Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Misrata

For one person, living is cheaper in Misrata: $440 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Misrata
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Misrata Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Misrata

🇱🇾 Libya

$440

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $440 in Misrata.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Misrata $440

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $708 in Misrata.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Misrata $708

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $977 in Misrata.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Misrata $977

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 277% more expensive than in Misrata, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Misrata is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$2.57 LYD 16.49

642.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$7.93 LYD 50.8

729.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$2.58 LYD 16.50

411.63%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.63 LYD 4.07

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 LYD 2.88

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$0.44 LYD 2.81

775.00%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.46 LYD 2.94

332.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.11 LYD 0.70

1354.55%

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

$0.90 LYD 5.79

66.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.20 LYD 1.28

1165.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$0.96 LYD 6.17

67.71%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.22 LYD 7.79

132.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$4.02 LYD 25.76

156.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$3.41 LYD 21.88

193.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$8.66 LYD 55.5

53.58%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.31 LYD 14.77

24.68%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.46 LYD 9.38

50.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$0.74 LYD 4.72

89.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$0.60 LYD 3.85

230.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.72 LYD 4.61

68.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.50 LYD 3.22

152.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.40 LYD 2.55

327.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.17 LYD 1.12

911.76%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.20 LYD 14.08

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.69 LYD 4.45

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 LYD 5.30

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$1.91 LYD 12.27

124.61%

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

$0.64 LYD 4.09

17.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$38.98 LYD 250

-30.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.79 LYD 5.09

98.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.49 LYD 3.16

110.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$2.34 LYD 15.02

237.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$0.02 LYD 0.13

7000.00%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$23.2K LYD 148.9K

20.30%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$19.6K LYD 125.6K

78.43%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$63.2 LYD 405

208.67%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$6.23 LYD 39.94

303.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$26.42 LYD 169

19.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$14.26 LYD 91.4

257.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$7.77 LYD 49.79

115.32%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.56 LYD 29.21

126.75%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$25.48 LYD 163

1718.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$824 LYD 5,282

966.88%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$23.01 LYD 147

420.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$17.16 LYD 110

456.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$46.94 LYD 301

143.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$41.91 LYD 269

232.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$147 LYD 944

413.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$73.7 LYD 472

605.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$321 LYD 2,057

395.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$218 LYD 1,398

449.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$505 LYD 3,237

437.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$102 LYD 653

1764.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$396 LYD 2,535

137.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

186.25%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Misrata: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Misrata

$74 16.8% 85.8% $446

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Misrata

$108 24.6% 61.9% $175

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Misrata

$36 8.2% 87.3% $246

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Misrata

$96 21.8% 61.9% $156

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Misrata

$58 13.2% 72.5% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Misrata

$23 5.3% 67.4% $48

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Misrata

$45 10.2% 21.1% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $147 in Misrata. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 137% 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: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $8.00 in Misrata for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $108 per month, with Misrata cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇱🇾 Misrata

🕒 Local time

16:50 4:50 PM

21:50 9:50 PM

5 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

600,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Libyan Dinar LYD ل.د

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 LYD = 0.156 USD

1 LYD = 0.139 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LYD, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Libyan Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 6.41 LYD (1 LYD = 0.156 USD). 1 EUR = 7.2 LYD (1 LYD = 0.139 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Misrata 10,690 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Misrata

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 Misrata: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Misrata differ by about 277% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $440 including rent). Misrata is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 137% 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: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $147 in Misrata. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $25.48 in Misrata. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 162% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $440 in Misrata versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Misrata but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Misrata 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 Misrata 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 Misrata gentler on the wallet – expenses run 277% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.