Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Manizales

For one person, living is cheaper in Manizales: $1,275 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
62

Cost of Living Index in Manizales
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Manizales Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Manizales

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,275

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,275 in Manizales.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Manizales $1,275

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,924 in Manizales.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Manizales $1,924

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,573 in Manizales.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Manizales $2,573

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 30% more expensive than in Manizales, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Manizales is 6% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$6.21 COP 19.7K

207.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$42.01 COP 133.2K

56.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$10.24 COP 32.5K

28.91%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.45 COP 7,753

57.14%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.37 COP 4,352

45.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.87 COP 2,744

83.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.58 COP 5,000

148.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.52 COP 8,003

82.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.63 COP 5,160

-7.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$2.42 COP 7,658

4.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.71 COP 5,411

-5.85%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$3.39 COP 10.8K

-16.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$8.12 COP 25.8K

26.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$7.16 COP 22.7K

39.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$9.91 COP 31.4K

34.21%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$3.44 COP 10.9K

-16.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.85 COP 5,860

18.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.91 COP 6,072

-26.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.72 COP 5,462

15.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.41 COP 4,470

-14.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.42 COP 4,507

-11.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.30 COP 4,125

31.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.14 COP 3,619

50.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.50 COP 14.3K

-4.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$12.32 COP 39.1K

-53.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.41 COP 4,467

53.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.91 COP 9,234

-5.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.99 COP 3,146

-24.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$1.53 COP 4,856

2.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$1.55 COP 4,908

-33.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$9.27 COP 29.4K

-14.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.35 COP 4,269

5.19%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$23.2K COP 73.7M

20.30%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$34.9K COP 110.5M

0.34%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$121 COP 384.5K

60.96%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$11.79 COP 37.4K

113.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$29.70 COP 94.2K

6.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$47.38 COP 150.2K

7.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$8.03 COP 25.5K

28.77%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$501 COP 1.6M

-7.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$7,403 COP 23.5M

18.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$84.7 COP 268.6K

41.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$47.88 COP 151.8K

99.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$142 COP 450.7K

-19.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$108 COP 341.7K

29.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$467 COP 1.5M

62.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$473 COP 1.5M

9.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$828 COP 2.6M

92.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$799 COP 2.5M

50.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,064 COP 6.5M

31.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$2,059 COP 6.5M

-7.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$1,197 COP 3.8M

-21.64%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

377.08%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Manizales: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Manizales

$473 37.1% 9% $47

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Manizales

$259 20.3% 8.7% $25

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Manizales

$132 10.3% 53.3% $150

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Manizales

$163 12.8% 35.4% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Manizales

$172 13.5% 18.4% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Manizales

$63 5% 11.4% $8.2

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Manizales

$13 * 1% 64.2% $24

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 $467 in Manizales. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Manizales pays 28% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $42.00 in Manizales for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $259 per month, with Manizales cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇨🇴 Manizales

🕒 Local time

18:06 6:06 PM

16:06 4:06 PM

2 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

458,442

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Colombian Peso COP $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

COP, 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).

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

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Buenos Aires Manizales 4,760 km ≈ 6 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 Manizales: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Manizales differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,275 including rent). Manizales is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 28% lower in Manizales. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $467 in Manizales. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $501 in Manizales. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Manizales – a meal for two runs $42.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,275 in Manizales versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Manizales but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Manizales 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 Manizales 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 Manizales gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.