Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Monterrey

For one person, living costs are similar in Buenos Aires and in Monterrey: $1,685 and $1,607 a month, rent and utilities included.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Monterrey
Learn more

Monterrey Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monterrey

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,607

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,607 in Monterrey.

Buenos Aires $1,685
Monterrey $1,607

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,742 in Buenos Aires versus $2,512 in Monterrey.

Buenos Aires $2,742
Monterrey $2,512

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,799 in Buenos Aires versus $3,417 in Monterrey.

Buenos Aires $3,799
Monterrey $3,417

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 5% more expensive than in Monterrey, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 26% above, Monterrey 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

$13.75 MX$250

36.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

$50.2 MX$913

28.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

$11.13 MX$203

15.72%

Cappuccino

$3.98 ARS 6,027

$4.04 MX$73.5

-1.49%

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

$2.05 ARS 3,102

$1.70 MX$31.00

20.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,348

$0.99 MX$18.00

56.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,828

$2.41 MX$43.80

59.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,968

$4.48 MX$81.6

2.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 ARS 2,180

$1.92 MX$34.98

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,737

$2.89 MX$52.6

-14.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 ARS 2,466

$1.94 MX$35.34

-15.98%

Eggs

$2.89 ARS 4,384

$2.50 MX$45.47

15.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

$12.30 MX$224

-13.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.33 MX$170

7.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

$13.07 MX$238

5.13%

Apples (1kg)

$2.75 ARS 4,165

$3.38 MX$61.5

-18.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 ARS 3,299

$1.58 MX$28.75

37.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,204

$2.20 MX$40.07

-34.09%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,012

$2.45 MX$44.48

-18.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,884

$2.26 MX$41.09

-45.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,920

$2.74 MX$49.89

-53.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,574

$1.53 MX$27.83

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,616

$1.26 MX$22.94

37.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.18 ARS 6,335

$4.84 MX$88.1

-13.64%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,787

$13.59 MX$247

-57.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,162

$1.91 MX$34.69

9.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,197

$3.06 MX$55.8

-9.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,131

$0.80 MX$14.47

-6.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

$31.77 MX$578

-14.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,450

$1.62 MX$29.50

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,480

$1.10 MX$19.99

-10.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

$10.97 MX$199

-29.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,057

$1.52 MX$27.68

-10.53%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

$21.4K MX$388.7K

31.07%

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

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

$25.5K MX$463.3K

35.58%

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

$216 ARS 326.8K

$120 MX$2,178

80.06%

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

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

$27.08 MX$493

-5.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

$26.70 MX$486

17.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

$31.15 MX$567

59.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

$21.95 MX$399

-22.28%

Cinema Ticket

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

$5.14 MX$93.5

102.92%

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

$466 ARS 706.5K

$688 MX$12.5K

-32.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

$11.4K MX$207.9K

-20.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.1K

$71.9 MX$1,308

69.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

$43.30 MX$788

125.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.3K

$112 MX$2,040

4.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.8K

$122 MX$2,216

14.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

$957 MX$17.4K

-20.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 765.8K

$670 MX$12.2K

-24.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

$1,887 MX$34.3K

-15.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

$1,305 MX$23.7K

-9.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

$4,159 MX$75.7K

-35.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

$2,437 MX$44.3K

-23.76%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

$1,133 MX$20.6K

-15.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.79

385.58%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Last update for Monterrey: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Monterrey

$670 41.4% 32.7% $165

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Monterrey

$312 19.3% 10% $28

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Monterrey

$224 13.8% 19.8% $55

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Monterrey

$174 10.7% 36.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Monterrey

$157 9.7% 26.7% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Monterrey

$41 2.6% 41.4% $29

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Monterrey

$42 2.6% 14.9% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $763 in Buenos Aires and $957 in Monterrey. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Monterrey pays 19% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $64.0 in Buenos Aires vs $50.0 in Monterrey. Groceries flip the comparison at $284 vs $312, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Monterrey

🕒 Local time

00:59 12:59 AM

21:59 9:59 PM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

1,142,994

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

100 MXN = 5.5 USD

100 MXN = 4.9 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 = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 18.19 MXN (100 MXN = 5.5 USD). 1 EUR = 20.4 MXN (100 MXN = 4.9 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Monterrey 8,020 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Monterrey

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 Monterrey: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Monterrey differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,685 vs $1,607 including rent). Monterrey is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 19% lower in Monterrey. 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: $763 in Buenos Aires versus $957 in Monterrey. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $466 in Buenos Aires versus $688 in Monterrey. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Buenos Aires pay roughly 10% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,607 in Monterrey versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Monterrey but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Monterrey 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 Monterrey 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 Monterrey gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.