Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Havana and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Havana: $860 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $9,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Havana
Learn more

Havana Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

Jump to prices

Havana

🇨🇺 Cuba

$860

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $860 in Havana versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Havana $860
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,388 in Havana versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Havana $1,388
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,916 in Havana versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Havana $1,916
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Havana costs roughly 48% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Havana is 36% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.59 CUP 86.3

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-81.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.63 CUP 663

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-58.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.88 CUP 117

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-63.03%

Cappuccino

$1.06 CUP 25.42

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-72.47%

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

$1.51 CUP 36.33

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-24.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 CUP 23.80

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-38.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.24 CUP 29.66

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-68.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.10

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-55.53%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.68 CUP 64.3

$1.50 ARS 2,272

78.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.22 CUP 29.26

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-51.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 CUP 42.35

$1.61 ARS 2,445

9.32%

Eggs

$3.50 CUP 83.9

$2.84 ARS 4,316

23.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.52 CUP 108

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-56.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.66 CUP 112

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-53.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.56 CUP 205

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-35.64%

Apples (1kg)

$6.20 CUP 149

$2.88 ARS 4,366

115.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 CUP 24.55

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-53.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.83 CUP 92.0

$1.40 ARS 2,120

173.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.24 CUP 53.8

$1.98 ARS 3,004

13.13%

Potato (1kg)

$2.93 CUP 70.2

$1.21 ARS 1,835

142.15%

Onion (1kg)

$2.74 CUP 65.7

$1.26 ARS 1,910

117.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 CUP 17.33

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-57.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 CUP 13.60

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-66.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.61 CUP 38.72

$4.29 ARS 6,505

-62.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.37 CUP 129

$5.70 ARS 8,645

-5.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.77 CUP 42.38

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-18.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.05 CUP 49.30

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-25.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.63 CUP 15.17

$0.75 ARS 1,141

-16.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.13 CUP 531

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

-18.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.63 CUP 63.1

$1.57 ARS 2,375

67.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 CUP 7.98

$1.03 ARS 1,558

-67.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.63 CUP 471

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

148.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 CUP 30.50

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-10.56%

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

$60.4K CUP 1.5M

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

116.18%

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

$59.1K CUP 1.4M

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

69.04%

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

$46.62 CUP 1,119

$195 ARS 296.2K

-76.12%

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

$39.24 CUP 942

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

55.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$89.3 CUP 2,144

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

183.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.35 CUP 392

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-67.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.84 CUP 308

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

-23.25%

Cinema Ticket

$0.83 CUP 19.99

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-91.97%

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

$156 CUP 3,752

$463 ARS 703.2K

-66.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K CUP 298.9K

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

41.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.2 CUP 1,253

$120 ARS 181.8K

-56.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.71 CUP 1,001

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-56.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.0 CUP 1,919

$114 ARS 173.1K

-29.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$67.6 CUP 1,623

$139 ARS 211.4K

-51.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$246 CUP 5,911

$756 ARS 1.1M

-67.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$219 CUP 5,245

$520 ARS 788.8K

-57.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$872 CUP 20.9K

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-45.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$508 CUP 12.2K

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-57.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$314 CUP 7,545

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

-88.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$407 CUP 9,762

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

-78.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$29.60 CUP 710

$938 ARS 1.4M

-96.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.1

57.25

-84.10%

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

Last update for Havana: 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

Havana

$234 27.2%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 21.1% $49

Accommodation & Living

Havana

$219 25.4%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 138% $301

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Havana

$175 20.4%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 43.8% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Havana

$109 12.6%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 94.1% $102

Eating Out

Havana

$76 8.9%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 269% $205

Getting Around

Havana

$29 3.4%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 27.7% $8

Sport & Entertainment

Havana

$18 2.1%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 297% $54

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $246 in Havana and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 3068% 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: $28.00 in Havana vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $234 vs $283 per month, with Havana cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇺 Havana

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

10:46 10:46 AM

11:46 11:46 AM

1 h ahead of Havana

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,141,993 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Cuban Peso CUP $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 CUP = 4.17 USD

100 CUP = 3.71 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to CUP – Cuban Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇺 Cuban Peso ($)

Cuban Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 24 CUP (100 CUP = 4.17 USD). 1 EUR = 26.98 CUP (100 CUP = 3.71 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 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 CUP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Havana Buenos Aires 6,900 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Havana
Buenos Aires

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Havana and Buenos Aires differ by about 93% in total monthly costs ($860 vs $1,656 including rent). Havana is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 3068% 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: $246 in Havana versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $156 in Havana versus $463 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 21% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $860 in Havana versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Havana but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Havana 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, Havana 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 Havana gentler on the wallet – expenses run 93% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.