Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and La Romana

For one person, living is cheaper in La Romana: $631 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in La Romana
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La Romana Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

La Romana

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$631

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $631 in La Romana.

Buenos Aires $1,656
La Romana $631

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,014 in La Romana.

Buenos Aires $2,697
La Romana $1,014

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,398 in La Romana.

Buenos Aires $3,737
La Romana $1,398

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 162% more expensive than in La Romana, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, La Romana is 53% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$8.43 DOP 516

126.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$40.80 DOP 2,499

61.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.16 DOP 439

84.36%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$1.75 DOP 107

120.00%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.71 DOP 43.32

180.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.32 DOP 19.33

400.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.43 DOP 149

61.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$3.97 DOP 244

16.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.05 DOP 64.1

42.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$1.80 DOP 110

40.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.51 DOP 92.3

6.62%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.48 DOP 91.0

91.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.28 DOP 384

64.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$3.53 DOP 216

183.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$4.62 DOP 283

187.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$3.61 DOP 221

-20.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.38 DOP 84.3

59.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$3.23 DOP 198

-56.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$2.13 DOP 131

-7.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$3.58 DOP 220

-66.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.87 DOP 176

-56.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.88 DOP 53.9

94.32%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.60 DOP 98.2

7.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.66 DOP 285

-7.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$16.45 DOP 1,007

-65.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$3.00 DOP 184

-27.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$3.48 DOP 213

-20.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.49 DOP 153

-36.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$3.23 DOP 198

-68.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.39 DOP 85.1

2.16%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$15.1K DOP 922.4K

85.62%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$25.5K DOP 1.6M

37.22%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$95.3 DOP 5,837

104.87%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$9.68 DOP 593

159.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$39.12 DOP 2,397

-19.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.97 DOP 305

108.05%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$146 DOP 8,946

217.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$5,480 DOP 335.7K

60.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$26.84 DOP 1,644

346.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$45.24 DOP 2,772

111.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$60.6 DOP 3,713

88.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$67.0 DOP 4,104

107.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

420.45%

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 Romana: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

La Romana

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

La Romana

$235 37.2% 17.1% $48

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

La Romana

$134 21.2% 52.4% $148

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

La Romana

$144 22.8% 42.8% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

La Romana

$90 14.2% 57.4% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

La Romana

$9.9 * 1.6% 86.1% $62

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

La Romana

$19 * 3% 49.6% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $41.00 in La Romana for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $235 per month, with La Romana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇩🇴 La Romana

🕒 Local time

12:00 12:00 PM

11:00 11:00 AM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

567,431

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Dominican Peso DOP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 DOP = 1.63 USD

100 DOP = 1.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DOP, 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).

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 61.26 DOP (100 DOP = 1.63 USD). 1 EUR = 68.87 DOP (100 DOP = 1.45 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires La Romana 6,000 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
La Romana

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 La Romana: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and La Romana differ by about 162% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $631 including rent). La Romana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,484 in Buenos Aires and $947 in La Romana to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $146 in La Romana. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in La Romana – a meal for two runs $41.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $631 in La Romana versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in La Romana but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes La Romana 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 Romana 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 Romana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 162% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.