Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and San Sebastian

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,633 a month against $2,066 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in San Sebastian outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
100

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,066

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,633 in Buenos Aires versus $2,066 in San Sebastian.

Buenos Aires $1,633
San Sebastian $2,066

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,640 in Buenos Aires versus $3,076 in San Sebastian.

Buenos Aires $2,640
San Sebastian $3,076

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,646 in Buenos Aires versus $4,086 in San Sebastian.

Buenos Aires $3,646
San Sebastian $4,086

Living in Buenos Aires costs roughly 21% less than in San Sebastian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Buenos Aires 20% above, San Sebastian 52% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.24 ARS 28.0K

$18.85 €16.89

-3.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.3 ARS 101.6K

$61.9 €55.5

6.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

$10.78 €9.66

20.22%

Cappuccino

$3.73 ARS 5,726

$2.31 €2.07

61.47%

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

$2.03 ARS 3,119

$2.84 €2.54

-28.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 ARS 2,605

$1.63 €1.46

4.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.06 ARS 6,226

$3.28 €2.94

23.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.75 ARS 7,281

$3.70 €3.31

28.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 ARS 2,242

$1.18 €1.06

23.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.54 ARS 3,893

$1.12 €1.01

126.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 ARS 2,427

$1.84 €1.65

-14.13%

Eggs

$2.68 ARS 4,112

$3.62 €3.24

-25.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

$22.61 €20.26

-50.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

$7.91 €7.08

27.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 ARS 20.2K

$20.65 €18.50

-36.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 ARS 4,238

$2.50 €2.24

10.40%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,375

$2.76 €2.48

-20.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,142

$3.30 €2.96

-57.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,047

$2.92 €2.62

-31.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,840

$2.60 €2.33

-53.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.15 ARS 1,769

$2.03 €1.81

-43.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,493

$1.19 €1.07

36.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 ARS 2,761

$1.03 €0.92

74.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.21 ARS 6,460

$6.79 €6.09

-38.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.51 ARS 8,457

$7.36 €6.59

-25.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 ARS 3,168

$1.72 €1.54

20.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,242

$1.77 €1.58

56.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 ARS 1,139

$2.16 €1.94

-65.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.8K

$33.69 €30.19

-11.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.61 ARS 2,474

$6.82 €6.11

-76.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,493

$0.89 €0.79

8.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

$22.07 €19.78

-63.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ARS 2,154

$1.70 €1.52

-17.65%

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

$23.2K ARS 35.6M

$35.2K €31.5K

-34.10%

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

$32.8K ARS 50.4M

$31.0K €27.8K

5.87%

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

$196 ARS 301.1K

$136 €122

44.37%

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

$23.91 ARS 36.7K

$25.48 €22.84

-6.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.50 ARS 48.3K

$35.61 €31.91

-11.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.01 ARS 73.6K

$42.24 €37.85

13.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.62 ARS 25.5K

$19.49 €17.46

-14.73%

Cinema Ticket

$10.57 ARS 16.2K

$8.51 €7.62

24.21%

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

$501 ARS 768.0K

$454 €406

10.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

$14.0K €12.5K

-36.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$121 ARS 186.3K

$101 €90.1

20.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.6 ARS 146.6K

$32.72 €29.32

192.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 178.0K

$74.2 €66.5

56.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 212.6K

$132 €119

4.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$731 ARS 1.1M

$1,470 €1,317

-50.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 ARS 771.6K

$1,024 €917

-50.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

$2,371 €2,124

-37.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

$1,671 €1,498

-33.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 ARS 4.1M

$9,813 €8,794

-72.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

$5,360 €4,803

-63.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$921 ARS 1.4M

$3,011 €2,698

-69.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

2.92

1860.62%

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 Sebastian: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8%

San Sebastian

$1K 49.6% 104% $521

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4%

San Sebastian

$327 15.8% 15.2% $43

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8%

San Sebastian

$253 12.2% 7.9% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4%

San Sebastian

$197 9.5% 21.7% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$212 13%

San Sebastian

$153 7.4% 28% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2%

San Sebastian

$59 2.9% 14.3% $9.9

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4%

San Sebastian

$54 2.6% 36.4% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $731 in Buenos Aires and $1,470 in San Sebastian. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

San Sebastian pays about 3.3 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $66 in Buenos Aires vs $62 in San Sebastian. Groceries flip the comparison at $284 vs $327, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🕒 Local time

22:07 10:07 PM

02:07 2:07 AM

4 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

188,743

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.52 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 1,534 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,713 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 0.896 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Buenos Aires San Sebastian 10,380 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
San Sebastian

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 Sebastian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,633 in Buenos Aires and $2,066 in San Sebastian, so Buenos Aires is about 21% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 69% lower in Buenos Aires. 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: $731 in Buenos Aires versus $1,470 in San Sebastian. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $501 in Buenos Aires versus $454 in San Sebastian. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 15% higher in San Sebastian. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $3,000 a month, though Buenos Aires gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.

It comes down to priorities – Buenos Aires wins on affordability, San Sebastian on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.