Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and San Rafael, Argentina

Name: San Rafael
Address: San Rafael, AR

For one person, living is cheaper in San Rafael: $1,353 a month against $1,624 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 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
64

Cost of Living Index in San Rafael
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San Rafael Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,624

/mo nomad

San Rafael

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,353

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,624 in Buenos Aires versus $1,353 in San Rafael.

Buenos Aires $1,624
San Rafael $1,353

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,637 in Buenos Aires versus $2,224 in San Rafael.

Buenos Aires $2,637
San Rafael $2,224

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,650 in Buenos Aires versus $3,096 in San Rafael.

Buenos Aires $3,650
San Rafael $3,096

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 20% more expensive than in San Rafael, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.72 ARS 27.4K

$11.01 ARS 17.0K

60.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.0 ARS 102.0K

$50.9 ARS 78.7K

29.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.07 ARS 20.2K

$14.49 ARS 22.4K

-9.80%

Cappuccino

$3.96 ARS 6,126

$4.44 ARS 6,857

-10.81%

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

$2.01 ARS 3,103

$2.43 ARS 3,760

-17.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.61 ARS 2,490

$1.90 ARS 2,932

-15.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.03 ARS 6,229

$3.89 ARS 6,015

3.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 ARS 7,203

$4.38 ARS 6,768

6.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,193

$1.39 ARS 2,148

2.16%

White Bread (500g)

$2.58 ARS 3,979

$2.19 ARS 3,376

17.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 ARS 2,452

$2.78 ARS 4,297

-42.81%

Eggs

$2.64 ARS 4,075

$3.19 ARS 4,921

-17.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.40 ARS 16.1K

$14.27 ARS 22.1K

-27.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.33 ARS 16.0K

$6.11 ARS 9,446

69.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.39 ARS 20.7K

$11.04 ARS 17.1K

21.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.71 ARS 4,188

$2.36 ARS 3,639

14.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.07 ARS 3,197

$2.23 ARS 3,447

-7.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 ARS 2,018

$1.37 ARS 2,109

-4.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,059

$3.33 ARS 5,149

-40.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.25 ARS 1,932

$2.03 ARS 3,129

-38.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,841

$1.52 ARS 2,352

-21.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,525

$2.00 ARS 3,092

-18.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 ARS 2,824

$2.57 ARS 3,967

-28.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.14 ARS 6,392

$2.68 ARS 4,138

54.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.79 ARS 8,945

$5.07 ARS 7,838

14.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 ARS 3,172

$1.80 ARS 2,785

13.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.64 ARS 4,073

$3.07 ARS 4,740

-14.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,070

$0.98 ARS 1,508

-29.59%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.62 ARS 45.8K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.50 ARS 2,316

$2.01 ARS 3,105

-25.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.80 ARS 1,232

$1.03 ARS 1,584

-22.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.47 ARS 11.5K

$4.93 ARS 7,610

51.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ARS 2,208

$1.22 ARS 1,880

17.21%

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

$23.8K ARS 36.8M

$27.4K ARS 42.3M

-13.02%

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

$31.8K ARS 49.1M

$32.4K ARS 50.0M

-1.85%

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

$196 ARS 303.4K

$146 ARS 226.0K

34.26%

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

$23.20 ARS 35.8K

$17.25 ARS 26.7K

34.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.52 ARS 48.7K

$23.80 ARS 36.8K

32.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.93 ARS 74.0K

$31.51 ARS 48.7K

52.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.90 ARS 26.1K

$21.04 ARS 32.5K

-19.68%

Cinema Ticket

$10.91 ARS 16.9K

$7.25 ARS 11.2K

50.48%

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

$504 ARS 778.5K

$174 ARS 268.8K

189.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.7K ARS 21.1M

$4,125 ARS 6.4M

231.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 ARS 180.9K

$125 ARS 193.3K

-6.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 150.6K

$142 ARS 219.9K

-31.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 ARS 176.9K

$141 ARS 218.5K

-19.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 ARS 217.9K

$158 ARS 243.8K

-10.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$725 ARS 1.1M

$511 ARS 788.8K

42.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$498 ARS 769.9K

$336 ARS 519.9K

48.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,492 ARS 2.3M

$1,049 ARS 1.6M

42.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,137 ARS 1.8M

$825 ARS 1.3M

37.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,749 ARS 4.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,902 ARS 2.9M

$1,272 ARS 2.0M

49.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$945 ARS 1.5M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

56.86

-3.63%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 31, 2026

Last update for San Rafael: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$498 30.7%

San Rafael

$336 24.9% 32.5% $162

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.4%

San Rafael

$287 21.2% 1.4% $4

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.8%

San Rafael

$230 17% 15.4% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$251 15.5%

San Rafael

$187 13.9% 25.4% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$212 13%

San Rafael

$255 18.9% 20.6% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$70 4.3%

San Rafael

$46 3.4% 34.1% $24

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$38 2.3%

San Rafael

$11 * 0.8% 70.9% $27

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 $725 in Buenos Aires and $511 in San Rafael. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66 in Buenos Aires vs $51 in San Rafael. Groceries flip the comparison at $283 vs $287, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 San Rafael

🕒 Local time

12:48 12:48 PM

Same time as Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

118,850

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires San Rafael 900 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
San Rafael

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 Rafael: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,624 in Buenos Aires and $1,353 in San Rafael, so San Rafael is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $2,436 in Buenos Aires and $2,029 in San Rafael 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: $725 in Buenos Aires versus $511 in San Rafael. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $504 in Buenos Aires versus $174 in San Rafael. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,624 per month in Buenos Aires versus $1,353 in San Rafael – San Rafael is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. San Rafael is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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 Rafael are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.