Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Iasi and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Iasi: $1,251 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Iasi
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Iasi Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Iasi

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,251

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,251 in Iasi versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Iasi $1,251
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,834 in Iasi versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Iasi $1,834
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,417 in Iasi versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Iasi $2,417
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Iasi costs roughly 26% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Iasi is 7% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.54 RON 50.2

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-43.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.58 RON 198

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

-35.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.96 RON 33.17

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-45.96%

Cappuccino

$2.95 RON 14.07

$3.98 ARS 6,027

-25.88%

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

$2.29 RON 10.89

$2.05 ARS 3,102

11.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 RON 8.46

$1.55 ARS 2,348

14.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 RON 14.58

$3.84 ARS 5,828

-20.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 RON 17.59

$4.60 ARS 6,968

-19.78%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 RON 7.14

$1.44 ARS 2,180

4.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 RON 6.34

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-45.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 RON 9.44

$1.63 ARS 2,466

21.47%

Eggs

$3.35 RON 15.95

$2.89 ARS 4,384

15.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.21 RON 39.11

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-22.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.61 RON 31.52

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-33.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.76 RON 46.50

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-28.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.37 RON 6.53

$2.75 ARS 4,165

-50.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 RON 7.74

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-25.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 RON 7.92

$1.45 ARS 2,204

14.48%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 RON 10.28

$1.99 ARS 3,012

8.54%

Potato (1kg)

$0.84 RON 4.02

$1.24 ARS 1,884

-32.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.83 RON 3.95

$1.27 ARS 1,920

-34.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.11 RON 5.30

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-34.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 RON 4.46

$1.73 ARS 2,616

-45.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.26 RON 29.82

$4.18 ARS 6,335

49.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.87 RON 32.76

$5.80 ARS 8,787

18.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.31 RON 6.22

$2.09 ARS 3,162

-37.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 RON 9.84

$2.77 ARS 4,197

-25.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.86 RON 4.08

$0.75 ARS 1,131

14.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.82 RON 133

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

2.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.86 RON 4.12

$1.62 ARS 2,450

-46.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.85 RON 4.05

$0.98 ARS 1,480

-13.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.30 RON 39.57

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

7.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 RON 9.08

$1.36 ARS 2,057

39.71%

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

$28.5K RON 135.7K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

1.65%

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

$27.3K RON 130.2K

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

-20.90%

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

$183 RON 870

$216 ARS 326.8K

-15.33%

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

$7.40 RON 35.28

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-71.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.66 RON 41.28

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

-72.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.73 RON 213

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

-10.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.73 RON 75.0

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

-7.80%

Cinema Ticket

$8.15 RON 38.86

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-21.86%

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

$412 RON 1,962

$466 ARS 706.5K

-11.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,959 RON 33.2K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-23.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.9 RON 352

$122 ARS 185.1K

-39.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.35 RON 188

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-59.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.1 RON 453

$117 ARS 177.3K

-18.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.0 RON 438

$140 ARS 211.8K

-34.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$539 RON 2,567

$763 ARS 1.2M

-29.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$427 RON 2,036

$505 ARS 765.8K

-15.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$874 RON 4,163

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-45.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$668 RON 3,185

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-43.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,932 RON 14.0K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

9.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 RON 9,103

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

2.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,117 RON 5,324

$954 ARS 1.4M

17.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.18

57.25

-87.46%

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

Last update for Iasi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Iasi

$427 34.1%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 18.3% $78

Groceries & Markets

Iasi

$215 17.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 32.2% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Iasi

$199 15.9%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 37.2% $74

Eating Out

Iasi

$180 14.3%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 55.3% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Iasi

$135 10.8%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 58.6% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Iasi

$61 4.9%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 15.8% $9.6

Getting Around

Iasi

$36 2.9%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 0.7% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $539 in Iasi and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Iasi pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $42.00 in Iasi vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $215 vs $284 per month, with Iasi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇷🇴 Iasi

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

00:47 12:47 AM

6 h behind Iasi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

290,422

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to RON in detail →

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Between locations

Iasi Buenos Aires 12,480 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Iasi
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

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

Iasi and Buenos Aires differ by about 35% in total monthly costs ($1,251 vs $1,685 including rent). Iasi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Iasi, 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: $539 in Iasi versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $412 in Iasi 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 32% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,251 in Iasi versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Iasi but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Iasi 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, Iasi 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 Iasi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 35% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.