Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cambridge and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $3,193 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $18,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,193

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cambridge 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 Cambridge and in Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $3,193 in Cambridge versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Cambridge $3,193
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,497 in Cambridge versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Cambridge $4,497
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,801 in Cambridge versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Cambridge $5,801
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Cambridge is roughly 89% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cambridge 138% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.44 £16.20

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

14.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.5 £67.6

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

38.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-19.33%

Cappuccino

$4.65 £3.51

$3.98 ARS 6,029

16.83%

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

$2.82 £2.13

$2.05 ARS 3,103

37.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.89 £1.43

$1.55 ARS 2,349

21.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.64 £5.77

$3.84 ARS 5,830

98.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.53 £4.93

$4.60 ARS 6,970

41.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.44 ARS 2,181

9.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.81 £1.37

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-26.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.48 £1.88

$1.63 ARS 2,467

52.15%

Eggs

$4.56 £3.44

$2.89 ARS 4,385

57.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.59 £7.25

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-9.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.25 £6.99

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-7.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.41 £11.65

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

12.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 £2.20

$2.75 ARS 4,166

5.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-21.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.66 £2.77

$1.45 ARS 2,205

152.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.43 £2.59

$1.99 ARS 3,013

72.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 £1.33

$1.24 ARS 1,885

41.13%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 £1.39

$1.27 ARS 1,921

44.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-23.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.73 ARS 2,617

13.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.60 £17.07

$4.18 ARS 6,337

440.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.17 £8.44

$5.80 ARS 8,790

92.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 £2.48

$2.09 ARS 3,163

56.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.12 £3.11

$2.77 ARS 4,198

48.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.89 £2.94

$0.75 ARS 1,132

418.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.4 £70.6

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

243.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.05 £6.09

$1.62 ARS 2,451

396.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.57 £1.94

$0.98 ARS 1,481

162.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$50.3 £38.03

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

551.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.36 ARS 2,058

53.68%

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

$38.2K £28.9K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

36.46%

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

$40.8K £30.8K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

18.15%

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

$336 £254

$216 ARS 326.9K

55.88%

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

$18.66 £14.10

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-27.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.12 £31.83

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

34.31%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.6 £48.79

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

29.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.61 £15.57

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

20.81%

Cinema Ticket

$17.06 £12.89

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

63.57%

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

$2,538 £1,918

$466 ARS 706.7K

444.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.2K £26.6K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

288.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 £66.6

$122 ARS 185.2K

-27.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.02 £35.54

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-51.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.3 £70.5

$117 ARS 177.4K

-20.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$129 £97.2

$140 ARS 211.9K

-7.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 £1,572

$763 ARS 1.2M

172.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,717 £1,297

$505 ARS 766.1K

239.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,168 £2,394

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

98.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,686 £2,030

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

126.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$9,021 £6,817

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

236.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,852 £4,422

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

214.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,402 £3,327

$954 ARS 1.4M

361.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.04

57.25

-91.20%

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

Last update for Cambridge: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 70.6% $1.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cambridge

$397 12.6%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 31.3% $124

Eating Out

Cambridge

$329 10.4%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 15.1% $50

Groceries & Markets

Cambridge

$325 10.3%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 12.5% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Cambridge

$161 5.1%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 33.3% $54

Getting Around

Cambridge

$130 4.1%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 71.8% $93

Sport & Entertainment

Cambridge

$99 3.1%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 28.4% $28

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,080 in Cambridge and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cambridge pays 361% 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: $89.0 in Cambridge vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $284 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

06:10 6:10 AM

02:10 2:10 AM

4 h behind Cambridge

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

145,818

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cambridge Buenos Aires 11,200 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cambridge
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

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

Cambridge and Buenos Aires differ by about 89% in total monthly costs ($3,193 vs $1,685 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 361% higher in Cambridge, 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: $2,080 in Cambridge versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,538 in Cambridge versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 14% higher in Cambridge. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $3,193 in Cambridge, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Cambridge. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires 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, Cambridge 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 Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 89% less than in Cambridge. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.