Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malabo and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Malabo: $673 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

Jump to prices

Malabo

🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea

$673

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $673 in Malabo versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Malabo $673
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,117 in Malabo versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Malabo $1,117
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,560 in Malabo versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Malabo $1,560
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Malabo costs roughly 60% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Malabo is 50% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.70 FCFA 5,088

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-53.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$69.6 FCFA 40.7K

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

7.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.65 FCFA 5,060

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-32.84%

Cappuccino

$4.79 FCFA 2,804

$3.98 ARS 6,029

20.35%

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

$0.84 FCFA 491

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-59.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 FCFA 240

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-73.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.69 FCFA 989

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-55.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

Milk (1 liter)

$2.73 FCFA 1,596

$1.44 ARS 2,181

89.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.46 ARS 3,738

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 FCFA 1,025

$1.63 ARS 2,467

7.36%

Eggs

$3.70 FCFA 2,165

$2.89 ARS 4,385

28.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.75 FCFA 3,948

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-36.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.02 FCFA 3,522

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-39.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.08 FCFA 4,142

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-48.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.37 FCFA 1,385

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-13.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 FCFA 1,027

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-19.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,205

Tomato (1kg)

$1.99 ARS 3,013

Potato (1kg)

$1.24 ARS 1,885

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,921

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.70 ARS 2,575

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.73 ARS 2,617

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.47 FCFA 2,615

$4.18 ARS 6,337

6.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 FCFA 822

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-33.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.89 FCFA 521

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-67.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.74 FCFA 1,020

$0.75 ARS 1,132

132.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.67 FCFA 15.6K

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-1.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.83 FCFA 485

$1.62 ARS 2,451

-48.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 FCFA 528

$0.98 ARS 1,481

-8.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.72 FCFA 5,103

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

12.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 ARS 2,058

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

$32.6K FCFA 19.1M

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

16.25%

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

$29.1K FCFA 17.0M

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-15.82%

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

$216 ARS 326.9K

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

$17.56 FCFA 10.3K

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-31.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.07 FCFA 9,986

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-45.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.14 FCFA 20.0K

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-31.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.84 FCFA 8,685

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

-13.01%

Cinema Ticket

$5.42 FCFA 3,173

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-48.03%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$344 FCFA 201.4K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-96.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$140 ARS 211.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$223 FCFA 130.4K

$505 ARS 766.1K

-55.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$346 FCFA 202.3K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-78.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$285 FCFA 166.7K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-75.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$841 FCFA 492.3K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-68.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$648 FCFA 378.9K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-65.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.8

57.25

-88.12%

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

Last update for Malabo: 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

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

Groceries & Markets

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1%

Eating Out

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8%

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4%

Clothing & Footwear

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9%

Sport & Entertainment

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Getting Around

Malabo

–

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $70.0 in Malabo vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $152 vs $284, with Malabo cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇬🇶 Malabo

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

04:57 4:57 AM

00:57 12:57 AM

4 h behind Malabo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

297,000 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Central African CFA Franc XAF Fr

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to XAF – Central African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 Central African CFA Franc (Fr)

Central African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XAF (1,000 XAF = 1.52 EUR).

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 XAF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Malabo Buenos Aires 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Malabo
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

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

Malabo and Buenos Aires differ by about 151% in total monthly costs ($673 vs $1,685 including rent). Malabo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,009 in Malabo 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.

Dining out is cheaper in Malabo – a meal for two runs $70.0 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Malabo runs roughly 2% less than in Buenos Aires. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $673 in Malabo versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Malabo but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Malabo 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, Malabo 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 Malabo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 151% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.