Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Merida

For one person, living is cheaper in Merida: $1,334 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Merida
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Merida Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Merida

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,334

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,334 in Merida.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Merida $1,334

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,174 in Merida.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Merida $2,174

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $3,014 in Merida.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Merida $3,014

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 26% more expensive than in Merida, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Merida 0% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$13.90 MX$255

34.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

$55.7 MX$1,022

15.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$8.11 MX$149

58.82%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,029

$3.97 MX$73.0

0.25%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,103

$1.14 MX$21.00

79.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,349

$1.18 MX$21.67

31.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

$3.07 MX$56.4

25.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

$3.87 MX$71.1

18.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,181

$1.60 MX$29.30

-10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

$2.64 MX$48.41

-6.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,467

$1.73 MX$31.83

-5.78%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,385

$1.97 MX$36.18

46.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$10.31 MX$189

3.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$7.70 MX$141

29.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$12.54 MX$230

9.57%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,166

$2.77 MX$50.9

-0.72%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,300

$1.41 MX$25.89

54.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

$2.14 MX$39.21

-32.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

$2.08 MX$38.10

-4.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

$2.36 MX$43.25

-47.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

$1.83 MX$33.53

-30.60%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

$1.43 MX$26.27

18.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

$1.13 MX$20.80

53.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,337

$4.44 MX$81.4

-5.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

$10.90 MX$200

-46.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

$1.47 MX$27.06

42.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

$2.51 MX$46.08

10.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

$0.67 MX$12.36

11.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$19.76 MX$363

37.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

$2.73 MX$50.1

-40.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

$3.76 MX$69.1

-73.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$8.82 MX$162

-12.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

$1.58 MX$29.04

-13.92%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$21.5K MX$393.9K

30.56%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

$24.4K MX$447.1K

41.80%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

$113 MX$2,076

90.69%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$21.35 MX$392

19.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

$35.42 MX$650

-11.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

$30.12 MX$553

65.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$11.83 MX$217

44.21%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$7.57 MX$139

37.78%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

$266 MX$4,880

75.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$3,584 MX$65.8K

152.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

$55.6 MX$1,020

119.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

$54.2 MX$995

79.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

$102 MX$1,869

14.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

$87.2 MX$1,602

60.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$634 MX$11.6K

20.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

$468 MX$8,585

8.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,243 MX$22.8K

28.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$967 MX$17.8K

22.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$2,252 MX$41.4K

18.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$1,234 MX$22.7K

50.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$604 MX$11.1K

57.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.64

391.84%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Merida: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Merida

$468 34.7% 7.4% $38

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Merida

$270 20% 5.1% $14

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Merida

$216 16% 22.7% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Merida

$170 12.6% 37.7% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Merida

$134 10% 37.3% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Merida

$45 3.4% 36% $25

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Merida

$44 3.3% 20.1% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $634 in Merida. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 58% 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: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $56.0 in Merida for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $270 per month, with Merida cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Merida

🕒 Local time

04:29 4:29 AM

01:29 1:29 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

975,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 MXN = 5.45 USD

100 MXN = 4.86 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.36 MXN (100 MXN = 5.45 USD). 1 EUR = 20.59 MXN (100 MXN = 4.86 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Merida 7,000 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Merida

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 Merida: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Merida differ by about 26% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,334 including rent). Merida is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 58% 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: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $634 in Merida. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $266 in Merida. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 5% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,334 in Merida versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Merida but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Merida 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 Merida 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 Merida gentler on the wallet – expenses run 26% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.