Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Madeira and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Madeira: $1,597 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $1,100 less a year. The total is higher in Buenos Aires despite lower rent and utilities.

78

Cost of Living Index in Madeira
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Madeira Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

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Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,597

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,597 in Madeira versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Madeira $1,597
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,383 in Madeira versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Madeira $2,383
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,169 in Madeira versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Madeira $3,169
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Madeira costs roughly 5% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Madeira 19% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.62 €10.37

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-37.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.16 €41.19

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-28.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.12 €8.14

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-29.19%

Cappuccino

$2.10 €1.88

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-47.24%

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

$1.85 €1.65

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-9.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 €1.27

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-7.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 €2.03

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-40.89%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 €3.16

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-23.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 €0.98

$1.44 ARS 2,181

-24.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 €1.37

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-37.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.60 €1.43

$1.63 ARS 2,467

-1.84%

Eggs

$2.99 €2.67

$2.89 ARS 4,385

3.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.53 €10.29

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

8.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.69 €6.86

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-23.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.00 €12.49

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

1.89%

Apples (1kg)

$2.35 €2.10

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-14.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 €1.26

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-35.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 €1.61

$1.45 ARS 2,205

24.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.50 €2.23

$1.99 ARS 3,013

25.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.51 €1.34

$1.24 ARS 1,885

21.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 €1.72

$1.27 ARS 1,921

51.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 €1.38

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-8.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 €0.75

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-51.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.04 €5.39

$4.18 ARS 6,337

44.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.22 €4.66

$5.80 ARS 8,790

-10.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 €1.16

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-37.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.32 €2.07

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-16.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.36 €2.11

$0.75 ARS 1,132

214.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$42.32 €37.77

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

55.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.28 €3.82

$1.62 ARS 2,451

164.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 €0.71

$0.98 ARS 1,481

-19.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.53 €15.65

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

127.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.36 ARS 2,058

39.71%

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

$35.4K €31.6K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

26.27%

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

$39.1K €34.9K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

13.18%

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

$134 €120

$216 ARS 326.9K

-37.84%

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

$20.90 €18.65

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-18.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.95 €37.44

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

33.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.41 €38.74

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-12.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.37 €15.50

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

1.82%

Cinema Ticket

$8.35 €7.45

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-19.94%

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

$473 €422

$466 ARS 706.7K

1.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,183 €7,303

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-9.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.7 €66.7

$122 ARS 185.2K

-38.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.11 €34.01

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-60.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.9 €82.0

$117 ARS 177.4K

-21.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$92.8 €82.8

$140 ARS 211.9K

-33.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$914 €816

$763 ARS 1.2M

19.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 €640

$505 ARS 766.1K

42.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,446 €1,291

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-9.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,145 €1,021

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-3.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,012 €2,688

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

12.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,356 €2,103

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

26.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.01

57.25

-91.25%

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

Last update for Madeira: October 5, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Madeira

$717 45.1%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 29.6% $212

Groceries & Markets

Madeira

$246 15.5%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 15.6% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Madeira

$197 12.4%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 38.5% $76

Eating Out

Madeira

$177 11.1%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 57.5% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Madeira

$134 8.4%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 60.1% $80

Sport & Entertainment

Madeira

$60 3.8%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 17.6% $11

Getting Around

Madeira

$60 3.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 39% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $914 in Madeira and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $46.00 in Madeira vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $246 vs $284 per month, with Madeira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Madeira

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

06:15 6:15 AM

02:15 2:15 AM

4 h behind Madeira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

154

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Madeira Buenos Aires 8,650 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Madeira and Buenos Aires differ by about 6% in total monthly costs ($1,597 vs $1,685 including rent). Madeira is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,395 in Madeira and $2,528 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.

Rent for a central apartment: $914 in Madeira versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $473 in Madeira 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 16% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,597 in Madeira versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Madeira but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Madeira 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, Madeira 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 Madeira gentler on the wallet – expenses run 6% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.