Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Cricova

For one person, living is cheaper in Cricova: $1,022 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Cricova
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Cricova Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Cricova

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,022

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,022 in Cricova.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Cricova $1,022

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,858 in Cricova.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Cricova $1,858

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,693 in Cricova.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Cricova $2,693

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 62% more expensive than in Cricova, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Cricova is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$8.25 MDL 146

131.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$27.53 MDL 489

139.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$10.30 MDL 183

28.16%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$1.08 MDL 19.20

256.48%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.05 MDL 18.59

89.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.68 MDL 12.14

135.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.00 MDL 35.55

96.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.21 MDL 39.25

108.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$2.39 MDL 42.52

-37.24%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.46 MDL 8.18

450.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.09 MDL 19.38

47.71%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.25 MDL 22.22

127.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.90 MDL 123

49.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$4.59 MDL 81.5

117.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$12.35 MDL 219

7.69%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$1.08 MDL 19.14

166.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$0.86 MDL 15.21

155.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.03 MDL 18.33

35.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.09 MDL 19.29

81.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.76 MDL 13.44

59.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.09 MDL 19.36

15.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.08 MDL 19.24

58.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.09 MDL 19.37

57.80%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$3.31 MDL 58.8

29.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$4.45 MDL 79.1

28.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$2.58 MDL 45.88

-15.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$4.28 MDL 75.9

-35.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.53 MDL 9.48

41.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$22.39 MDL 398

21.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$1.10 MDL 19.57

42.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.26 MDL 4.63

296.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$6.53 MDL 116

20.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.30 MDL 23.12

9.23%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$29.2K MDL 517.9K

-4.16%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$23.8K MDL 422.4K

47.02%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$235 MDL 4,176

-16.98%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$7.70 MDL 137

226.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$11.02 MDL 196

186.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$56.5 MDL 1,003

-9.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$11.20 MDL 199

49.38%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$7.42 MDL 132

39.35%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$111 MDL 1,972

317.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$5,220 MDL 92.7K

68.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$56.2 MDL 998

113.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$27.60 MDL 490

245.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$82.5 MDL 1,464

38.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$114 MDL 2,021

22.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$884 MDL 15.7K

-14.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$222 MDL 3,943

134.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$1,373 MDL 24.4K

15.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$1,108 MDL 19.7K

8.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,775 MDL 49.3K

-2.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,943 MDL 34.5K

-2.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$562 MDL 9,989

66.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

717.86%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cricova: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Cricova

$222 21.7% 57.3% $298

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Cricova

$191 18.7% 32.6% $92

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Cricova

$131 12.8% 53.4% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Cricova

$254 24.8% 0.8% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Cricova

$126 12.3% 40.3% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Cricova

$71 7% 0.3% $0.3

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Cricova

$27 2.6% 27.1% $10

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $884 in Cricova. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 67% 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: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $28.00 in Cricova for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $191 per month, with Cricova cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇩 Cricova

🕒 Local time

00:25 12:25 AM

06:25 6:25 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

10,642

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Cricova 12,560 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Cricova

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 Cricova: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Cricova differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,022 including rent). Cricova is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 67% 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: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $884 in Cricova. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $111 in Cricova. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 48% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,022 in Cricova versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Cricova but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Cricova 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 Cricova 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 Cricova gentler on the wallet – expenses run 62% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.