Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Matamoros

For one person, living is cheaper in Matamoros: $1,090 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Matamoros
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Matamoros Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Matamoros

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,090

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,090 in Matamoros.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Matamoros $1,090

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,832 in Matamoros.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Matamoros $1,832

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

Buenos Aires $3,737
Matamoros $2,573

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 52% more expensive than in Matamoros, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Matamoros is 19% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$12.38 MX$229

54.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$37.67 MX$696

74.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$9.06 MX$167

45.70%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$3.29 MX$60.8

17.02%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.47 MX$27.18

35.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.05 MX$19.40

52.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.26 MX$41.81

73.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$4.48 MX$82.8

2.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.63 MX$30.12

-7.98%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$2.40 MX$44.43

5.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.70 MX$31.43

-5.29%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.57 MX$47.54

10.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$9.01 MX$167

14.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$7.82 MX$144

27.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$11.74 MX$217

13.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.70 MX$49.81

6.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.73 MX$31.92

27.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.67 MX$30.82

-16.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$2.05 MX$37.92

-3.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$2.17 MX$40.01

-44.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.09 MX$38.70

-39.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.61 MX$29.73

6.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.22 MX$22.48

40.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.72 MX$87.2

-9.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$10.79 MX$199

-47.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$2.02 MX$37.32

7.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$3.18 MX$58.8

-13.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.65 MX$12.03

15.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.71 MX$50.0

-42.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$2.25 MX$41.49

-54.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$11.47 MX$212

-31.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.34 MX$24.72

5.97%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$23.5K MX$435.0K

18.74%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$23.9K MX$441.3K

46.42%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$56.2 MX$1,038

247.64%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$25.44 MX$470

-1.10%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$26.61 MX$492

18.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$32.88 MX$608

54.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$22.40 MX$414

-25.31%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.48 MX$82.7

130.80%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$223 MX$4,114

108.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$4,650 MX$85.9K

89.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$53.3 MX$986

124.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$38.50 MX$711

148.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$99.1 MX$1,832

15.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$79.4 MX$1,467

75.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$646 MX$11.9K

17.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$337 MX$6,220

54.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$901 MX$16.7K

76.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$826 MX$15.3K

45.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,039 MX$37.7K

33.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,054 MX$19.5K

80.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.3

406.64%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Matamoros: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Matamoros

$337 30.9% 35.2% $183

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Matamoros

$269 24.7% 4.9% $14

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Matamoros

$196 18% 30.4% $86

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Matamoros

$108 9.9% 57% $144

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Matamoros

$122 11.2% 42.3% $89

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Matamoros

$42 3.8% 41.6% $30

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Matamoros

$17 * 1.5% 55.3% $20

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 $646 in Matamoros. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $38.00 in Matamoros for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $269 per month, with Matamoros cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Matamoros

🕒 Local time

01:16 1:16 AM

23:16 11:16 PM

2 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

510,739

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Matamoros 7,880 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Matamoros

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 Matamoros: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Matamoros differ by about 52% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,090 including rent). Matamoros 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 $1,635 in Matamoros 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $646 in Matamoros. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $223 in Matamoros. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Matamoros – a meal for two runs $38.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,090 in Matamoros versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Matamoros but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Matamoros 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 Matamoros 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 Matamoros gentler on the wallet – expenses run 52% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.