Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Dubai and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $2,854 in Dubai, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

139

Cost of Living Index in Dubai
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Dubai Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Dubai

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,854

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,854 in Dubai versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Dubai $2,854
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,321 in Dubai versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Dubai $4,321
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,788 in Dubai versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Dubai $5,788
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Dubai is roughly 69% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Dubai 113% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.04 AED 47.89

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-30.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.4 AED 299

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

26.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.32 AED 34.25

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-27.64%

Cappuccino

$5.97 AED 21.93

$3.98 ARS 6,029

50.00%

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

$1.63 AED 5.98

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-20.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 AED 2.99

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-47.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.65 AED 50.1

$3.84 ARS 5,830

255.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.38 AED 49.15

$4.60 ARS 6,970

190.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.81 AED 6.64

$1.44 ARS 2,181

25.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 AED 5.78

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-36.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 AED 9.16

$1.63 ARS 2,467

52.76%

Eggs

$3.28 AED 12.04

$2.89 ARS 4,385

13.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.67 AED 46.53

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

18.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.75 AED 35.80

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-2.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.18 AED 48.40

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-4.08%

Apples (1kg)

$2.61 AED 9.57

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-5.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 AED 7.09

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-11.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.92 AED 7.05

$1.45 ARS 2,205

32.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 AED 5.00

$1.99 ARS 3,013

-31.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 AED 4.29

$1.24 ARS 1,885

-5.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.01 AED 3.71

$1.27 ARS 1,921

-20.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.51 AED 5.56

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-11.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 AED 2.29

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-64.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.85 AED 21.50

$4.18 ARS 6,337

39.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.14 AED 59.3

$5.80 ARS 8,790

178.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.65 AED 9.74

$2.09 ARS 3,163

26.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 AED 10.82

$2.77 ARS 4,198

6.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.64 AED 6.03

$0.75 ARS 1,132

118.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$73.6 AED 270

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

171.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.17 AED 11.66

$1.62 ARS 2,451

95.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 AED 2.63

$0.98 ARS 1,481

-27.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.96 AED 29.23

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

3.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 AED 3.64

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-27.21%

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

$27.4K AED 100.5K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-2.28%

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

$22.5K AED 82.8K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-34.72%

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

$250 AED 920

$216 ARS 326.9K

16.16%

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

$54.2 AED 199

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

111.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$91.8 AED 337

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

192.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$98.6 AED 362

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

97.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$42.61 AED 156

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

149.77%

Cinema Ticket

$16.03 AED 58.9

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

53.69%

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

$843 AED 3,098

$466 ARS 706.7K

80.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.3K AED 67.1K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

101.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.0 AED 250

$122 ARS 185.2K

-44.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.9 AED 213

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-40.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 AED 370

$117 ARS 177.4K

-13.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 AED 371

$140 ARS 211.9K

-27.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,380 AED 8,741

$763 ARS 1.2M

211.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,506 AED 5,531

$505 ARS 766.1K

198.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$4,437 AED 16.3K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

177.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,010 AED 11.1K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

154.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,121 AED 26.2K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

165.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,135 AED 15.2K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

122.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,391 AED 12.5K

$954 ARS 1.4M

255.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.54

57.25

-92.07%

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

Last update for Dubai: October 5, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Dubai

$1.5K 52.5%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 66.5% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Dubai

$396 13.8%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 31.3% $124

Eating Out

Dubai

$309 10.8%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 9.6% $30

Groceries & Markets

Dubai

$293 10.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 3% $8.6

Clothing & Footwear

Dubai

$147 5.1%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 45.4% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Dubai

$131 4.6%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 45.9% $60

Getting Around

Dubai

$87 3%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 57.9% $50

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,380 in Dubai and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dubai pays 255% 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: $81.0 in Dubai vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $293 vs $284 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇪 Dubai

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

05:18 5:18 AM

22:18 10:18 PM

7 h behind Dubai

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,790,000

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to AED – UAE Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇪 UAE Dirham (د.إ)

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 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 AED in detail →

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Between locations

Dubai Buenos Aires 13,640 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Dubai
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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

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

Dubai and Buenos Aires differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($2,854 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 255% higher in Dubai, 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: $2,380 in Dubai versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $843 in Dubai 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 3% higher in Dubai. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,854 in Dubai, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Dubai. 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, Dubai 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 69% less than in Dubai. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.