Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Satu Mare

For one person, living is cheaper in Satu Mare: $922 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Satu Mare
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Satu Mare Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Satu Mare

🇷🇴 Romania

$922

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Satu Mare

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $922 in Satu Mare.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Satu Mare $922

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,392 in Satu Mare.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Satu Mare $1,392

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,862 in Satu Mare.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Satu Mare $1,862

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 80% more expensive than in Satu Mare, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Satu Mare is 32% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$8.30 RON 39.26

130.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$32.02 RON 152

105.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$6.23 RON 29.50

111.88%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.48 RON 11.73

55.24%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.49 RON 7.07

33.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$1.30 RON 6.14

23.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$1.90 RON 8.98

106.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$2.46 RON 11.65

87.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.12 RON 5.29

33.93%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$1.02 RON 4.83

148.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.15 RON 5.42

40.00%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.66 RON 12.58

6.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$7.03 RON 33.24

46.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$7.34 RON 34.71

36.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$10.74 RON 50.8

23.84%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$1.08 RON 5.12

166.67%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.33 RON 6.29

65.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.23 RON 5.82

13.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.41 RON 6.66

40.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.16 RON 5.51

4.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.34 RON 6.32

-5.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.94 RON 4.47

81.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.69 RON 3.26

149.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$5.31 RON 25.11

-19.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$6.17 RON 29.18

-7.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.21 RON 5.73

79.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$1.76 RON 8.33

56.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.54 RON 2.57

38.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$23.25 RON 110

17.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.84 RON 4.00

86.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.82 RON 3.90

25.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$7.93 RON 37.54

-0.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.56 RON 7.36

-8.97%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$22.3K RON 105.4K

25.41%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$24.6K RON 116.6K

41.92%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$123 RON 581

59.04%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$7.13 RON 33.74

252.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$7.26 RON 34.37

334.44%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$41.96 RON 199

21.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

$10.54 RON 49.84

58.73%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$6.11 RON 28.92

69.23%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$154 RON 728

201.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$3,826 RON 18.1K

129.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$60.6 RON 287

97.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$27.58 RON 130

246.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$83.9 RON 397

36.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$70.6 RON 334

97.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$327 RON 1,545

131.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$259 RON 1,226

100.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$654 RON 3,093

143.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$402 RON 1,904

197.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$984 RON 4,654

175.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$1,043 RON 4,937

82.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$650 RON 3,076

44.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

7.05

712.06%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Satu Mare: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Satu Mare

$259 28.1% 50.2% $261

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Satu Mare

$192 20.8% 32.2% $91

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Satu Mare

$140 15.2% 50.2% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Satu Mare

$137 14.9% 45.6% $115

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Satu Mare

$109 11.8% 48.2% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Satu Mare

$54 5.9% 24.3% $17

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Satu Mare

$30 3.3% 17.8% $6.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $327 in Satu Mare. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 44% 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 $32.00 in Satu Mare for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $192 per month, with Satu Mare cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇷🇴 Satu Mare

🕒 Local time

19:22 7:22 PM

01:22 1:22 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

102,411

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, 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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Satu Mare 12,200 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Satu Mare

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 Satu Mare: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Satu Mare differ by about 80% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $922 including rent). Satu Mare is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 44% 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 $327 in Satu Mare. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $154 in Satu Mare. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 47% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $922 in Satu Mare versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Satu Mare but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Satu Mare 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 Satu Mare 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 Satu Mare gentler on the wallet – expenses run 80% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.