Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Manta and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Manta: $678 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Manta
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Manta Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Manta

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$678

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $678 in Manta versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Manta $678
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,157 in Manta versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Manta $1,157
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,636 in Manta versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Manta $1,636
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Manta costs roughly 59% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Manta is 50% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.96 $2.96

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-84.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.2 $52.2

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-20.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.39 $5.39

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-59.17%

Cappuccino

$2.92 $2.92

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-24.16%

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

$0.52 $0.52

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-73.87%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.38 $0.38

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-76.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.97 $2.97

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-24.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 $3.72

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-19.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 $1.03

$1.50 ARS 2,272

-31.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 $1.91

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-24.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 $0.98

$1.61 ARS 2,445

-39.13%

Eggs

$2.13 $2.13

$2.84 ARS 4,316

-25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-71.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.98 $2.98

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-70.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.83 $6.83

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-48.65%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 $0.97

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-66.32%

Banana (1kg)

$0.78 $0.78

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-64.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.71 $0.71

$1.40 ARS 2,120

-49.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.78 $0.78

$1.98 ARS 3,004

-60.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.52 $0.52

$1.21 ARS 1,835

-57.02%

Onion (1kg)

$0.48 $0.48

$1.26 ARS 1,910

-61.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 $0.69

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-59.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.99 $0.99

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-42.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.08 $4.08

$4.29 ARS 6,505

-4.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.89 $6.89

$5.70 ARS 8,645

20.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.03 $1.03

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-52.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 $2.20

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-20.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.50 $0.50

$0.75 ARS 1,141

-33.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.70 $1.70

$1.57 ARS 2,375

8.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 $1.74

$1.03 ARS 1,558

68.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.27 $9.27

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

17.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.72 $0.72

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-49.30%

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

$20.7K $20.7K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

-26.06%

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

$30.8K $30.8K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

-11.93%

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

$97.1 $97.1

$195 ARS 296.2K

-50.24%

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

$11.13 $11.13

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-55.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$25.84 $25.84

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

-18.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.23 $20.23

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-60.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.58 $34.58

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

106.69%

Cinema Ticket

$4.89 $4.89

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-52.71%

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

$369 $369

$463 ARS 703.2K

-20.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,783 $5,783

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

-34.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 $55.2

$120 ARS 181.8K

-53.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.87 $40.87

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-57.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 $101

$114 ARS 173.1K

-11.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$61.8 $61.8

$139 ARS 211.4K

-55.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$303 $303

$756 ARS 1.1M

-59.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$141 $141

$520 ARS 788.8K

-72.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$917 $917

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-42.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$334 $334

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-72.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$474 $474

$938 ARS 1.4M

-49.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.05

57.25

-82.45%

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

Last update for Manta: October 10, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Manta

$143 21.1%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 98.1% $140

Accommodation & Living

Manta

$141 20.9%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 268% $379

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Manta

$134 19.8%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 87.8% $118

Clothing & Footwear

Manta

$116 17.2%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 81.3% $95

Eating Out

Manta

$101 14.9%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 180% $181

Sport & Entertainment

Manta

$30 4.4%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 139% $42

Getting Around

Manta

$12 * 1.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 199% $25

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 $303 in Manta and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 98% 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: $52.0 in Manta vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $143 vs $283 per month, with Manta cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Manta

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

17:21 5:21 PM

19:21 7:21 PM

2 h ahead of Manta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

217,553

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.89 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

United States Dollar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 EUR = 1.12 USD (1 USD = 0.89 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

ARS to USD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Manta Buenos Aires 4,400 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Manta
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

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

Manta and Buenos Aires differ by about 144% in total monthly costs ($678 vs $1,656 including rent). Manta is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 98% 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: $303 in Manta versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $369 in Manta versus $463 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 Manta – a meal for two runs $52.0 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $678 in Manta versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Manta but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Manta 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, Manta 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 Manta gentler on the wallet – expenses run 144% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.