147 19.7% 31.2% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Chimaltenango

$13 * 1.7% 82.1% $58

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Chimaltenango

$5.3 * 0.7% 85.6% $31

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $50.0 in Chimaltenango for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $282 per month, with Chimaltenango cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇬🇹 Chimaltenango

🕒 Local time

04:12 4:12 AM

01:12 1:12 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

43,900

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Guatemalan Quetzal GTQ Q

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 GTQ = 0.131 USD

1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GTQ, 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).

Guatemalan Quetzal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 7.64 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.131 USD). 1 EUR = 8.57 GTQ (1 GTQ = 0.117 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Chimaltenango 6,460 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Chimaltenango

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 Chimaltenango: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Chimaltenango differ by about 126% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $745 including rent). Chimaltenango is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,528 in Buenos Aires and $1,117 in Chimaltenango 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.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $338 in Chimaltenango. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chimaltenango – a meal for two runs $50.0 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $745 in Chimaltenango versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Chimaltenango but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Chimaltenango 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 Chimaltenango 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 Chimaltenango gentler on the wallet – expenses run 126% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.