Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Mahé

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $1,799 in Mahé, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Mahé outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Mahé
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Mahé Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Mahé

🇸🇨 Seychelles

$1,799

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,799 in Mahé.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Mahé $1,799

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,618 in Mahé.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Mahé $2,618

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $3,438 in Mahé.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Mahé $3,438

Living in Buenos Aires costs roughly 6% less than in Mahé, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Mahé 34% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$17.55 SCR 254

6.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$108 SCR 1,564

-40.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$5.66 SCR 82.0

127.56%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$6.59 SCR 95.4

-39.61%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.62 SCR 23.47

26.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$12.68 SCR 184

-69.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$9.10 SCR 132

-49.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.58 SCR 22.84

-8.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$1.09 SCR 15.83

125.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.84 SCR 26.66

-11.41%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$4.29 SCR 62.1

-32.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$15.89 SCR 230

-32.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$8.28 SCR 120

20.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$12.96 SCR 188

6.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.07 SCR 29.93

32.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$2.42 SCR 35.04

-40.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$6.59 SCR 95.4

-69.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.06 SCR 15.33

16.98%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.05 SCR 15.23

20.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.09 SCR 15.81

55.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$14.50 SCR 210

-71.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.19 SCR 31.75

26.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.76 SCR 11.03

-1.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$35.50 SCR 514

-23.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$14.40 SCR 209

-46.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.48 SCR 21.40

-8.11%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$49.22 SCR 713

337.97%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$21.81 SCR 316

17.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$105 SCR 1,523

-70.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$52.9 SCR 766

-5.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$6.26 SCR 90.6

66.61%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$29.88 SCR 433

308.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$11.99 SCR 174

712.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$47.18 SCR 683

147.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$58.8 SCR 851

137.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$871 SCR 12.6K

-12.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$842 SCR 12.2K

-40.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,772 SCR 25.7K

-9.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$1,058 SCR 15.3K

12.00%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$855 SCR 12.4K

11.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Mahé: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Mahé

$842 47.9% 66.7% $337

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Mahé

$246 * 14% 13.4% $38

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Mahé

$324 * 18.5% 16.3% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Mahé

$176 10% 35.4% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Mahé

$67 3.8% 69% $148

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Mahé

$65 3.7% 7.4% $5.3

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Mahé

$39 * 2.2% 5.2% $1.9

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 $763 in Buenos Aires and $871 in Mahé. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $108 in Mahé. Groceries flip the comparison at $284 vs $246, with Mahé cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇸🇨 Mahé

🕒 Local time

07:05 7:05 AM

14:05 2:05 PM

7 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

78,539

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Seychellois Rupee SCR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 SCR = 6.91 USD

100 SCR = 6.16 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SCR, 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).

Seychellois Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 14.48 SCR (100 SCR = 6.91 USD). 1 EUR = 16.23 SCR (100 SCR = 6.16 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Mahé 11,860 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Mahé

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 Mahé: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Mahé differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,799 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% 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: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $871 in Mahé. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Buenos Aires – a meal for two runs $64.0 versus $108 in Mahé. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Buenos Aires runs roughly 31% less than in Mahé. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,799 in Mahé, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Mahé. 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 Mahé 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 7% less than in Mahé. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.