Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Puerto Escondido

For one person, living is cheaper in Puerto Escondido: $1,151 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 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
56

Cost of Living Index in Puerto Escondido
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Puerto Escondido Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Puerto Escondido

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,151

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Puerto Escondido

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,151 in Puerto Escondido.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Puerto Escondido $1,151

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,856 in Puerto Escondido.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Puerto Escondido $1,856

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,561 in Puerto Escondido.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Puerto Escondido $2,561

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 44% more expensive than in Puerto Escondido, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Puerto Escondido is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$10.52 MX$194

81.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$42.96 MX$794

53.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.65 MX$160

52.60%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$3.58 MX$66.1

7.54%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.42 MX$26.25

40.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.05 MX$19.38

52.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$3.04 MX$56.2

29.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$4.05 MX$74.9

13.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.85 MX$34.14

-18.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$2.84 MX$52.5

-10.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.64 MX$30.22

-1.83%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.80 MX$51.7

1.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$8.20 MX$152

25.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$10.98 MX$203

-8.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$11.54 MX$213

15.25%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$2.68 MX$49.45

7.46%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.59 MX$29.42

38.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.86 MX$34.42

-24.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.73 MX$32.01

14.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.59 MX$29.46

-23.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$2.02 MX$37.35

-37.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.48 MX$27.28

15.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.14 MX$21.15

50.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$4.48 MX$82.7

-4.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$10.36 MX$191

-44.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$2.46 MX$45.43

-11.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$3.09 MX$57.1

-10.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.83 MX$15.35

-9.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.80 MX$51.7

-43.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$1.78 MX$32.92

-42.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$9.89 MX$183

-20.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.36 MX$25.14

4.41%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$18.7K MX$344.9K

49.74%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$25.2K MX$465.2K

38.91%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$64.7 MX$1,196

201.70%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$22.92 MX$424

9.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$36.45 MX$674

-13.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$27.77 MX$513

83.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$19.89 MX$368

-15.89%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.56 MX$84.2

126.75%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$220 MX$4,069

110.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$4,364 MX$80.6K

101.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$49.88 MX$922

140.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$42.79 MX$791

123.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$91.6 MX$1,693

24.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$84.0 MX$1,553

65.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$601 MX$11.1K

25.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$382 MX$7,061

36.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$960 MX$17.7K

65.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$778 MX$14.4K

54.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$2,036 MX$37.6K

33.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,289 MX$23.8K

47.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$327 MX$6,035

187.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

11.3

406.64%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Puerto Escondido: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Puerto Escondido

$382 33.2% 26.5% $138

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Puerto Escondido

$285 24.8% 0.8% $2.2

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Puerto Escondido

$186 16.2% 33.9% $96

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Puerto Escondido

$124 10.8% 50.7% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Puerto Escondido

$121 10.5% 42.8% $90

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Puerto Escondido

$37 3.2% 48.5% $35

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Puerto Escondido

$15 * 1.3% 59.4% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $601 in Puerto Escondido. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 187% 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 $43.00 in Puerto Escondido. Groceries flip the comparison at $283 vs $285, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇲🇽 Puerto Escondido

🕒 Local time

11:13 11:13 AM

08:13 8:13 AM

3 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

25,902

💱 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 Puerto Escondido 6,940 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Puerto Escondido

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 Puerto Escondido: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Puerto Escondido differ by about 44% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,151 including rent). Puerto Escondido is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 187% 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 $601 in Puerto Escondido. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $220 in Puerto Escondido. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Puerto Escondido – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,151 in Puerto Escondido versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Puerto Escondido but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Puerto Escondido 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 Puerto Escondido 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 Puerto Escondido gentler on the wallet – expenses run 44% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.