Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Kostanay

For one person, living is cheaper in Kostanay: $958 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
47

Cost of Living Index in Kostanay
Learn more

Kostanay Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Kostanay

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$958

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $958 in Kostanay.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Kostanay $958

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,445 in Kostanay.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Kostanay $1,445

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,932 in Kostanay.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Kostanay $1,932

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 73% more expensive than in Kostanay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Kostanay is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$5.42 ₸2,452

252.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$29.19 ₸13.2K

125.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.13 ₸3,223

85.13%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.20 ₸992

75.00%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.13 ₸509

76.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.91 ₸413

75.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.42 ₸644

176.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.68 ₸1,212

72.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.26 ₸570

19.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.53 ₸240

377.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.07 ₸483

50.47%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.18 ₸988

30.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$10.47 ₸4,732

-1.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$5.93 ₸2,682

68.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$8.35 ₸3,774

59.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$1.58 ₸713

82.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$2.29 ₸1,033

-3.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.85 ₸835

-24.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$2.30 ₸1,040

-13.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.58 ₸264

108.62%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.65 ₸294

93.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.20 ₸544

42.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.89 ₸404

93.26%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$2.50 ₸1,131

71.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$8.16 ₸3,689

-30.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.10 ₸496

97.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.27 ₸1,025

21.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.34 ₸155

120.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.89 ₸403

76.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$1.09 ₸492

-5.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$5.84 ₸2,641

35.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$0.64 ₸288

121.87%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$30.8K ₸13.9M

-9.12%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$30.7K ₸13.9M

13.77%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$78.5 ₸35.5K

148.60%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$11.07 ₸5,005

127.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$16.05 ₸7,253

96.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$47.87 ₸21.6K

6.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$20.28 ₸9,167

-17.50%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.20 ₸1,900

146.19%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$213 ₸96.1K

118.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$6,512 ₸2.9M

35.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$94.6 ₸42.7K

26.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$54.4 ₸24.6K

75.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$111 ₸50.1K

3.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$91.7 ₸41.5K

51.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$394 ₸177.9K

92.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$316 ₸142.9K

64.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$600 ₸271.0K

165.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$481 ₸217.2K

149.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$1,183 ₸534.7K

129.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$929 ₸420.0K

104.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$658 ₸297.3K

42.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

18.5

209.46%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Kostanay: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Kostanay

$316 33% 39.2% $204

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Kostanay

$202 21.1% 28.5% $81

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Kostanay

$112 11.7% 60.3% $170

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Kostanay

$106 11% 58.1% $146

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Kostanay

$158 16.5% 25% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Kostanay

$56 5.9% 21.4% $15

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Kostanay

$7.7 * 0.8% 79.2% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $394 in Kostanay. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 43% 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 $29.00 in Kostanay for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $202 per month, with Kostanay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇰🇿 Kostanay

🕒 Local time

18:05 6:05 PM

03:05 3:05 AM

9 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

264,446

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, 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).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Kostanay 15,100 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Kostanay

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 Kostanay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Kostanay differ by about 73% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $958 including rent). Kostanay is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 43% 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 $394 in Kostanay. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $213 in Kostanay. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Kostanay – a meal for two runs $29.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $958 in Kostanay versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kostanay but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Kostanay 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 Kostanay 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 Kostanay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 73% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.