Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Matola

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $995 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Matola
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Matola Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$995

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $995 in Matola.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Matola $995

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,520 in Matola.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Matola $1,520

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,045 in Matola.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Matola $2,045

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 66% more expensive than in Matola, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Matola is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$7.60 MZN 481

151.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$63.4 MZN 4,010

3.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.32 MZN 463

80.33%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$1.58 MZN 99.9

143.67%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.82 MZN 52.1

142.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.74 MZN 46.85

116.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.15 MZN 72.9

241.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$1.52 MZN 96.3

203.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.54 MZN 97.4

-2.60%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.99 MZN 62.8

155.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.66 MZN 105

-3.01%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.84 MZN 117

54.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$13.09 MZN 828

-21.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$5.65 MZN 357

76.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$4.55 MZN 288

192.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.07 MZN 131

39.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$0.59 MZN 37.08

272.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.71 MZN 108

-18.13%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.07 MZN 67.9

85.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.99 MZN 62.7

22.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.82 MZN 51.8

53.66%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.97 MZN 61.2

76.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.53 MZN 33.63

224.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$2.83 MZN 179

51.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$6.98 MZN 442

-18.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$0.90 MZN 57.2

141.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$1.24 MZN 78.4

122.58%

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

$1.59 MZN 101

-1.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$1.20 MZN 75.6

-14.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$24.67 MZN 1,560

-67.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.42 MZN 89.8

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$32.2K MZN 2.0M

-13.25%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$22.8K MZN 1.4M

53.18%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$39.72 MZN 2,512

391.44%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$7.80 MZN 493

222.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$77.3 MZN 4,891

-59.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$39.53 MZN 2,500

28.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$7.87 MZN 498

31.39%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$130 MZN 8,234

255.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$5,052 MZN 319.5K

74.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$49.07 MZN 3,104

144.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$57.0 MZN 3,606

67.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$78.1 MZN 4,939

46.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$79.4 MZN 5,019

75.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$473 MZN 29.9K

59.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$389 MZN 24.6K

33.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$693 MZN 43.8K

129.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$552 MZN 34.9K

117.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$315 MZN 19.9K

197.91%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

129.00%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Matola: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Matola

$389 39.1% 25.1% $130

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Matola

$182 18.3% 35.6% $101

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Matola

$117 11.7% 58.5% $165

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Matola

$125 12.6% 50.4% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Matola

$119 11.9% 43.8% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Matola

$55 5.6% 22.8% $16

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8% 79.5% $29

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 $473 in Matola. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 198% 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 $63.0 in Matola for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $182 per month, with Matola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇿 Matola

🕒 Local time

09:17 9:17 AM

14:17 2:17 PM

5 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

675,422

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MZN, 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).

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Matola 8,480 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Matola

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 Matola: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Matola differ by about 66% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $995 including rent). Matola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 198% 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 $473 in Matola. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $130 in Matola. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Matola – a meal for two runs $63.0 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $995 in Matola versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Matola but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Matola 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 Matola 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 Matola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.