Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Mersa Matruh

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersa Matruh: $457 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Mersa Matruh
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Mersa Matruh Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Mersa Matruh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Mersa Matruh

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Buenos Aires versus $457 in Mersa Matruh.

Buenos Aires $1,646
Mersa Matruh $457

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,680 in Buenos Aires versus $749 in Mersa Matruh.

Buenos Aires $2,680
Mersa Matruh $749

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Buenos Aires versus $1,040 in Mersa Matruh.

Buenos Aires $3,714
Mersa Matruh $1,040

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 260% more expensive than in Mersa Matruh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 21% above, Mersa Matruh is 66% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 ARS 27.2K

$4.20 E£234

324.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 ARS 99.6K

$19.05 E£1,062

242.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.12 ARS 20.1K

$4.72 E£264

177.97%

Cappuccino

$3.86 ARS 5,907

$1.27 E£70.6

203.94%

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

$2.06 ARS 3,157

$0.33 E£18.14

524.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ARS 2,561

$0.11 E£6.01

1427.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,265

$1.36 E£75.8

201.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 ARS 7,236

$2.79 E£156

69.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ARS 2,303

$0.87 E£48.65

73.56%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 ARS 3,980

$0.66 E£37.07

293.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 ARS 2,398

$0.65 E£36.07

141.54%

Eggs

$2.73 ARS 4,176

$1.19 E£66.1

129.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ARS 16.6K

$3.80 E£212

185.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ARS 15.4K

$4.24 E£237

137.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 ARS 20.2K

$9.23 E£515

43.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ARS 4,287

$1.54 E£86.1

81.82%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 ARS 3,194

$0.75 E£41.82

178.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,210

$0.55 E£30.85

163.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,063

$0.35 E£19.76

471.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,840

$0.26 E£14.59

361.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,835

$0.30 E£16.70

300.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 ARS 2,589

$0.27 E£15.19

525.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ARS 2,732

$0.22 E£11.99

713.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ARS 6,120

$1.85 E£103

116.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 ARS 8,452

$5.67 E£316

-2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 ARS 3,243

$1.25 E£69.6

69.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ARS 4,244

$2.28 E£127

21.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,057

$0.21 E£11.72

228.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.7K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,490

$0.56 E£31.13

191.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,489

$0.17 E£9.23

470.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 ARS 12.1K

$1.20 E£67.1

557.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,172

$0.43 E£24.06

230.23%

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

$23.3K ARS 35.7M

$32.5K E£1.8M

-28.15%

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

$31.9K ARS 48.8M

$27.1K E£1.5M

17.98%

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

$199 ARS 305.0K

$14.05 E£784

1319.57%

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

$23.36 ARS 35.7K

$6.68 E£373

249.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.44 ARS 48.1K

$13.50 E£753

132.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.81 ARS 76.2K

$15.88 E£885

213.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 ARS 16.5K

$2.91 E£162

271.13%

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

$462 ARS 707.1K

$85.0 E£4,740

444.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ARS 13.4M

$2,090 E£116.6K

320.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 183.0K

$33.72 E£1,881

254.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.6 ARS 144.7K

$45.91 E£2,560

106.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 177.7K

$128 E£7,112

-8.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 ARS 210.2K

$57.4 E£3,202

139.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$750 ARS 1.1M

$128 E£7,152

484.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 786.4K

$76.7 E£4,278

570.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

$256 E£14.3K

513.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

$144 E£8,048

728.62%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

$772 E£43.0K

241.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.9M

$354 E£19.7K

429.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$924 ARS 1.4M

$94.2 E£5,253

881.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

21.33

168.40%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Last update for Mersa Matruh: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3%

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.8% 85.1% $438

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3%

Mersa Matruh

$126 27.6% 55.6% $158

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6%

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.9% 71.8% $196

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5%

Mersa Matruh

$34 7.5% 86.5% $220

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8%

Mersa Matruh

$119 26% 43.5% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Mersa Matruh

$22 4.7% 69.6% $50

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3%

Mersa Matruh

$2.2 * 0.5% 94% $35

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 $750 in Buenos Aires and $128 in Mersa Matruh. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays about 9.8 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $65 in Buenos Aires vs $19 in Mersa Matruh for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $126 per month, with Mersa Matruh cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇪🇬 Mersa Matruh

🕒 Local time

03:44 3:44 AM

09:44 9:44 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

140,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.54 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.83 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 1,529 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.54 USD). 1 EUR = 1,715 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.83 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Mersa Matruh 11,570 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Mersa Matruh

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 Mersa Matruh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Mersa Matruh differ by about 260% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $457 including rent). Mersa Matruh is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay in Buenos Aires is about 9.8 times higher, 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: $750 in Buenos Aires versus $128 in Mersa Matruh. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $462 in Buenos Aires versus $85 in Mersa Matruh. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Mersa Matruh – a meal for two runs $19 versus $65 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $457 in Mersa Matruh versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $800 budget is realistic in Mersa Matruh but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Mersa Matruh 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.

It comes down to priorities – Mersa Matruh wins on affordability, Buenos Aires on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.