Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Isabela and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Isabela: $1,271 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Buenos Aires outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

62

Cost of Living Index in Isabela
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Isabela Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Isabela

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

$1,271

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,271 in Isabela versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Isabela $1,271
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,989 in Isabela versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Isabela $1,989
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,707 in Isabela versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Isabela $2,707
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Isabela costs roughly 23% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

The two cities straddle the global median: Isabela is 6% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.06 $19.06

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-0.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.1 $82.1

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

24.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.24 $9.24

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-30.00%

Cappuccino

$3.67 $3.67

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-4.68%

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

$1.89 $1.89

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-5.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 $1.47

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-8.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.09 $3.09

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-21.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.07 $5.07

$4.61 ARS 7,003

9.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.94 $1.94

$1.50 ARS 2,272

29.33%

White Bread (500g)

$2.89 $2.89

$2.53 ARS 3,837

14.23%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.22 $1.22

$1.61 ARS 2,445

-24.22%

Eggs

$2.95 $2.95

$2.84 ARS 4,316

3.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.08 $11.08

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

7.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.56 $6.56

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-34.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.14 $13.14

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-1.20%

Apples (1kg)

$4.30 $4.30

$2.88 ARS 4,366

49.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.54 $2.54

$2.20 ARS 3,334

15.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.00 $5.00

$1.40 ARS 2,120

257.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.89 $4.89

$1.98 ARS 3,004

146.97%

Potato (1kg)

$3.89 $3.89

$1.21 ARS 1,835

221.49%

Onion (1kg)

$3.94 $3.94

$1.26 ARS 1,910

212.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$3.37 $3.37

$1.71 ARS 2,592

97.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 $1.58

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-8.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.06 $12.06

$4.29 ARS 6,505

181.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.85 $15.85

$5.70 ARS 8,645

178.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 $3.14

$2.17 ARS 3,288

44.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.98 $3.98

$2.76 ARS 4,188

44.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.55 $2.55

$1.57 ARS 2,375

62.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 $1.53

$1.03 ARS 1,558

48.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.80 $41.80

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

429.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.82 $0.82

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-42.25%

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

$40.2K $40.2K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

43.67%

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

$27.7K $27.7K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

-20.66%

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

$326 $326

$195 ARS 296.2K

66.97%

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

$68.5 $68.5

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

172.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$70.6 $70.6

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

123.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.54 $10.54

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

1.93%

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

$814 $814

$463 ARS 703.2K

75.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.5K $12.5K

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

42.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.2 $57.2

$120 ARS 181.8K

-52.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.9 $60.9

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-36.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 $107

$114 ARS 173.1K

-5.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$115 $115

$139 ARS 211.4K

-17.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.55

57.25

-88.56%

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

Last update for Isabela: October 10, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Isabela

$465 36.6%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 45.8% $213

Groceries & Markets

Isabela

$359 28.2%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 21.1% $76

Eating Out

Isabela

$263 20.7%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 7% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Isabela

$153 12%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 37.8% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Isabela

$21 * 1.7%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 240% $51

Getting Around

Isabela

$10 * 0.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 262% $27

Accommodation & Living

Isabela

- * 0%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $82.0 in Isabela vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $359 vs $283 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇷 Isabela

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

13:55 1:55 PM

14:55 2:55 PM

1 h ahead of Isabela

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,000

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.889 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.889 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).

ARS to USD in detail →

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Isabela Buenos Aires 5,970 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Isabela
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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

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

Isabela and Buenos Aires differ by about 30% in total monthly costs ($1,271 vs $1,656 including rent). Isabela is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,907 in Isabela and $2,484 in Buenos Aires to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $814 in Isabela versus $463 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 Isabela – a meal for two runs $82.0 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,271 in Isabela versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Isabela but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Isabela 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, Isabela 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 Isabela gentler on the wallet – expenses run 30% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.