Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Mecca

For one person, living is cheaper in Mecca: $936 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
45

Cost of Living Index in Mecca
Learn more

Mecca Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Mecca

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$936

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $936 in Mecca.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Mecca $936

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,453 in Mecca.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Mecca $1,453

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,970 in Mecca.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Mecca $1,970

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 77% more expensive than in Mecca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Mecca is 31% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$4.57 SAR 17.14

317.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$26.89 SAR 101

144.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.07 SAR 26.52

86.70%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.55 SAR 5.81

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.49 SAR 5.61

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.61 SAR 9.79

47.51%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.67 SAR 2.51

197.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.23 SAR 0.86

595.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-14.29%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$1.03 SAR 3.85

145.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$2.11 SAR 7.91

-23.70%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.52 SAR 9.46

12.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$5.92 SAR 22.20

73.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$8.08 SAR 30.33

23.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$12.95 SAR 48.59

2.70%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.09 SAR 7.84

37.80%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.58 SAR 5.94

39.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.61 SAR 6.05

-13.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.47 SAR 5.52

34.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.12 SAR 4.21

8.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.30 SAR 4.87

-3.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.05 SAR 3.94

62.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.50 SAR 1.86

244.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.06 SAR 15.24

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 SAR 6.95

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.97

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$6.81 SAR 25.56

-37.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$1.34 SAR 5.03

-44.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.43 SAR 9.11

-35.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$1.75 SAR 6.57

-41.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$13.15 SAR 49.33

-39.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$0.63 SAR 2.38

125.40%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$47.5K SAR 178.2K

-41.14%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$21.1K SAR 79.3K

65.53%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$66.9 SAR 251

191.95%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$35.35 SAR 133

-28.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$63.2 SAR 237

-50.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$80.7 SAR 303

-36.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$42.52 SAR 160

-60.65%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$11.96 SAR 44.88

-13.55%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$775 SAR 2,907

-40.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$16.2K SAR 60.8K

-45.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$13.57 SAR 50.9

783.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$56.9 SAR 214

67.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$39.67 SAR 149

187.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$53.3 SAR 200

161.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$533 SAR 2,001

41.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$290 SAR 1,088

79.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$830 SAR 3,114

91.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$523 SAR 1,963

129.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$6,375 SAR 23.9K

-57.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$2,298 SAR 8,624

-17.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$1,083 SAR 4,063

-13.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

5.25

990.48%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Mecca: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Mecca

$290 31% 44.2% $230

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Mecca

$193 20.6% 31.8% $90

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Mecca

$93 9.9% 67.1% $189

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Mecca

$165 17.7% 34.3% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Mecca

$74 7.9% 65.1% $137

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Mecca

$105 11.2% 46.2% $33

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Mecca

$17 * 1.8% 55.2% $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 $533 in Mecca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Mecca pays 15% 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 $27.00 in Mecca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $193 per month, with Mecca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇸🇦 Mecca

🕒 Local time

01:51 1:51 AM

07:51 7:51 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

1,675,368

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Mecca 12,070 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Mecca

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 Mecca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Mecca differ by about 77% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $936 including rent). Mecca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 15% lower in Mecca. 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 $533 in Mecca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $775 in Mecca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mecca – a meal for two runs $27.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $936 in Mecca versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Mecca but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Mecca 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 Mecca 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 Mecca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 77% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.