Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Las Terrenas

For one person, living is cheaper in Las Terrenas: $873 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 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
42

Cost of Living Index in Las Terrenas
Learn more

Las Terrenas Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Las Terrenas

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$873

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Las Terrenas

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $873 in Las Terrenas.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Las Terrenas $873

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,843 in Las Terrenas.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Las Terrenas $1,843

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,813 in Las Terrenas.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Las Terrenas $2,813

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 90% more expensive than in Las Terrenas, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Las Terrenas is 35% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$8.27 DOP 506

130.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$41.34 DOP 2,532

59.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$5.09 DOP 312

159.33%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$1.02 DOP 62.7

277.45%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.67 DOP 40.74

197.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.40 DOP 24.74

300.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.52 DOP 154

55.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$3.86 DOP 237

19.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$0.99 DOP 60.5

51.52%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$1.13 DOP 69.1

123.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.07 DOP 65.7

50.47%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.19 DOP 72.7

138.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$6.09 DOP 373

69.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$3.50 DOP 215

185.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$4.66 DOP 286

185.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.25 DOP 138

28.00%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$0.63 DOP 38.64

249.21%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$2.17 DOP 133

-35.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$2.23 DOP 137

-11.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$2.18 DOP 134

-44.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.07 DOP 65.4

17.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.94 DOP 57.3

81.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.98 DOP 59.9

75.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.71 DOP 289

-8.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$7.04 DOP 431

-19.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$2.35 DOP 144

-7.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$1.96 DOP 120

40.82%

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

$2.51 DOP 154

-37.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$3.27 DOP 200

-68.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.14 DOP 70.0

24.56%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$19.7K DOP 1.2M

41.89%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$24.2K DOP 1.5M

44.30%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$50.4 DOP 3,084

287.69%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$9.94 DOP 609

153.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$19.91 DOP 1,220

58.41%

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

$5.00 DOP 306

106.80%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$100 DOP 6,143

362.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$5,338 DOP 327.0K

64.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$27.30 DOP 1,672

338.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$44.76 DOP 2,742

113.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$62.9 DOP 3,856

81.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$66.6 DOP 4,079

109.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$770 DOP 47.2K

-1.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$386 DOP 23.7K

34.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$1,654 DOP 101.3K

-3.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$1,641 DOP 100.5K

-26.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$1,789 DOP 109.6K

51.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$408 DOP 25.0K

130.06%

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 Las Terrenas: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Las Terrenas

$386 44.3% 25.7% $133

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Las Terrenas

$169 19.3% 40.4% $115

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Las Terrenas

$118 13.6% 58% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Las Terrenas

$80 9.2% 68.2% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Las Terrenas

$91 10.4% 57% $120

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Las Terrenas

$10 * 1.1% 86% $62

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Las Terrenas

$19 * 2.2% 49% $18

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 $770 in Las Terrenas. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 130% 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 $41.00 in Las Terrenas for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $169 per month, with Las Terrenas cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇩🇴 Las Terrenas

🕒 Local time

11:55 11:55 AM

10:55 10:55 AM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

7,713

💱 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 Las Terrenas 6,110 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Las Terrenas

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 Las Terrenas: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Las Terrenas differ by about 90% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $873 including rent). Las Terrenas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 130% 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 $770 in Las Terrenas. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $100 in Las Terrenas. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Las Terrenas – 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 $873 in Las Terrenas versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Las Terrenas but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Las Terrenas 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 Las Terrenas 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 Las Terrenas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 90% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.