Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $516 in Machakos versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires.

Machakos $516
Buenos Aires $1,646

Estimated couple costs with rent: $797 in Machakos versus $2,680 in Buenos Aires.

Machakos $797
Buenos Aires $2,680

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,078 in Machakos versus $3,714 in Buenos Aires.

Machakos $1,078
Buenos Aires $3,714

Living in Machakos costs roughly 69% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Machakos is 62% below, Buenos Aires is 21% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.15 KES 408

$17.81 ARS 27.0K

-82.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.98 KES 2,461

$65.2 ARS 98.9K

-70.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.19 KES 803

$13.12 ARS 19.9K

-52.82%

Cappuccino

$1.98 KES 257

$3.86 ARS 5,863

-48.70%

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

$0.64 KES 83.0

$2.06 ARS 3,133

-68.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.8

$1.68 ARS 2,542

-67.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 KES 273

$4.10 ARS 6,218

-48.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 KES 352

$4.73 ARS 7,181

-42.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.37 KES 48.53

$1.51 ARS 2,285

-75.50%

White Bread (500g)

$0.44 KES 56.9

$2.60 ARS 3,950

-83.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 KES 95.4

$1.57 ARS 2,380

-52.87%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$2.73 ARS 4,144

-50.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.73 KES 1,391

$10.86 ARS 16.5K

-1.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.29 KES 815

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

-37.54%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 KES 589

$13.22 ARS 20.1K

-65.58%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 KES 205

$2.80 ARS 4,255

-43.57%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 KES 95.2

$2.09 ARS 3,170

-65.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.40 KES 52.4

$1.45 ARS 2,194

-72.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 KES 53.1

$2.00 ARS 3,040

-79.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.20 ARS 1,826

-33.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 KES 104

$1.20 ARS 1,821

-32.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 KES 88.4

$1.69 ARS 2,569

-59.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.38 KES 49.11

$1.79 ARS 2,711

-78.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 455

$4.00 ARS 6,074

-12.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 KES 1,483

$5.53 ARS 8,388

106.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 KES 247

$2.12 ARS 3,219

-10.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 KES 363

$2.78 ARS 4,212

0.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,049

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 KES 103

$1.63 ARS 2,471

-51.53%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 KES 101

$0.97 ARS 1,478

-19.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 KES 368

$7.89 ARS 12.0K

-64.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 KES 193

$1.42 ARS 2,156

4.93%

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

$19.2K KES 2.5M

$23.3K ARS 35.4M

-17.88%

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

$21.5K KES 2.8M

$31.9K ARS 48.5M

-32.81%

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

$56.1 KES 7,279

$199 ARS 302.7K

-71.85%

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

$7.82 KES 1,014

$23.36 ARS 35.4K

-66.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.48 KES 1,488

$31.44 ARS 47.7K

-63.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.18 KES 4,950

$49.81 ARS 75.6K

-23.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.2K

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 KES 987

$10.80 ARS 16.4K

-29.44%

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

$45.44 KES 5,892

$462 ARS 701.7K

-90.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$8,790 ARS 13.3M

39.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.34 KES 1,470

$120 ARS 181.6K

-90.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 KES 3,719

$94.6 ARS 143.6K

-69.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.4 KES 8,991

$116 ARS 176.4K

-40.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.50 KES 4,992

$137 ARS 208.6K

-72.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$93.9 KES 12.2K

$750 ARS 1.1M

-87.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$68.7 KES 8,905

$514 ARS 780.5K

-86.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$154 KES 20.0K

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

-90.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 KES 15.0K

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

-90.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$383 KES 49.6K

$924 ARS 1.4M

-58.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

57.25

-74.31%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$159 30.8%

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3% 79% $126

Eating Out

Machakos

$88 17.1%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6% 209% $185

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$75 14.6%

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5% 237% $179

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$69 13.3%

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3% 649% $446

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$67 12.9%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8% 217% $144

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$53 10.4%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 33.7% $18

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3% 691% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $93.9 in Machakos and $750 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 141% 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: $19.00 in Machakos vs $65.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $159 vs $285 per month, with Machakos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

13:12 1:12 PM

07:12 7:12 AM

6 h behind Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 22, 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 KES in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Machakos Buenos Aires 10,430 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

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

Machakos and Buenos Aires differ by about 219% in total monthly costs ($516 vs $1,646 including rent). Machakos is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 141% 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: $93.9 in Machakos versus $750 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $45.44 in Machakos versus $462 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 Machakos – a meal for two runs $19.00 versus $65.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $516 in Machakos versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Machakos but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Machakos 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, Machakos 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 Machakos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 219% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.