Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cahul and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Cahul: $635 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $12,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

31

Cost of Living Index in Cahul
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Cahul Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Cahul

🇲🇩 Moldova

$635

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cahul and in Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $635 in Cahul versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Cahul $635
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Cahul versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Cahul $927
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,219 in Cahul versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Cahul $1,219
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Cahul costs roughly 62% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cahul is 53% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.54 MDL 152

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-55.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.42 MDL 416

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-64.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.36 MDL 184

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-21.52%

Cappuccino

$1.67 MDL 29.62

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-56.62%

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

$1.10 MDL 19.60

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-44.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.58 MDL 10.39

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-63.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.97 MDL 35.05

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-49.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 MDL 32.05

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-60.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 MDL 21.41

$1.50 ARS 2,272

-19.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 MDL 8.13

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-81.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 MDL 27.58

$1.61 ARS 2,445

-3.73%

Eggs

$2.15 MDL 38.13

$2.84 ARS 4,316

-24.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.65 MDL 118

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-35.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.69 MDL 83.3

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-53.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.09 MDL 108

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-54.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.00 MDL 17.74

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-65.28%

Banana (1kg)

$2.26 MDL 40.16

$2.20 ARS 3,334

2.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.89 MDL 33.62

$1.40 ARS 2,120

35.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.28 MDL 40.46

$1.98 ARS 3,004

15.15%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 MDL 13.69

$1.21 ARS 1,835

-36.36%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 MDL 8.51

$1.26 ARS 1,910

-61.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 MDL 8.18

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-73.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 MDL 9.76

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-68.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 MDL 58.8

$4.29 ARS 6,505

-22.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.54 MDL 80.7

$5.70 ARS 8,645

-20.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 MDL 25.07

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-35.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 MDL 34.54

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-29.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.27 MDL 4.78

$0.75 ARS 1,141

-64.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.87 MDL 51.0

$1.57 ARS 2,375

82.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.26 MDL 4.62

$1.03 ARS 1,558

-74.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 MDL 101

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

-27.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 MDL 27.84

$1.42 ARS 2,160

10.56%

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

$33.4K MDL 593.4K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

19.55%

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

$23.8K MDL 422.6K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

-31.95%

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

$225 MDL 3,990

$195 ARS 296.2K

15.09%

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

$8.06 MDL 143

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-67.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.01 MDL 196

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

-65.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.74 MDL 137

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-25.15%

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

$111 MDL 1,978

$463 ARS 703.2K

-75.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,302 MDL 94.2K

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

-39.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$44.70 MDL 794

$120 ARS 181.8K

-62.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.5 MDL 985

$114 ARS 173.1K

-51.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.1 MDL 908

$139 ARS 211.4K

-63.30%

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)

$500 MDL 8,884

$938 ARS 1.4M

-46.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-86.03%

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

Last update for Cahul: October 13, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cahul

$244 38.4%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 3.4% $8.2

Groceries & Markets

Cahul

$162 25.6%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 74.5% $121

Eating Out

Cahul

$140 22%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 102% $142

Clothing & Footwear

Cahul

$68 * 10.7%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 210% $143

Sport & Entertainment

Cahul

$15 * 2.4%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 363% $56

Getting Around

Cahul

$5.3 * 0.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 604% $32

Accommodation & Living

Cahul

- * 0%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Buenos Aires pays 87% 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: $23.00 in Cahul vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $162 vs $283 per month, with Cahul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Cahul

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

03:01 3:01 AM

21:01 9:01 PM

6 h behind Cahul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,500

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cahul Buenos Aires 12,450 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Cahul
Buenos Aires

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

Cahul vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cahul and Buenos Aires differ by about 161% in total monthly costs ($635 vs $1,656 including rent). Cahul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 87% 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.

Childcare runs $111 in Cahul versus $463 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Cahul – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $635 in Cahul versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cahul but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Cahul 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, Cahul and Buenos Aires 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 Cahul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 161% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.