Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and La Marsa

For one person, living is cheaper in La Marsa: $772 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 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
38

Cost of Living Index in La Marsa
Learn more

La Marsa Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

La Marsa

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$772

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in La Marsa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $772 in La Marsa.

Buenos Aires $1,656
La Marsa $772

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,291 in La Marsa.

Buenos Aires $2,697
La Marsa $1,291

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,809 in La Marsa.

Buenos Aires $3,737
La Marsa $1,809

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 114% more expensive than in La Marsa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, La Marsa is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$3.41 TND 10.21

459.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$20.34 TND 60.9

223.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$5.24 TND 15.69

151.91%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$1.30 TND 3.88

196.15%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.60 TND 1.79

231.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.26 TND 0.77

515.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.48 TND 4.44

165.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$1.98 TND 5.92

132.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$0.53 TND 1.60

183.02%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.31 TND 0.94

716.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$2.32 TND 6.96

-30.60%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.85 TND 5.53

53.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$9.51 TND 28.49

8.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$6.65 TND 19.93

50.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$13.01 TND 38.98

2.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.03 TND 6.08

41.87%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$3.58 TND 10.71

-38.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.47 TND 4.42

-4.76%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$0.67 TND 2.00

195.52%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.60 TND 1.79

101.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.65 TND 1.96

93.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.40 TND 1.21

327.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.30 TND 0.91

473.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$3.64 TND 10.91

17.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$6.50 TND 19.47

-12.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.27 TND 3.79

70.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$1.61 TND 4.84

71.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.34 TND 1.03

120.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$6.99 TND 20.93

290.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.29 TND 0.86

441.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.42 TND 1.27

145.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$4.10 TND 12.28

92.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$0.87 TND 2.60

63.22%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$36.9K TND 110.5K

-24.22%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$31.1K TND 93.1K

12.51%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$33.98 TND 102

474.46%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$12.23 TND 36.62

105.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$18.32 TND 54.9

72.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$41.68 TND 125

22.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$7.45 TND 22.30

124.56%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$5.27 TND 15.80

96.20%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$59.5 TND 178

679.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$2,560 TND 7,666

243.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$63.5 TND 190

88.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$69.4 TND 208

37.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$90.9 TND 272

25.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$89.9 TND 269

54.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$288 TND 863

162.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$233 TND 697

123.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$707 TND 2,116

125.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$572 TND 1,712

109.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$1,831 TND 5,485

48.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,018 TND 3,049

86.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$334 TND 1,000

180.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

308.93%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for La Marsa: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

La Marsa

$233 30.1% 55.3% $287

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

La Marsa

$198 25.6% 30.2% $85

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

La Marsa

$73 9.5% 74% $208

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

La Marsa

$65 8.4% 74.4% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

La Marsa

$141 18.3% 33.1% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

La Marsa

$52 6.8% 27.1% $19

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

La Marsa

$11 1.4% 70.9% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $288 in La Marsa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 181% 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 $20.00 in La Marsa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $198 per month, with La Marsa cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇹🇳 La Marsa

🕒 Local time

19:43 7:43 PM

23:43 11:43 PM

4 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

92,987

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

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Buenos Aires La Marsa 10,660 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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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 La Marsa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and La Marsa differ by about 114% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $772 including rent). La Marsa is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 181% 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 $288 in La Marsa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $59.5 in La Marsa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 43% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $772 in La Marsa versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in La Marsa but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes La Marsa 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 La Marsa 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 La Marsa gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.