Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Zărnești

For one person, living is cheaper in Zărnești: $889 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Zărnești
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Zărnești Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Zărnești

🇷🇴 Romania

$889

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Buenos Aires versus $889 in Zărnești.

Buenos Aires $1,646
Zărnești $889

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,680 in Buenos Aires versus $1,383 in Zărnești.

Buenos Aires $2,680
Zărnești $1,383

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Buenos Aires versus $1,877 in Zărnești.

Buenos Aires $3,714
Zărnești $1,877

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 85% more expensive than in Zărnești, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 21% above, Zărnești is 34% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 ARS 27.0K

$9.00 RON 42.60

97.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 ARS 98.9K

$42.40 RON 201

53.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.12 ARS 19.9K

$8.36 RON 39.57

56.94%

Cappuccino

$3.86 ARS 5,863

$2.18 RON 10.34

77.06%

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

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$1.46 RON 6.90

41.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ARS 2,542

$1.20 RON 5.66

40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,218

$1.90 RON 9.00

115.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 ARS 7,181

$2.28 RON 10.79

107.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ARS 2,285

$1.27 RON 6.02

18.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 ARS 3,950

$1.07 RON 5.06

142.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 ARS 2,380

$1.44 RON 6.81

9.03%

Eggs

$2.73 ARS 4,144

$2.79 RON 13.20

-2.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ARS 16.5K

$7.89 RON 37.33

37.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$4.74 RON 22.42

112.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 ARS 20.1K

$10.40 RON 49.21

27.12%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ARS 4,255

$0.93 RON 4.41

201.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 ARS 3,170

$1.33 RON 6.30

57.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,194

$1.27 RON 6.02

14.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,040

$1.28 RON 6.06

56.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,826

$0.78 RON 3.67

53.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$0.52 RON 2.45

130.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 ARS 2,569

$0.80 RON 3.80

111.25%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ARS 2,711

$0.77 RON 3.63

132.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ARS 6,074

$5.15 RON 24.37

-22.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 ARS 8,388

$7.42 RON 35.09

-25.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 ARS 3,219

$1.07 RON 5.08

98.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ARS 4,212

$1.29 RON 6.12

115.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,049

$0.70 RON 3.32

-1.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.3K

$21.32 RON 101

30.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,471

$0.88 RON 4.15

85.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,478

$0.86 RON 4.05

12.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 ARS 12.0K

$7.45 RON 35.26

5.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,156

$1.51 RON 7.16

-5.96%

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

$23.3K ARS 35.4M

$28.5K RON 134.9K

-18.14%

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

$31.9K ARS 48.5M

$26.0K RON 122.9K

22.96%

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

$199 ARS 302.7K

$99.0 RON 468

101.57%

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

$23.36 ARS 35.4K

$9.28 RON 43.89

151.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.44 ARS 47.7K

$8.00 RON 37.86

293.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.81 ARS 75.6K

$37.82 RON 179

31.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.2K

$19.41 RON 91.9

-14.32%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 ARS 16.4K

$6.24 RON 29.55

73.08%

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

$462 ARS 701.7K

$429 RON 2,031

7.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ARS 13.3M

$7,733 RON 36.6K

13.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.6K

$44.43 RON 210

169.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.6 ARS 143.6K

$27.26 RON 129

247.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 176.4K

$68.9 RON 326

68.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 ARS 208.6K

$76.8 RON 363

79.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$750 ARS 1.1M

$434 RON 2,054

72.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 780.5K

$266 RON 1,258

93.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

$576 RON 2,727

171.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

$424 RON 2,008

181.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

$1,751 RON 8,283

50.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.8M

$1,329 RON 6,288

41.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$924 ARS 1.4M

$510 RON 2,415

81.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

7.47

666.40%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Last update for Zărnești: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3%

Zărnești

$266 29.9% 48.3% $248

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3%

Zărnești

$182 20.4% 36.2% $103

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6%

Zărnești

$148 16.7% 45.8% $125

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5%

Zărnești

$116 13.1% 54.3% $138

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8%

Zărnești

$98 11% 53.6% $113

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Zărnești

$50 5.7% 29.5% $21

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3%

Zărnești

$29 3.3% 21.2% $7.9

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $750 in Buenos Aires and $434 in Zărnești. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 81% 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: $65.0 in Buenos Aires vs $42.00 in Zărnești for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $182 per month, with Zărnești cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇷🇴 Zărnești

🕒 Local time

21:13 9:13 PM

03:13 3:13 AM

6 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

24,926

💱 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 21, 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 21, 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 →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Zărnești 12,240 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Zărnești

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 Zărnești: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Zărnești differ by about 85% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $889 including rent). Zărnești is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 81% 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: $750 in Buenos Aires versus $434 in Zărnești. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $462 in Buenos Aires versus $429 in Zărnești. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 57% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $889 in Zărnești versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zărnești but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Zărnești 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 Zărnești 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 Zărnești gentler on the wallet – expenses run 85% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.