Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Malindi

For one person, living is cheaper in Malindi: $502 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
24

Cost of Living Index in Malindi
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Malindi Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Malindi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$502

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $502 in Malindi.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Malindi $502

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $787 in Malindi.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Malindi $787

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $1,072 in Malindi.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Malindi $1,072

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 235% more expensive than in Malindi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Malindi is 63% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$2.06 KES 267

809.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$23.42 KES 3,038

175.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$10.55 KES 1,369

22.09%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.58 KES 465

11.17%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$0.98 KES 128

109.18%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.42 KES 54.1

269.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$2.32 KES 301

65.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$3.24 KES 420

41.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$0.94 KES 122

53.19%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$0.53 KES 68.5

364.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.22 KES 158

33.61%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$1.82 KES 236

58.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$11.22 KES 1,455

-5.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$5.57 KES 723

79.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$5.03 KES 652

173.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.18 KES 283

26.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$0.79 KES 102

175.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$1.82 KES 236

-20.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$0.70 KES 90.7

184.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$0.66 KES 85.6

87.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$0.66 KES 85.5

92.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$0.57 KES 73.5

198.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.43 KES 55.4

302.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$4.71 KES 611

-11.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$7.82 KES 1,014

-25.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$2.02 KES 262

3.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.87 KES 372

-3.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$3.09 KES 401

-47.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$1.76 KES 228

-44.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$4.61 KES 598

67.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.38 KES 179

-1.45%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$11.9K KES 1.5M

135.84%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$11.9K KES 1.5M

191.05%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$55.5 KES 7,192

288.76%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$12.96 KES 1,681

97.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$30.24 KES 3,922

3.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$38.98 KES 5,055

27.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$10.71 KES 1,389

-2.61%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$85.2 KES 11.1K

446.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$5,401 KES 700.5K

67.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$13.30 KES 1,725

818.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$13.46 KES 1,746

623.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$22.81 KES 2,959

412.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$46.96 KES 6,091

197.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$393 KES 50.9K

307.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

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

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

340.38%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Malindi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Malindi

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Malindi

$172 34.3% 39.5% $112

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Malindi

$115 22.9% 58.8% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Malindi

$99 19.7% 63.8% $174

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Malindi

$43 8.7% 79.7% $171

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Malindi

$60 12.1% 14.5% $10

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Malindi

$12 * 2.4% 67.6% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $23.00 in Malindi for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $172 per month, with Malindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇰🇪 Malindi

🕒 Local time

02:01 2:01 AM

08:01 8:01 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

117,735

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, 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 = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Malindi 10,580 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Malindi

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 Malindi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Malindi differ by about 235% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $502 including rent). Malindi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,528 in Buenos Aires and $754 in Malindi 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 $466 in Buenos Aires versus $85.2 in Malindi. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Malindi – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $502 in Malindi versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Malindi but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Malindi 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 Malindi 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 Malindi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 235% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.