Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and San Luis

For one person, living is cheaper in San Luis: $1,148 a month against $1,633 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in San Luis
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San Luis Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

San Luis

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,148

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in San Luis

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,633 in Buenos Aires versus $1,148 in San Luis.

Buenos Aires $1,633
San Luis $1,148

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,640 in Buenos Aires versus $1,952 in San Luis.

Buenos Aires $2,640
San Luis $1,952

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,646 in Buenos Aires versus $2,755 in San Luis.

Buenos Aires $3,646
San Luis $2,755

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 42% more expensive than in San Luis, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 20% above, San Luis is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.24 ARS 28.0K

$8.51 ARS 13.1K

114.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.3 ARS 101.6K

$50.8 ARS 78.0K

30.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

$8.52 ARS 13.1K

52.11%

Cappuccino

$3.73 ARS 5,726

$2.16 ARS 3,313

72.69%

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

$2.03 ARS 3,119

$2.45 ARS 3,752

-17.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,605

$1.91 ARS 2,934

-10.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ARS 6,226

$3.23 ARS 4,953

25.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.75 ARS 7,281

$4.47 ARS 6,863

6.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ARS 2,242

$1.23 ARS 1,893

18.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 ARS 3,893

$1.96 ARS 3,001

29.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 ARS 2,427

$1.05 ARS 1,609

50.48%

Eggs

$2.68 ARS 4,112

$3.02 ARS 4,627

-11.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

$14.64 ARS 22.5K

-23.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

$6.39 ARS 9,801

57.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 ARS 20.2K

$10.98 ARS 16.8K

20.04%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 ARS 4,238

$2.35 ARS 3,602

17.45%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,375

$2.14 ARS 3,285

2.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,142

$1.29 ARS 1,986

8.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,047

$3.28 ARS 5,032

-39.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,840

$1.03 ARS 1,578

16.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ARS 1,769

$1.51 ARS 2,309

-23.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,493

$1.93 ARS 2,965

-15.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 ARS 2,761

$2.53 ARS 3,888

-28.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 ARS 6,460

$2.69 ARS 4,132

56.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.51 ARS 8,457

$4.88 ARS 7,487

12.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 ARS 3,168

$1.70 ARS 2,608

21.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,242

$2.98 ARS 4,568

-7.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 ARS 1,139

$0.58 ARS 894

27.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 ARS 2,474

$0.63 ARS 961

155.56%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,493

$0.97 ARS 1,495

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

$4.86 ARS 7,453

67.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ARS 2,154

$1.23 ARS 1,885

13.82%

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

$23.2K ARS 35.6M

$27.2K ARS 41.7M

-14.64%

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

$32.8K ARS 50.4M

$33.6K ARS 51.5M

-2.12%

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

$196 ARS 301.1K

$40.66 ARS 62.4K

382.69%

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

$23.91 ARS 36.7K

$16.99 ARS 26.1K

40.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.50 ARS 48.3K

$24.71 ARS 37.9K

27.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.01 ARS 73.6K

$33.53 ARS 51.4K

43.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.62 ARS 25.5K

$21.75 ARS 33.4K

-23.59%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 ARS 16.2K

$5.58 ARS 8,566

89.43%

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

$501 ARS 768.0K

$171 ARS 261.8K

193.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

$4,143 ARS 6.4M

114.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$121 ARS 186.3K

$127 ARS 195.1K

-4.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.6 ARS 146.6K

$143 ARS 218.7K

-32.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 178.0K

$144 ARS 221.2K

-19.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 212.6K

$159 ARS 244.5K

-13.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 ARS 1.1M

$496 ARS 760.2K

47.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 ARS 771.6K

$321 ARS 492.8K

56.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

$1,116 ARS 1.7M

32.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

$758 ARS 1.2M

47.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

$1,307 ARS 2.0M

48.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$921 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-2.97%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 26, 2026

Last update for San Luis: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8%

San Luis

$321 28% 36.1% $182

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4%

San Luis

$272 23.7% 4.3% $12

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8%

San Luis

$162 14.1% 40.9% $112

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4%

San Luis

$82 7.2% 67.3% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$212 13%

San Luis

$258 22.5% 21.6% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2%

San Luis

$45 3.9% 35.3% $24

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4%

San Luis

$7.8 * 0.7% 80.1% $31

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 $731 in Buenos Aires and $496 in San Luis. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66 in Buenos Aires vs $51 in San Luis for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $284 vs $272 per month, with San Luis cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 San Luis

🕒 Local time

06:25 6:25 AM

Same time as Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

204,019

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.52 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.82 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.52 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires San Luis 740 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
San Luis

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 San Luis: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,633 in Buenos Aires and $1,148 in San Luis, so San Luis is about 30% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,450 in Buenos Aires and $1,722 in San Luis to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $731 in Buenos Aires versus $496 in San Luis. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $501 in Buenos Aires versus $171 in San Luis. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Luis – a meal for two runs $51 versus $66 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,148 in San Luis versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in San Luis but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes San Luis 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 San Luis are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.