Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malindi and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Malindi: $502 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $14,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

24

Cost of Living Index in Malindi
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Malindi Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Malindi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$502

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $502 in Malindi versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Malindi $502
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $787 in Malindi versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Malindi $787
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,072 in Malindi versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Malindi $1,072
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Malindi costs roughly 70% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Malindi is 63% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.06 KES 267

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-89.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.42 KES 3,038

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-63.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 KES 1,369

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-18.09%

Cappuccino

$3.58 KES 465

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-10.05%

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

$0.98 KES 128

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-52.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.42 KES 54.1

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-72.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.32 KES 301

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-39.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 KES 420

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-29.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 KES 122

$1.44 ARS 2,181

-34.72%

White Bread (500g)

$0.53 KES 68.5

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-78.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.22 KES 158

$1.63 ARS 2,467

-25.15%

Eggs

$1.82 KES 236

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-37.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.22 KES 1,455

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

5.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.57 KES 723

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-44.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.03 KES 652

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-63.39%

Apples (1kg)

$2.18 KES 283

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-20.73%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 KES 102

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-63.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.82 KES 236

$1.45 ARS 2,205

25.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.70 KES 90.7

$1.99 ARS 3,013

-64.82%

Potato (1kg)

$0.66 KES 85.6

$1.24 ARS 1,885

-46.77%

Onion (1kg)

$0.66 KES 85.5

$1.27 ARS 1,921

-48.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.57 KES 73.5

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-66.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 KES 55.4

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-75.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.71 KES 611

$4.18 ARS 6,337

12.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.82 KES 1,014

$5.80 ARS 8,790

34.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.02 KES 262

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.87 KES 372

$2.77 ARS 4,198

3.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,132

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.09 KES 401

$1.62 ARS 2,451

90.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.76 KES 228

$0.98 ARS 1,481

79.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.61 KES 598

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

-40.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.38 KES 179

$1.36 ARS 2,058

1.47%

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

$11.9K KES 1.5M

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-57.60%

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

$11.9K KES 1.5M

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-65.64%

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

$55.5 KES 7,192

$216 ARS 326.9K

-74.28%

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

$12.96 KES 1,681

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-49.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.24 KES 3,922

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-3.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.98 KES 5,055

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-21.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$10.71 KES 1,389

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

2.68%

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

$85.2 KES 11.1K

$466 ARS 706.7K

-81.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,401 KES 700.5K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-40.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.30 KES 1,725

$122 ARS 185.2K

-89.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.46 KES 1,746

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-86.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$22.81 KES 2,959

$117 ARS 177.4K

-80.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$46.96 KES 6,091

$140 ARS 211.9K

-66.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$763 ARS 1.2M

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 766.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 KES 50.9K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-75.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$954 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-77.29%

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

Last update for Malindi: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Malindi

$172 34.3%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 65.2% $112

Eating Out

Malindi

$115 22.9%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 143% $164

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malindi

$99 19.7%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 176% $174

Sport & Entertainment

Malindi

$60 12.1%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 17% $10

Clothing & Footwear

Malindi

$43 8.7%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 393% $171

Getting Around

Malindi

$12 * 2.4%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 209% $25

Accommodation & Living

Malindi

- * 0%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $23.00 in Malindi vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $172 vs $284 per month, with Malindi cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Malindi

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

06:12 6:12 AM

00:12 12:12 AM

6 h behind Malindi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

117,735

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 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 KES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Malindi Buenos Aires 10,580 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Malindi
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

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

Malindi and Buenos Aires differ by about 235% in total monthly costs ($502 vs $1,685 including rent). Malindi is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $754 in Malindi 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.

Childcare runs $85.2 in Malindi versus $466 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 Malindi – a meal for two runs $23.00 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $502 in Malindi versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Malindi but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Malindi 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, Malindi 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 Malindi gentler on the wallet – expenses run 235% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.