Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cortona and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,656 a month against $1,782 in Cortona, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Cortona
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Cortona Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Cortona

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,782

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,782 in Cortona versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Cortona $1,782
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,699 in Cortona versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Cortona $2,699
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,616 in Cortona versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Cortona $3,616
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Cortona is roughly 8% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cortona 32% above, Buenos Aires 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.97 €17.76

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

4.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.3 €71.4

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

22.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.47 €10.21

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-13.11%

Cappuccino

$1.99 €1.77

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-48.31%

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

$3.37 €3.00

$1.99 ARS 3,020

69.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-11.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.61 €5.88

$3.93 ARS 5,959

68.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 €3.89

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-5.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 €1.51

$1.50 ARS 2,272

13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-13.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.11 €2.77

$1.61 ARS 2,445

93.17%

Eggs

$5.20 €4.62

$2.84 ARS 4,316

83.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.98 €24.89

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

171.65%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$16.13 €14.34

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

61.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.34 €21.65

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

83.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 €2.64

$2.88 ARS 4,366

3.13%

Banana (1kg)

$2.16 €1.92

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-1.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.29 €2.93

$1.40 ARS 2,120

135.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 €2.89

$1.98 ARS 3,004

64.14%

Potato (1kg)

$3.12 €2.78

$1.21 ARS 1,835

157.85%

Onion (1kg)

$2.17 €1.93

$1.26 ARS 1,910

72.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.88 €1.68

$1.71 ARS 2,592

9.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 €0.74

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-51.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.66 €6.81

$4.29 ARS 6,505

78.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.55 €7.61

$5.70 ARS 8,645

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.59 €2.30

$2.17 ARS 3,288

19.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.07 €3.62

$2.76 ARS 4,188

47.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.55 €4.94

$1.57 ARS 2,375

253.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.03 ARS 1,558

114.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.50 €10.23

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

45.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 €1.86

$1.42 ARS 2,160

47.18%

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

$36.5K €32.4K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

30.45%

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

$35.3K €31.4K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

0.95%

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

$339 €301

$195 ARS 296.2K

73.49%

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

$12.19 €10.84

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-51.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.74 €38.02

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

35.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.43 €25.29

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-44.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.22 €9.98

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

-32.93%

Cinema Ticket

$10.78 €9.59

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

4.26%

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

$634 €564

$463 ARS 703.2K

36.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,834 €7,858

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

0.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$99.7 €88.7

$120 ARS 181.8K

-16.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 €67.4

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-20.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.6 €78.0

$114 ARS 173.1K

-23.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$194 €172

$139 ARS 211.4K

39.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$839 €746

$756 ARS 1.1M

10.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$401 €357

$520 ARS 788.8K

-22.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,487 €1,323

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-6.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$613 €546

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-48.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,234 €1,987

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

-17.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,788 €2,480

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

46.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,170 €2,820

$938 ARS 1.4M

238.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.7

57.25

-93.54%

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

Last update for Cortona: October 10, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cortona

$436 24.5%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 35.1% $153

Accommodation & Living

Cortona

$401 22.5%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 29.6% $119

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cortona

$394 22.1%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 36% $142

Eating Out

Cortona

$279 15.7%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 1% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Cortona

$206 11.5%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 2.6% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Cortona

$50 2.8%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 43.3% $22

Getting Around

Cortona

$17 * 0.9%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 123% $20

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 $839 in Cortona and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cortona pays 238% 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: $80.0 in Cortona vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $436 vs $283 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Cortona

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

20:25 8:25 PM

15:25 3:25 PM

5 h behind Cortona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,450

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cortona Buenos Aires 11,220 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cortona
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

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

Cortona and Buenos Aires differ by about 8% in total monthly costs ($1,782 vs $1,656 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 238% higher in Cortona, 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: $839 in Cortona versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $634 in Cortona 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 Buenos Aires – a meal for two runs $66.0 versus $80.0 in Cortona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,782 in Cortona, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Cortona. 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, Cortona 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 8% less than in Cortona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.