Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caracas and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Caracas: $1,312 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Caracas
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Caracas Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Caracas

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$1,312

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,312 in Caracas versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Caracas $1,312
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,236 in Caracas versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Caracas $2,236
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,160 in Caracas versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Caracas $3,160
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Caracas costs roughly 22% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caracas is 2% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.63 VES 9,271

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-43.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$68.2 VES 59.5K

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

5.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.99 VES 9,589

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-14.67%

Cappuccino

$3.73 VES 3,258

$3.98 ARS 6,027

-6.28%

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

$1.54 VES 1,346

$2.05 ARS 3,102

-24.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 VES 1,119

$1.55 ARS 2,348

-17.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 VES 1,792

$3.84 ARS 5,828

-46.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 VES 2,540

$4.60 ARS 6,968

-36.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.76 VES 2,407

$1.44 ARS 2,180

91.67%

White Bread (500g)

$2.32 VES 2,025

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-5.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 VES 1,651

$1.63 ARS 2,466

15.95%

Eggs

$4.82 VES 4,210

$2.89 ARS 4,384

66.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.18 VES 8,879

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-4.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.44 VES 8,241

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-5.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.51 VES 10.0K

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-16.23%

Apples (1kg)

$7.23 VES 6,307

$2.75 ARS 4,165

162.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 VES 1,709

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-10.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.13 VES 1,860

$1.45 ARS 2,204

46.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 VES 2,065

$1.99 ARS 3,012

19.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.24 VES 1,951

$1.24 ARS 1,884

80.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.24 VES 1,952

$1.27 ARS 1,920

76.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.61 VES 1,408

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-5.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 VES 2,099

$1.73 ARS 2,616

39.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.57 VES 3,985

$4.18 ARS 6,335

9.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.02 VES 10.5K

$5.80 ARS 8,787

107.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.37 VES 1,193

$2.09 ARS 3,162

-34.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 VES 1,891

$2.77 ARS 4,197

-21.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 VES 448

$0.75 ARS 1,131

-32.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.63 VES 25.8K

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

9.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 VES 4,261

$1.62 ARS 2,450

201.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.68 VES 2,340

$0.98 ARS 1,480

173.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$15.17 VES 13.2K

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

96.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.86 VES 752

$1.36 ARS 2,057

-36.76%

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

$25.1K VES 21.9M

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-10.23%

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

$38.6K VES 33.7M

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

11.90%

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

$22.07 VES 19.3K

$216 ARS 326.8K

-89.76%

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

$11.81 VES 10.3K

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-53.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.64 VES 33.7K

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

23.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.8 VES 58.3K

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

34.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.23 VES 15.0K

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

1.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.48 VES 5,652

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-37.87%

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

$159 VES 139.1K

$466 ARS 706.5K

-65.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,138 VES 5.4M

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-32.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.8 VES 67.9K

$122 ARS 185.1K

-36.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.6 VES 44.1K

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-48.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 VES 118.9K

$117 ARS 177.3K

16.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$136 VES 118.9K

$140 ARS 211.8K

-2.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$619 VES 539.7K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-18.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$418 VES 364.4K

$505 ARS 765.8K

-17.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,106 VES 964.6K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-30.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$887 VES 773.6K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-25.17%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,458 VES 1.3M

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-45.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$690 VES 602.3K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-62.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$304 VES 265.0K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-68.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-61.57%

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

Last update for Caracas: October 3, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Caracas

$418 31.4%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 20.9% $87

Groceries & Markets

Caracas

$340 25.6%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 16.4% $56

Eating Out

Caracas

$190 14.3%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 46.7% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Caracas

$180 13.6%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 18.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Caracas

$80 6%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 11.4% $9.1

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caracas

$73 5.5%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 276% $200

Getting Around

Caracas

$50 3.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 26.7% $13

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $619 in Caracas and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 214% 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: $68.0 in Caracas vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $340 vs $284 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇪 Caracas

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

23:51 11:51 PM

00:51 12:51 AM

1 h ahead of Caracas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,274,000 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 VES = 1.15 USD

1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to VES – Venezuelan Bolívar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Bolívar (Bs.S)

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 873 VES (1,000 VES = 1.15 USD). 1 EUR = 979 VES (1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to VES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Caracas Buenos Aires 5,100 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Caracas
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

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

Caracas and Buenos Aires differ by about 28% in total monthly costs ($1,312 vs $1,685 including rent). Caracas is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 214% 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $619 in Caracas versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $159 in Caracas versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Buenos Aires pay roughly 20% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,312 in Caracas versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caracas but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Caracas 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, Caracas 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 Caracas gentler on the wallet – expenses run 28% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.