Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Santa Isabel

For one person, living is cheaper in Santa Isabel: $1,300 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Buenos Aires outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Santa Isabel
Learn more

Santa Isabel Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Santa Isabel

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,300

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Santa Isabel

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,300 in Santa Isabel.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Santa Isabel $1,300

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $2,047 in Santa Isabel.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Santa Isabel $2,047

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,793 in Santa Isabel.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Santa Isabel $2,793

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 27% more expensive than in Santa Isabel, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Santa Isabel is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$18.81 $18.81

1.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$83.3 $83.3

-21.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$8.95 $8.95

47.49%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$3.55 $3.55

8.45%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.91 $1.91

4.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.50 $1.50

6.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.96 $2.96

32.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$5.09 $5.09

-9.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.31 $1.31

14.50%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$3.40 $3.40

-25.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$2.31 $2.31

-30.30%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$6.33 $6.33

-55.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$12.63 $12.63

-18.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$9.52 $9.52

5.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$13.13 $13.13

1.29%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$4.95 $4.95

-41.82%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$2.62 $2.62

-16.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$4.83 $4.83

-71.01%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$4.95 $4.95

-60.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$3.73 $3.73

-67.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$4.05 $4.05

-68.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$3.54 $3.54

-51.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$1.66 $1.66

3.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$11.99 $11.99

-64.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$15.63 $15.63

-63.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$2.98 $2.98

-27.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$3.98 $3.98

-30.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$2.44 $2.44

-35.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.66 $0.66

56.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$40.77 $40.77

-80.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.05 $1.05

35.24%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$39.5K $39.5K

-29.19%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$28.2K $28.2K

24.00%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$326 $326

-40.16%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$68.8 $68.8

-63.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$69.0 $69.0

-54.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$10.32 $10.32

0.19%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$830 $830

-44.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$12.6K $12.6K

-29.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$56.0 $56.0

113.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$61.4 $61.4

55.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$109 $109

4.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$113 $113

23.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

6.55

774.05%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Santa Isabel: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Santa Isabel

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Santa Isabel

$399 30.7% 40.7% $115

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Santa Isabel

$259 19.9% 8.2% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Santa Isabel

$464 35.7% 84.2% $212

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Santa Isabel

$153 11.8% 27.5% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Santa Isabel

$21 * 1.6% 71.2% $51

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Santa Isabel

$5.8 * 0.4% 84.5% $31

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $83.0 in Santa Isabel for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $399 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇵🇷 Santa Isabel

🕒 Local time

13:41 1:41 PM

12:41 12:41 PM

1 h behind Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

23,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

United States Dollar USD $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Santa Isabel 5,910 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Santa Isabel

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 Santa Isabel: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Santa Isabel differ by about 27% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,300 including rent). Santa Isabel is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,484 in Buenos Aires and $1,951 in Santa Isabel 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.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $830 in Santa Isabel. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Santa Isabel – a meal for two runs $83.0 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,300 in Santa Isabel versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santa Isabel but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Santa Isabel 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 Santa Isabel 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 Santa Isabel gentler on the wallet – expenses run 27% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.