Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Kingston

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $2,224 in Kingston, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Kingston outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
108

Cost of Living Index in Kingston
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Kingston Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Kingston

🇨🇦 Canada

$2,224

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,224 in Kingston.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Kingston $2,224

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $3,051 in Kingston.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Kingston $3,051

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $3,879 in Kingston.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Kingston $3,879

Living in Buenos Aires costs roughly 24% less than in Kingston, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Kingston 66% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$14.71 CA$20.97

27.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$62.7 CA$89.3

2.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$11.17 CA$15.92

15.31%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.51 CA$5.00

13.39%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$2.01 CA$2.87

1.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$1.31 CA$1.86

18.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$5.87 CA$8.37

-34.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$6.27 CA$8.93

-26.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$2.04 CA$2.90

-29.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$2.44 CA$3.48

0.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$3.29 CA$4.69

-50.46%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$2.90 CA$4.14

-0.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$10.27 CA$14.64

3.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$11.31 CA$16.12

-11.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$9.99 CA$14.24

37.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.89 CA$4.12

-4.84%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.14 CA$1.63

91.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$3.51 CA$5.00

-58.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$3.55 CA$5.06

-43.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$3.30 CA$4.71

-62.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$2.24 CA$3.19

-43.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$2.61 CA$3.72

-34.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$1.58 CA$2.26

9.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$13.40 CA$19.10

-68.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$12.16 CA$17.33

-52.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$2.17 CA$3.09

-3.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$3.28 CA$4.68

-15.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$2.48 CA$3.54

-69.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$56.2 CA$80.0

-51.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$3.07 CA$4.37

-47.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$1.50 CA$2.14

-34.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$31.06 CA$44.27

-75.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.14 CA$1.63

19.30%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$27.6K CA$39.3K

1.63%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$18.7K CA$26.7K

84.56%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$120 CA$171

79.52%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$38.49 CA$54.9

-33.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$63.2 CA$90.1

-50.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$28.06 CA$40.00

77.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$8.84 CA$12.60

92.99%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$10.41 CA$14.84

0.19%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$514 CA$733

-9.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$51.7 CA$73.7

136.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$32.55 CA$46.39

199.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$79.7 CA$114

46.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$85.3 CA$122

63.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$1,535 CA$2,188

-50.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$1,181 CA$1,684

-57.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$2,287 CA$3,260

-30.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$1,544 CA$2,201

-23.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$3,384 CA$4,824

-20.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$2,449 CA$3,491

-24.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$2,979 CA$4,246

-67.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

4.61

1141.87%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Kingston: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Kingston

$1.2K 53.3% 134% $676

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Kingston

$326 14.7% 14.6% $41

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Kingston

$248 11.2% 10.9% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Kingston

$222 10% 18.6% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Kingston

$112 5.1% 47.7% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Kingston

$49 2.2% 30.8% $22

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Kingston

$77 3.5% 109% $40

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $1,535 in Kingston. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kingston pays 212% 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 $63.0 in Kingston. Groceries flip the comparison at $284 vs $326, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇨🇦 Kingston

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

06:10 6:10 AM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

123,363

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Canadian Dollar CAD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CAD, 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).

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Kingston 8,950 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Kingston

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 Kingston: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Kingston differ by about 32% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $2,224 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 212% lower in Kingston. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $1,535 in Kingston. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $514 in Kingston. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in Kingston. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,224 in Kingston, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Kingston. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires 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 Kingston 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 Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 32% less than in Kingston. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.