Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Pachuca

For one person, living is cheaper in Pachuca: $886 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
43

Cost of Living Index in Pachuca
Learn more

Pachuca Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Pachuca

🇲🇽 Mexico

$886

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $886 in Pachuca.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Pachuca $886

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,483 in Pachuca.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Pachuca $1,483

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,079 in Pachuca.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Pachuca $2,079

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 87% more expensive than in Pachuca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Pachuca is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$4.80 MX$88.8

297.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$26.48 MX$489

148.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.03 MX$148

64.38%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$3.09 MX$57.0

24.60%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.16 MX$21.50

71.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.82 MX$15.16

95.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.61 MX$29.79

144.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$3.36 MX$62.2

37.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.58 MX$29.20

-5.06%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$2.54 MX$46.99

-0.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.89 MX$34.93

-14.81%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.72 MX$50.4

4.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$7.22 MX$133

42.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$4.74 MX$87.5

110.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$7.44 MX$138

78.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.08 MX$38.53

38.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.29 MX$23.82

70.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.52 MX$28.10

-7.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.62 MX$29.91

22.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.53 MX$28.33

-20.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.34 MX$24.70

-5.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.93 MX$17.14

83.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.94 MX$17.46

82.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.33 MX$80.0

-0.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$8.19 MX$151

-30.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.39 MX$25.71

56.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.49 MX$46.08

10.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.57 MX$10.52

31.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$26.85 MX$496

1.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.63 MX$48.55

-40.30%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$2.62 MX$48.34

-60.69%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$11.11 MX$205

-28.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.38 MX$25.51

2.90%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$21.4K MX$395.5K

30.59%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$23.5K MX$433.6K

49.05%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$47.05 MX$869

314.88%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$19.21 MX$355

30.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$22.45 MX$415

40.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$23.51 MX$434

116.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$10.99 MX$203

52.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.30 MX$79.4

140.47%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$165 MX$3,049

180.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$2,599 MX$48.0K

238.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$53.2 MX$983

125.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$40.32 MX$745

136.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$94.8 MX$1,751

20.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$77.4 MX$1,430

80.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$400 MX$7,386

89.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$269 MX$4,963

93.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$603 MX$11.1K

163.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$688 MX$12.7K

74.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$728 MX$13.5K

272.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$638 MX$11.8K

197.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$663 MX$12.2K

41.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

10.8

430.09%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Pachuca: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Pachuca

$269 30.3% 48.3% $251

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Pachuca

$210 23.7% 25.7% $73

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Pachuca

$122 13.8% 56.6% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Pachuca

$89 10% 64.8% $163

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Pachuca

$120 13.5% 43.3% $91

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Pachuca

$32 3.6% 55.2% $39

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Pachuca

$45 5.1% 21.3% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $400 in Pachuca. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 42% 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 $26.00 in Pachuca for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $210 per month, with Pachuca cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Pachuca

🕒 Local time

05:41 5:41 AM

02:41 2:41 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

297,848

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 MXN = 5.41 USD

100 MXN = 4.81 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 18.48 MXN (100 MXN = 5.41 USD). 1 EUR = 20.77 MXN (100 MXN = 4.81 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Pachuca 7,430 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Pachuca

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 Pachuca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Pachuca differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $886 including rent). Pachuca is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 42% 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 $400 in Pachuca. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $165 in Pachuca. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 35% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $886 in Pachuca versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Pachuca but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Pachuca 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 Pachuca 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 Pachuca gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.