Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Melissia

For one person, living is cheaper in Melissia: $1,449 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
70

Cost of Living Index in Melissia
Learn more

Melissia Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Melissia

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,449

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,449 in Melissia.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Melissia $1,449

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $2,207 in Melissia.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Melissia $2,207

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,966 in Melissia.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Melissia $2,966

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 14% more expensive than in Melissia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 23% above, Melissia 7% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 28.9K

$11.22 €10.01

70.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.5K

$59.7 €53.3

10.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$9.11 €8.12

44.90%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,821

$4.00 €3.57

-3.75%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,010

$2.29 €2.05

-13.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,422

$0.59 €0.52

171.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,940

$4.58 €4.08

-14.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 6,979

$5.15 €4.59

-10.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,264

$1.90 €1.69

-21.05%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,825

$1.40 €1.25

80.71%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,437

$2.79 €2.49

-42.29%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,302

$5.17 €4.61

-45.07%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$11.12 €9.91

-7.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.1K

$10.13 €9.03

-1.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.1K

$18.83 €16.79

-29.37%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,351

$2.23 €1.98

29.15%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,323

$1.92 €1.71

14.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,113

$1.38 €1.23

1.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 2,994

$1.98 €1.77

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,829

$1.11 €0.99

9.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,904

$1.12 €1.00

12.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,583

$0.87 €0.77

96.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,595

$0.86 €0.77

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,484

$5.47 €4.87

-21.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,617

$10.17 €9.07

-43.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,277

$2.16 €1.93

0.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,174

$2.33 €2.08

18.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,137

$1.17 €1.05

-35.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.3K

$45.14 €40.24

-39.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,367

$4.42 €3.94

-64.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,553

$1.01 €0.90

1.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 11.9K

$14.15 €12.61

-44.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,153

$2.17 €1.93

-34.56%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.3M

$28.4K €25.3K

-1.66%

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

$35.0K ARS 52.9M

$23.4K €20.8K

49.65%

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

$195 ARS 295.2K

$203 €181

-4.02%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.0K

$24.57 €21.91

2.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.7K

$28.60 €25.50

10.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.0K

$58.3 €52.0

-12.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.3K

$22.37 €19.94

-25.21%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.6K

$8.94 €7.98

15.66%

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

$463 ARS 700.9K

$479 €427

-3.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$4,505 €4,017

95.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.2K

$88.0 €78.5

36.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.4K

$35.95 €32.05

165.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 172.6K

$102 €91.0

11.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 210.7K

$125 €111

11.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$461 €411

64.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 786.2K

$390 €348

33.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$757 €675

109.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$621 €554

92.87%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,608 €2,325

4.05%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$2,213 €1,973

-14.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$1,362 €1,214

-31.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

4.48

1177.90%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Melissia: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Melissia

$390 27% 24.9% $129

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Melissia

$299 20.6% 5.4% $15

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Melissia

$210 14.5% 25.5% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Melissia

$257 17.7% 1.9% $4.7

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Melissia

$158 10.9% 25.2% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Melissia

$76 5.3% 6.5% $4.6

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Melissia

$59 4.1% 60.4% $22

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $461 in Melissia. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Melissia pays 45% 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 $60.0 in Melissia. Groceries flip the comparison at $283 vs $299, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇬🇷 Melissia

🕒 Local time

09:37 9:37 AM

15:37 3:37 PM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

15,588

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 1,513 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD). 1 EUR = 1,696 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.89 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Melissia 11,700 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Melissia

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 Melissia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Melissia differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,449 including rent). Melissia is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 45% lower in Melissia. 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 $461 in Melissia. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $479 in Melissia. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Buenos Aires pay roughly 5% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,449 in Melissia versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Melissia but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Melissia 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 Melissia 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 Melissia gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.