Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Mbabane

For one person, living is cheaper in Mbabane: $747 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
37

Cost of Living Index in Mbabane
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Mbabane Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Mbabane

🇸🇿 Eswatini

$747

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $747 in Mbabane.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Mbabane $747

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $1,223 in Mbabane.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Mbabane $1,223

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $1,700 in Mbabane.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Mbabane $1,700

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 126% more expensive than in Mbabane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 26% above, Mbabane is 44% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$10.27 SZL 169

82.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$34.04 SZL 561

89.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$5.74 SZL 94.6

124.39%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$2.62 SZL 43.16

51.91%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.12 SZL 18.41

83.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$0.62 SZL 10.21

150.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$2.16 SZL 35.58

77.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$2.45 SZL 40.46

87.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.53 SZL 25.29

-5.88%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$0.81 SZL 13.34

203.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.75 SZL 28.82

-6.86%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$1.78 SZL 29.32

62.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$11.01 SZL 181

-3.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$5.60 SZL 92.3

78.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$4.98 SZL 82.0

175.90%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$1.74 SZL 28.72

58.05%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$0.63 SZL 10.38

246.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$1.25 SZL 20.56

16.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$1.41 SZL 23.18

41.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$1.25 SZL 20.57

-0.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.49 SZL 24.48

-14.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$0.71 SZL 11.74

139.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$0.76 SZL 12.56

127.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$2.85 SZL 46.91

46.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$5.93 SZL 97.8

-2.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.52 SZL 25.10

37.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$1.67 SZL 27.59

65.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.74 SZL 12.18

1.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$1.38 SZL 22.80

-28.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$3.03 SZL 50.0

154.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.27 SZL 20.98

7.09%

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

$64.0 SZL 1,056

236.62%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$38.40 SZL 633

-33.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$26.97 SZL 445

16.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$22.61 SZL 373

120.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$3.04 SZL 50.1

461.18%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$3.65 SZL 60.1

185.75%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$6,330 SZL 104.3K

43.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$35.21 SZL 580

246.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$14.80 SZL 244

558.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$69.1 SZL 1,139

69.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$53.2 SZL 877

162.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$267 SZL 4,406

185.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$179 SZL 2,950

182.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$445 SZL 7,332

259.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$347 SZL 5,720

241.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$473 SZL 7,794

466.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$359 SZL 5,915

417.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

7.25

689.66%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Mbabane: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Mbabane

$179 23.6% 64.6% $326

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Mbabane

$180 23.7% 36.8% $105

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Mbabane

$153 20.2% 45% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Mbabane

$129 17.1% 52.5% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Mbabane

$78 10.2% 63.8% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Mbabane

$30 3.9% 57.7% $41

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Mbabane

$9.9 * 1.3% 73.1% $27

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 $267 in Mbabane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $34.00 in Mbabane for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $180 per month, with Mbabane cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇸🇿 Mbabane

🕒 Local time

04:53 4:53 AM

09:53 9:53 AM

5 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

94,874 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Eswatini Lilangeni SZL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 SZL = 6.07 USD

100 SZL = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SZL, 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).

Eswatini Lilangeni exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 SZL (100 SZL = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 SZL (100 SZL = 5.41 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Mbabane 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Mbabane

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 Mbabane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Mbabane differ by about 126% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $747 including rent). Mbabane 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 $1,121 in Mbabane 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: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $267 in Mbabane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Mbabane – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,685 per month in Buenos Aires versus $747 in Mbabane – a 126% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $747 in Mbabane versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Mbabane but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Mbabane 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 Mbabane 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 Mbabane gentler on the wallet – expenses run 126% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.