Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Thika

For one person, living is cheaper in Thika: $518 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Thika
Learn more

Thika Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Thika

🇰🇪 Kenya

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Thika

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Buenos Aires versus $518 in Thika.

Buenos Aires $1,646
Thika $518

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,680 in Buenos Aires versus $883 in Thika.

Buenos Aires $2,680
Thika $883

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Buenos Aires versus $1,249 in Thika.

Buenos Aires $3,714
Thika $1,249

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 218% more expensive than in Thika, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 21% above, Thika is 62% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 ARS 27.0K

$3.52 KES 457

405.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 ARS 98.9K

$34.21 KES 4,435

90.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.12 ARS 19.9K

$6.43 KES 834

104.04%

Cappuccino

$3.86 ARS 5,863

$1.95 KES 253

97.95%

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

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$0.33 KES 42.15

524.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ARS 2,542

$0.61 KES 78.8

175.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,218

$1.87 KES 243

119.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 ARS 7,181

$2.06 KES 267

129.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ARS 2,285

$0.73 KES 95.1

106.85%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 ARS 3,950

$0.44 KES 56.8

490.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 ARS 2,380

$1.16 KES 150

35.34%

Eggs

$2.73 ARS 4,144

$1.35 KES 175

102.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ARS 16.5K

$10.81 KES 1,402

0.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$6.58 KES 853

53.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 ARS 20.1K

$4.12 KES 534

220.87%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ARS 4,255

$1.57 KES 204

78.34%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 ARS 3,170

$0.64 KES 82.5

226.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,194

$0.80 KES 104

81.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,040

$1.10 KES 143

81.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,826

$0.41 KES 52.9

192.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$0.44 KES 56.8

172.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 ARS 2,569

$0.69 KES 89.5

144.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ARS 2,711

$0.37 KES 48.31

383.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ARS 6,074

$2.71 KES 352

47.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 ARS 8,388

$5.71 KES 740

-3.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 ARS 3,219

$1.78 KES 230

19.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ARS 4,212

$1.90 KES 246

46.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,049

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,471

$1.56 KES 202

4.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,478

$0.96 KES 125

1.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 ARS 12.0K

$2.82 KES 366

179.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,156

$1.41 KES 183

0.71%

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

$23.3K ARS 35.4M

$21.7K KES 2.8M

7.73%

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

$31.9K ARS 48.5M

$20.0K KES 2.6M

59.77%

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

$199 ARS 302.7K

$34.37 KES 4,456

480.30%

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

$23.36 ARS 35.4K

$14.94 KES 1,936

56.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.44 ARS 47.7K

$35.20 KES 4,564

-10.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.81 ARS 75.6K

$46.96 KES 6,088

6.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.2K

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 ARS 16.4K

$7.63 KES 990

41.55%

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

$462 ARS 701.7K

$53.7 KES 6,956

761.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ARS 13.3M

$3,537 KES 458.6K

148.50%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.6K

$27.81 KES 3,605

330.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.6 ARS 143.6K

$29.36 KES 3,806

222.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 176.4K

$69.9 KES 9,061

66.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 ARS 208.6K

$19.37 KES 2,512

609.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$750 ARS 1.1M

$98.7 KES 12.8K

659.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 780.5K

$57.5 KES 7,450

795.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

$273 KES 35.3K

475.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

$178 KES 23.0K

573.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

$610 KES 79.1K

331.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$924 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

14.71

289.19%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Last update for Thika: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3%

Thika

$57 11.1% 88.8% $457

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3%

Thika

$153 29.6% 46.2% $131

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6%

Thika

$88 17% 67.7% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5%

Thika

$85 16.3% 66.8% $170

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8%

Thika

$66 12.7% 68.7% $145

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Thika

$62 12% 12.9% $9.2

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3%

Thika

$6.4 * 1.2% 82.9% $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 $750 in Buenos Aires and $98.7 in Thika. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $65.0 in Buenos Aires vs $34.00 in Thika for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $153 per month, with Thika cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇰🇪 Thika

🕒 Local time

19:37 7:37 PM

01:37 1:37 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

83,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Thika 10,450 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Thika

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 Thika: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Thika differ by about 218% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $518 including rent). Thika is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,468 in Buenos Aires and $777 in Thika 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: $750 in Buenos Aires versus $98.7 in Thika. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $462 in Buenos Aires versus $53.7 in Thika. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Thika – a meal for two runs $34.00 versus $65.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $518 in Thika versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Thika but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Thika 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 Thika 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 Thika gentler on the wallet – expenses run 218% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.