Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cotonou and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Cotonou: $901 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

44

Cost of Living Index in Cotonou
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Cotonou Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Cotonou

🇧🇯 Benin

$901

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $901 in Cotonou versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Cotonou $901
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,417 in Cotonou versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Cotonou $1,417
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,933 in Cotonou versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Cotonou $1,933
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Cotonou costs roughly 47% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cotonou is 33% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.05 F CFA 2,954

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-73.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.47 F CFA 20.8K

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-44.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.56 F CFA 5,592

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-25.78%

Cappuccino

$5.21 F CFA 3,051

$3.98 ARS 6,029

30.90%

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

$1.06 F CFA 619

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-48.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 F CFA 521

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-42.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.84 F CFA 490

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-78.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 F CFA 1,497

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-44.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.07 F CFA 1,793

$1.44 ARS 2,181

113.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 F CFA 695

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-51.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 F CFA 1,070

$1.63 ARS 2,467

12.27%

Eggs

$2.69 F CFA 1,576

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-6.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.19 F CFA 5,375

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-13.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.44 F CFA 3,180

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-45.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.04 F CFA 2,946

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-63.32%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 F CFA 2,372

$2.75 ARS 4,166

47.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.84 F CFA 1,074

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-15.60%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.28 F CFA 750

$1.45 ARS 2,205

-11.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.73 F CFA 1,595

$1.99 ARS 3,013

37.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.26 F CFA 736

$1.24 ARS 1,885

1.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 F CFA 1,021

$1.27 ARS 1,921

37.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.44 F CFA 256

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-74.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.10 F CFA 641

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-36.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.48 F CFA 2,037

$4.18 ARS 6,337

-16.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.18 F CFA 2,444

$5.80 ARS 8,790

-27.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 F CFA 718

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-41.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 F CFA 1,116

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-31.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.29 F CFA 757

$0.75 ARS 1,132

72.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.34 F CFA 782

$1.62 ARS 2,451

-17.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 F CFA 809

$0.98 ARS 1,481

40.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 F CFA 727

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-8.82%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

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

$24.0K F CFA 14.1M

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-30.36%

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

$146 F CFA 85.4K

$216 ARS 326.9K

-32.28%

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

$33.86 F CFA 19.8K

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

32.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.15 F CFA 28.8K

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

56.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.30 F CFA 28.8K

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-1.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.44 F CFA 2,015

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

-79.84%

Cinema Ticket

$8.68 F CFA 5,079

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-16.78%

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

$131 F CFA 76.5K

$466 ARS 706.7K

-71.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,460 F CFA 3.2M

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-39.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.96 F CFA 15.2K

$122 ARS 185.2K

-78.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$33.73 F CFA 19.7K

$117 ARS 177.4K

-71.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.9 F CFA 39.7K

$140 ARS 211.9K

-51.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$180 F CFA 105.6K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-76.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$165 F CFA 96.6K

$505 ARS 766.1K

-67.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$599 F CFA 350.7K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-62.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$411 F CFA 240.7K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-65.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$258 F CFA 151.0K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-72.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-93.01%

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

Last update for Cotonou: October 3, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cotonou

$229 25.4%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 19% $44

Groceries & Markets

Cotonou

$221 24.5%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 28.6% $63

Accommodation & Living

Cotonou

$165 18.3%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 206% $340

Eating Out

Cotonou

$149 16.5%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 87.5% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Cotonou

$67 7.4%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 6% $4

Clothing & Footwear

Cotonou

$57 * 6.4%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 273% $157

Getting Around

Cotonou

$13 * 1.5%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 173% $23

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 $180 in Cotonou and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 270% 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: $35.00 in Cotonou vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $284 per month, with Cotonou cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇯 Cotonou

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

08:17 8:17 AM

04:17 4:17 AM

4 h behind Cotonou

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

780,000

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 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 XOF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cotonou Buenos Aires 7,830 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cotonou
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

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

Cotonou and Buenos Aires differ by about 87% in total monthly costs ($901 vs $1,685 including rent). Cotonou is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 270% 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: $180 in Cotonou versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $131 in Cotonou versus $466 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 Cotonou – a meal for two runs $35.00 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $901 in Cotonou versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cotonou but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Cotonou 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, Cotonou 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 Cotonou gentler on the wallet – expenses run 87% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.