Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Chisinau

For one person, living is cheaper in Chisinau: $1,275 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Chisinau
Learn more

Chisinau Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,275

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,275 in Chisinau.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Chisinau $1,275

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $1,987 in Chisinau.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Chisinau $1,987

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $2,699 in Chisinau.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Chisinau $2,699

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 32% more expensive than in Chisinau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Chisinau is 5% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$11.27 MDL 200

66.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$49.50 MDL 877

30.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$8.46 MDL 150

52.25%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$2.12 MDL 37.57

87.74%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.17 MDL 20.79

75.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.91 MDL 16.07

70.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$2.24 MDL 39.72

71.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$1.92 MDL 34.03

139.58%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.21 MDL 21.45

19.01%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$0.69 MDL 12.21

256.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.37 MDL 24.27

18.98%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.81 MDL 49.87

2.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$9.49 MDL 168

12.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$5.02 MDL 88.9

99.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$8.75 MDL 155

57.03%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$0.97 MDL 17.28

183.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.92 MDL 34.11

13.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$2.08 MDL 36.86

-30.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$2.25 MDL 39.84

-11.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$0.71 MDL 12.63

74.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$0.56 MDL 9.96

126.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.31 MDL 23.27

29.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.88 MDL 15.54

96.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$3.37 MDL 59.7

24.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$4.81 MDL 85.3

20.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.26 MDL 22.28

65.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$1.87 MDL 33.11

48.13%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.37 MDL 6.61

102.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$13.68 MDL 243

98.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.25 MDL 39.88

-28.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$0.33 MDL 5.81

196.97%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$5.07 MDL 89.8

52.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.70 MDL 30.18

-20.00%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$29.4K MDL 520.4K

-4.61%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$30.3K MDL 537.3K

13.89%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$244 MDL 4,318

-11.52%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$9.64 MDL 171

165.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$10.72 MDL 190

192.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$41.23 MDL 731

20.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$20.17 MDL 358

-15.42%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$8.40 MDL 149

24.17%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$428 MDL 7,578

8.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$5,887 MDL 104.3K

53.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$80.8 MDL 1,432

51.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$46.11 MDL 817

111.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$115 MDL 2,046

1.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$114 MDL 2,018

22.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$678 MDL 12.0K

12.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$439 MDL 7,788

14.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,255 MDL 22.2K

27.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$829 MDL 14.7K

42.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$2,614 MDL 46.3K

2.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$1,988 MDL 35.2K

-6.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$867 MDL 15.4K

10.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

9.1

529.12%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Chisinau: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Chisinau

$439 33.9% 13% $66

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Chisinau

$190 14.7% 33% $94

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Chisinau

$164 12.7% 41.1% $115

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Chisinau

$264 20.4% 3.1% $8.5

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Chisinau

$160 12.4% 25.2% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Chisinau

$58 4.5% 17.9% $13

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Chisinau

$19 1.5% 47.9% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $678 in Chisinau. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 10% 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 $49.00 in Chisinau for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $190 per month, with Chisinau cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇩 Chisinau

🕒 Local time

03:08 3:08 AM

09:08 9:08 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

750,000 Capital

💱 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 Chisinau 12,550 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Chisinau

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 Chisinau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Chisinau differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,275 including rent). Chisinau is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 10% 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 $678 in Chisinau. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $428 in Chisinau. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 49% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,275 in Chisinau versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Chisinau but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Chisinau 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 Chisinau 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 Chisinau gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.