Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cuiaba and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Cuiaba: $1,081 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Cuiaba
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Cuiaba Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Cuiaba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$1,081

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,081 in Cuiaba versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Cuiaba $1,081
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,618 in Cuiaba versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Cuiaba $1,618
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,155 in Cuiaba versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Cuiaba $2,155
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Cuiaba costs roughly 36% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cuiaba is 19% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.03 R$25.12

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-73.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.60 R$178

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-44.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 R$39.43

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-38.66%

Cappuccino

$1.85 R$9.21

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-53.52%

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

$1.48 R$7.37

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-27.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 R$3.89

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-49.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.03 R$10.15

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-47.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 R$13.10

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-43.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 R$6.14

$1.44 ARS 2,181

-14.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 R$7.98

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-34.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.91 R$9.55

$1.63 ARS 2,467

17.18%

Eggs

$3.08 R$15.36

$2.89 ARS 4,385

6.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.15 R$85.6

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

61.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.82 R$24.04

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-51.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.36 R$56.7

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-17.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.39 R$11.91

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-13.09%

Banana (1kg)

$2.40 R$12.00

$2.18 ARS 3,300

10.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 R$12.49

$1.45 ARS 2,205

72.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.01 R$15.02

$1.99 ARS 3,013

51.26%

Potato (1kg)

$2.55 R$12.72

$1.24 ARS 1,885

105.65%

Onion (1kg)

$2.11 R$10.51

$1.27 ARS 1,921

66.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.65 R$8.23

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-2.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 R$7.15

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-17.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.29 R$11.45

$4.18 ARS 6,337

-45.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.63 R$58.1

$5.80 ARS 8,790

100.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 R$10.31

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-0.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 R$15.28

$2.77 ARS 4,198

10.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.02 R$5.11

$0.75 ARS 1,132

36.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.30 R$191

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

41.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.62 ARS 2,451

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,481

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 R$6.53

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-3.68%

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

$29.9K R$149.2K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

6.74%

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

$33.5K R$167.3K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-2.93%

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

$178 R$888

$216 ARS 326.9K

-17.48%

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

$19.31 R$96.4

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-24.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.04 R$135

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-13.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.15 R$131

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-47.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.84 R$99.0

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

16.30%

Cinema Ticket

$6.17 R$30.80

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-40.84%

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

$432 R$2,158

$466 ARS 706.7K

-7.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,696 R$48.4K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

7.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.8 R$383

$122 ARS 185.2K

-37.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.06 R$245

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-49.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$155 R$775

$117 ARS 177.4K

32.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.2 R$356

$140 ARS 211.9K

-49.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$336 R$1,679

$763 ARS 1.2M

-55.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$233 R$1,163

$505 ARS 766.1K

-53.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$660 R$3,295

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-58.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 R$1,848

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-68.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,370 R$6,838

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-48.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$793 R$3,958

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-57.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$399 R$1,992

$954 ARS 1.4M

-58.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.1

57.25

-71.88%

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

Last update for Cuiaba: October 5, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Cuiaba

$285 26.1%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 0.2% $0.6

Accommodation & Living

Cuiaba

$233 21.3%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 117% $272

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cuiaba

$224 20.5%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 21.5% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Cuiaba

$159 14.5%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 35.2% $56

Eating Out

Cuiaba

$111 10.1%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 152% $168

Getting Around

Cuiaba

$42 * 3.9%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 13.6% $5.8

Sport & Entertainment

Cuiaba

$38 3.5%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 83.6% $32

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 $336 in Cuiaba and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 139% 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: $36.00 in Cuiaba vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $285 vs $284, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Cuiaba

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

03:01 3:01 AM

04:01 4:01 AM

1 h ahead of Cuiaba

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

650,877

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.2 USD

1 BRL = 0.179 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.99 BRL (1 BRL = 0.2 USD). 1 EUR = 5.6 BRL (1 BRL = 0.179 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cuiaba Buenos Aires 2,130 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cuiaba
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

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

Cuiaba and Buenos Aires differ by about 56% in total monthly costs ($1,081 vs $1,685 including rent). Cuiaba is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 139% 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: $336 in Cuiaba versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $432 in Cuiaba 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 0% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,081 in Cuiaba versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cuiaba but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Cuiaba 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, Cuiaba 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 Cuiaba gentler on the wallet – expenses run 56% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.