Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Meru

For one person, living is cheaper in Meru: $518 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Meru
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Meru Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Meru

🇰🇪 Kenya

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Buenos Aires versus $518 in Meru.

Buenos Aires $1,646
Meru $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,680 in Buenos Aires versus $846 in Meru.

Buenos Aires $2,680
Meru $846

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Buenos Aires versus $1,174 in Meru.

Buenos Aires $3,714
Meru $1,174

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 218% more expensive than in Meru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 21% above, Meru is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 ARS 27.0K

$6.21 KES 806

186.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 ARS 98.9K

$34.25 KES 4,440

90.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.12 ARS 19.9K

$6.44 KES 835

103.73%

Cappuccino

$3.86 ARS 5,863

$2.56 KES 332

50.78%

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

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$0.67 KES 86.7

207.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ARS 2,542

$0.56 KES 72.9

200.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,218

$2.36 KES 306

73.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 ARS 7,181

$2.67 KES 346

77.15%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ARS 2,285

$0.89 KES 115

69.66%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 ARS 3,950

$0.37 KES 48.50

602.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 ARS 2,380

$1.11 KES 144

41.44%

Eggs

$2.73 ARS 4,144

$1.43 KES 186

90.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ARS 16.5K

$10.70 KES 1,387

1.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$6.32 KES 819

59.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 ARS 20.1K

$5.04 KES 653

162.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ARS 4,255

$3.28 KES 425

-14.63%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 ARS 3,170

$0.78 KES 102

167.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,194

$0.73 KES 95.3

98.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,040

$0.80 KES 103

150.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,826

$1.06 KES 137

13.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$0.98 KES 127

22.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 ARS 2,569

$0.24 KES 31.13

604.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ARS 2,711

$0.44 KES 56.9

306.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ARS 6,074

$3.52 KES 456

13.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 ARS 8,388

$11.37 KES 1,474

-51.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 ARS 3,219

$2.29 KES 297

-7.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ARS 4,212

$2.78 KES 361

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,049

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,471

$1.58 KES 205

3.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,478

$1.50 KES 195

-35.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 ARS 12.0K

$2.95 KES 383

167.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,156

$1.60 KES 207

-11.25%

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

$23.3K ARS 35.4M

$21.4K KES 2.8M

8.89%

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

$31.9K ARS 48.5M

$20.0K KES 2.6M

59.81%

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

$199 ARS 302.7K

$56.0 KES 7,261

256.10%

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

$23.36 ARS 35.4K

$15.36 KES 1,991

52.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.44 ARS 47.7K

$35.09 KES 4,549

-10.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.81 ARS 75.6K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.2K

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 ARS 16.4K

$7.88 KES 1,022

37.06%

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

$462 ARS 701.7K

$251 KES 32.5K

84.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ARS 13.3M

$12.5K KES 1.6M

-29.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.6K

$27.67 KES 3,588

332.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.6 ARS 143.6K

$28.83 KES 3,737

228.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 176.4K

$70.0 KES 9,081

65.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 ARS 208.6K

$59.7 KES 7,743

130.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$750 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 780.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$924 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

14.71

289.19%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Last update for Meru: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3%

Meru

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3%

Meru

$181 34.9% 36.5% $104

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6%

Meru

$122 23.5% 55.4% $151

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5%

Meru

$106 20.6% 58.1% $148

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8%

Meru

$84 16.2% 60.2% $127

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Meru

$16 * 3.1% 77.9% $56

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3%

Meru

$9.1 * 1.8% 75.5% $28

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $65.0 in Buenos Aires vs $34.00 in Meru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $181 per month, with Meru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇰🇪 Meru

🕒 Local time

09:22 9:22 AM

15:22 3:22 PM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

1,833,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Meru 10,570 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Meru

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 Meru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Meru differ by about 218% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $518 including rent). Meru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,468 in Buenos Aires and $776 in Meru 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.

Childcare runs $462 in Buenos Aires versus $251 in Meru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Meru – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $65.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $518 in Meru versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Meru but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Meru 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 Meru 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 Meru gentler on the wallet – expenses run 218% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.