Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Malmo and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $2,046 in Malmo, rent and utilities included – about $4,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

99

Cost of Living Index in Malmo
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Malmo Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Malmo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,046

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,046 in Malmo versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Malmo $2,046
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,083 in Malmo versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Malmo $3,083
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,121 in Malmo versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Malmo $4,121
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Malmo is roughly 21% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Malmo 53% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.90 SEK 149

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-20.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$74.0 SEK 740

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

14.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.18 SEK 122

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-5.43%

Cappuccino

$4.83 SEK 48.23

$3.98 ARS 6,029

21.36%

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

$3.35 SEK 33.52

$2.05 ARS 3,103

63.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 SEK 26.97

$1.55 ARS 2,349

74.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.46 SEK 84.5

$3.84 ARS 5,830

120.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.10 SEK 90.9

$4.60 ARS 6,970

97.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 SEK 17.26

$1.44 ARS 2,181

20.14%

White Bread (500g)

$2.87 SEK 28.67

$2.46 ARS 3,738

16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.32 SEK 33.22

$1.63 ARS 2,467

103.68%

Eggs

$4.11 SEK 41.10

$2.89 ARS 4,385

42.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.74 SEK 127

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

19.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.86 SEK 119

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

18.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.61 SEK 216

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

57.28%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 SEK 29.93

$2.75 ARS 4,166

8.73%

Banana (1kg)

$2.58 SEK 25.82

$2.18 ARS 3,300

18.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 SEK 29.61

$1.45 ARS 2,205

104.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 SEK 41.43

$1.99 ARS 3,013

108.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 SEK 16.62

$1.24 ARS 1,885

33.87%

Onion (1kg)

$1.53 SEK 15.29

$1.27 ARS 1,921

20.47%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.47 SEK 24.65

$1.70 ARS 2,575

45.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 SEK 12.24

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-28.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.72 SEK 77.1

$4.18 ARS 6,337

84.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.53 SEK 115

$5.80 ARS 8,790

98.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 SEK 20.05

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-3.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 SEK 23.43

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-15.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.15 SEK 31.45

$0.75 ARS 1,132

320.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$63.5 SEK 635

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

134.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.00 SEK 59.9

$1.62 ARS 2,451

270.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.41 SEK 24.07

$0.98 ARS 1,481

145.92%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$49.13 SEK 491

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

536.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.36

$1.36 ARS 2,058

27.94%

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

$32.3K SEK 322.6K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

15.23%

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

$33.2K SEK 331.5K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-3.95%

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

$138 SEK 1,380

$216 ARS 326.9K

-35.92%

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

$26.21 SEK 262

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

2.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.07 SEK 361

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

15.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.93 SEK 399

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-19.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.69 SEK 287

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

68.17%

Cinema Ticket

$17.17 SEK 172

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

64.62%

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

$167 SEK 1,666

$466 ARS 706.7K

-64.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,311 SEK 33.1K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-63.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$98.0 SEK 979

$122 ARS 185.2K

-19.75%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.19 SEK 442

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-54.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 SEK 1,125

$117 ARS 177.4K

-3.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$152 SEK 1,520

$140 ARS 211.9K

8.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,063 SEK 10.6K

$763 ARS 1.2M

39.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$818 SEK 8,173

$505 ARS 766.1K

61.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,720 SEK 17.2K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

7.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 SEK 13.5K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

14.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,026 SEK 40.2K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

50.31%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,166 SEK 31.6K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

70.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,045 SEK 30.4K

$954 ARS 1.4M

219.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.05

57.25

-94.67%

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

Last update for Malmo: 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

Malmo

$818 40.1%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 38.2% $313

Groceries & Markets

Malmo

$372 18.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 23.5% $87

Eating Out

Malmo

$298 14.6%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 6.5% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Malmo

$200 9.8%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 36% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Malmo

$183 9%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 17% $31

Getting Around

Malmo

$94 4.6%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 61.1% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Malmo

$74 3.6%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 4.8% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,063 in Malmo and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Malmo pays 219% 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: $74.0 in Malmo vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $372 vs $284 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Malmo

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

04:23 4:23 AM

23:23 11:23 PM

5 h behind Malmo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

316,588

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.01 USD

100 SEK = 8.92 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.99 SEK (1 SEK = 0.1 USD). 1 EUR = 11.21 SEK (100 SEK = 8.92 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 SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Malmo Buenos Aires 12,090 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Malmo
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

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

Malmo and Buenos Aires differ by about 21% in total monthly costs ($2,046 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 219% higher in Malmo, 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: $1,063 in Malmo versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $167 in Malmo 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 31% higher in Malmo. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,046 in Malmo, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Malmo. 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, Malmo 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 21% less than in Malmo. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.