Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Costa Rica

Name: Costa Rica
Address: CR

For one person, living costs are similar in Buenos Aires and in Costa Rica: $1,685 and $1,735 a month, rent and utilities included.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
86

Cost of Living Index in Costa Rica
Learn more

Costa Rica Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

$1,735

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Buenos Aires is 5.7% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 2.9% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Buenos Aires is 3.3% cheaper than Costa Rica without rent, and 3.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$11.78 ₡5,312

59.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$55.5 ₡25.0K

16.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$10.72 ₡4,831

20.15%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$4.49 ₡2,023

-11.36%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$2.33 ₡1,051

-12.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$1.81 ₡815

-14.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$3.23 ₡1,455

18.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$4.42 ₡1,992

4.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$2.30 ₡1,037

-37.39%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$3.55 ₡1,600

-30.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$2.71 ₡1,221

-39.85%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$4.05 ₡1,825

-28.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$9.92 ₡4,473

7.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$10.49 ₡4,729

-4.67%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$13.56 ₡6,111

1.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$5.13 ₡2,312

-46.39%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.68 ₡758

29.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$3.63 ₡1,639

-60.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$3.24 ₡1,463

-38.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$3.40 ₡1,534

-63.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$3.09 ₡1,394

-58.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.11 ₡501

53.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$2.64 ₡1,192

-34.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$5.43 ₡2,446

-23.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$15.63 ₡7,048

-62.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$2.75 ₡1,238

-24.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$3.27 ₡1,472

-15.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$1.07 ₡480

-29.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$65.3 ₡29.4K

-58.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.18 ₡981

-25.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$2.03 ₡916

-51.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$8.82 ₡3,977

-12.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.53 ₡688

-11.11%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$32.8K ₡14.8M

-14.54%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$36.0K ₡16.2M

-4.02%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$93.4 ₡42.1K

130.80%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$30.19 ₡13.6K

-15.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$57.1 ₡25.7K

-45.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$65.1 ₡29.3K

-23.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$22.13 ₡9,976

-22.91%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$8.09 ₡3,645

28.92%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$740 ₡333.8K

-37.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$12.6K ₡5.7M

-27.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$75.5 ₡34.0K

61.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$54.6 ₡24.6K

78.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$127 ₡57.4K

-8.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$107 ₡48.3K

30.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$833 ₡375.3K

-8.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$641 ₡289.1K

-21.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,776 ₡800.8K

-10.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$1,191 ₡536.9K

-0.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$2,437 ₡1.1M

9.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$1,631 ₡735.2K

13.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$1,033 ₡465.8K

-7.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

9.56

498.85%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Costa Rica: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Costa Rica

$641 36.7% 27% $136

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Costa Rica

$379 21.7% 33.4% $95

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Costa Rica

$222 12.7% 20.5% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Costa Rica

$181 10.3% 33.7% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Costa Rica

$164 9.4% 23.4% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Costa Rica

$81 4.6% 15% $11

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Costa Rica

$82 4.7% 124% $45

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇨🇷 Costa Rica

🕒 Local time

07:51 7:51 AM

04:51 4:51 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

5,044,197

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Costa Rican Colón CRC ₡

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD

1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CRC, 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 = 1,699 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Costa Rican Colón exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 451 CRC (1,000 CRC = 2.22 USD). 1 EUR = 505 CRC (1,000 CRC = 1.98 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Costa Rica 5,640 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Costa Rica

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

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