Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $28,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $4,086 in London versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

London $4,086
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $5,816 in London versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

London $5,816
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $7,546 in London versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

London $7,546
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in London is roughly 142% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: London 205% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.12

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

42.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

66.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.86

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-19.33%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$3.98 ARS 6,027

45.48%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$2.05 ARS 3,102

46.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.55 ARS 2,348

38.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.07

$3.84 ARS 5,828

143.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$4.60 ARS 6,968

70.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.44 ARS 2,180

24.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-16.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.63 ARS 2,466

41.72%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.89 ARS 4,384

74.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

18.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

6.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.95

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

24.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.75 ARS 4,165

10.18%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-35.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.45 ARS 2,204

110.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.99 ARS 3,012

69.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.24 ARS 1,884

34.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.27 ARS 1,920

36.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-17.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.73 ARS 2,616

3.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$4.18 ARS 6,335

455.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$5.80 ARS 8,787

123.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.41

$2.09 ARS 3,162

52.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.34

$2.77 ARS 4,197

59.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.75 ARS 1,131

416.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

820.99%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$1.62 ARS 2,450

252.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.98 ARS 1,480

239.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.77

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

650.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.36 ARS 2,057

50.00%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

34.05%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

18.44%

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

$376 £284

$216 ARS 326.8K

74.46%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-30.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.25

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

27.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.23

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

22.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

23.51%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

72.10%

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

$2,865 £2,166

$466 ARS 706.5K

514.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

290.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$122 ARS 185.1K

-5.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.88

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-44.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$117 ARS 177.3K

8.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$140 ARS 211.8K

14.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,157

$763 ARS 1.2M

273.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,740

$505 ARS 765.8K

355.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,932

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

225.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,814

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

214.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

609.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,957

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

324.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,642

$954 ARS 1.4M

404.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

57.25

-91.88%

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

Last update for London: 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

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 78% $1.8K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 37.2% $161

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 29.7% $118

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 18.7% $65

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 87.3% $251

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 4.4% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 27.2% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 405% 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: $108 in London vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $284 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

01:36 1:36 AM

21:36 9:36 PM

4 h behind London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 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 GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London Buenos Aires 11,130 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

London
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

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

London and Buenos Aires differ by about 142% in total monthly costs ($4,086 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 405% higher in London, 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: $2,853 in London versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,865 in London 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 23% higher in London. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $4,086 in London, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in London. 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, London 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 142% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.