Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Portmore

For one person, living is cheaper in Portmore: $1,246 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Portmore
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Portmore Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Portmore

🇯🇲 Jamaica

$1,246

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,246 in Portmore.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Portmore $1,246

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $2,073 in Portmore.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Portmore $2,073

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,900 in Portmore.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Portmore $2,900

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 33% more expensive than in Portmore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Portmore is 8% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$10.15 JMD 1,603

88.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$63.3 JMD 10.0K

3.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.04 JMD 1,270

64.18%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$5.43 JMD 859

-29.10%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.90 JMD 143

121.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.66 JMD 104

142.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.18 JMD 345

80.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.16 JMD 342

113.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$3.02 JMD 478

-50.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$3.49 JMD 551

-27.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.02 JMD 161

57.84%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$3.61 JMD 571

-21.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$11.52 JMD 1,821

-10.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$6.30 JMD 996

58.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$9.43 JMD 1,490

41.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$5.99 JMD 946

-51.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$3.93 JMD 620

-44.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$2.96 JMD 468

-52.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$3.01 JMD 476

-34.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$3.30 JMD 521

-63.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.60 JMD 411

-51.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.59 JMD 251

7.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.26 JMD 199

36.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$9.64 JMD 1,523

-55.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$11.24 JMD 1,776

-49.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$2.81 JMD 444

-22.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.26 JMD 356

22.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$2.29 JMD 361

-67.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$50.2 JMD 7,931

-45.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.96 JMD 152

63.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$3.09 JMD 488

-66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$6.24 JMD 985

26.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.18 JMD 187

20.34%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$43.1K JMD 6.8M

-35.13%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$32.3K JMD 5.1M

8.21%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$155 JMD 24.5K

26.08%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$29.01 JMD 4,583

-13.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$52.7 JMD 8,322

-40.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$60.2 JMD 9,503

-15.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$13.38 JMD 2,114

-22.72%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$285 JMD 45.1K

62.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$3,143 JMD 496.5K

179.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$23.25 JMD 3,674

415.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$30.94 JMD 4,889

208.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$78.7 JMD 12.4K

44.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$94.5 JMD 14.9K

47.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$307 JMD 48.6K

145.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$216 JMD 34.1K

140.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$656 JMD 103.7K

142.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$590 JMD 93.3K

102.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$7,466 JMD 1.2M

-63.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$5,702 JMD 900.9K

-66.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$1,301 JMD 205.5K

-27.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

9.45

505.82%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Portmore: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Portmore

$216 17.3% 58.5% $304

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Portmore

$336 27% 18.6% $53

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Portmore

$192 15.4% 31.8% $90

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Portmore

$237 19% 6.1% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Portmore

$102 8.2% 51.5% $109

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Portmore

$87 7% 21.4% $15

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Portmore

$76 6.1% 105% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $307 in Portmore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Portmore pays 39% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $63.0 in Portmore. Groceries flip the comparison at $283 vs $336, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇯🇲 Portmore

🕒 Local time

11:09 11:09 AM

09:09 9:09 AM

2 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

170,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Jamaican Dollar JMD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD

1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JMD, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Jamaican Dollar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 158 JMD (1,000 JMD = 6.33 USD). 1 EUR = 178 JMD (1,000 JMD = 5.63 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Portmore 6,160 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Portmore

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 Portmore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Portmore differ by about 33% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,246 including rent). Portmore is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 39% lower in Portmore. 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: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $307 in Portmore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $285 in Portmore. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Buenos Aires pay roughly 19% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,246 in Portmore versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Portmore but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Portmore 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 Portmore 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 Portmore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.