Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maracay and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Maracay: $729 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in Maracay
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Maracay Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Maracay

🇻🇪 Venezuela

$729

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $729 in Maracay versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Maracay $729
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,242 in Maracay versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Maracay $1,242
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,755 in Maracay versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Maracay $1,755
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Maracay costs roughly 57% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Maracay is 46% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.85 VES 4,245

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-74.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.14 VES 29.0K

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-48.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 VES 6,669

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-40.76%

Cappuccino

$1.68 VES 1,472

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-57.79%

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

$1.17 VES 1,023

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-42.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 VES 1,054

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-22.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.23 VES 1,075

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-67.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 VES 2,641

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-34.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.68 VES 2,346

$1.44 ARS 2,181

86.11%

White Bread (500g)

$2.29 VES 2,006

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-6.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 VES 900

$1.63 ARS 2,467

-36.81%

Eggs

$2.62 VES 2,294

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-9.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.53 VES 5,709

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-38.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.74 VES 5,016

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-42.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.54 VES 7,467

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-37.85%

Apples (1kg)

$4.28 VES 3,739

$2.75 ARS 4,166

55.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 VES 1,722

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-9.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 VES 1,937

$1.45 ARS 2,205

53.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.37 VES 2,069

$1.99 ARS 3,013

19.10%

Potato (1kg)

$2.32 VES 2,027

$1.24 ARS 1,885

87.10%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 VES 1,921

$1.27 ARS 1,921

73.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.58 VES 1,386

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-7.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 VES 2,013

$1.73 ARS 2,617

32.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.48 VES 2,173

$4.18 ARS 6,337

-40.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.15 VES 8,877

$5.80 ARS 8,790

75.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 VES 1,018

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-44.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 VES 1,487

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-38.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.48 VES 419

$0.75 ARS 1,132

-36.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.78 VES 17.3K

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-27.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.94 VES 2,575

$1.62 ARS 2,451

81.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 VES 2,368

$0.98 ARS 1,481

176.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.01 VES 8,759

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

29.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.69 VES 603

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-49.26%

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

$25.2K VES 22.0M

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-10.13%

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

$38.5K VES 33.7M

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

11.61%

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

$12.43 VES 10.9K

$216 ARS 326.9K

-94.23%

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

$11.57 VES 10.1K

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-54.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.31 VES 33.5K

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

22.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.71 VES 26.0K

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-40.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.89 VES 13.0K

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

-12.72%

Cinema Ticket

$4.08 VES 3,569

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-60.88%

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

$74.6 VES 65.2K

$466 ARS 706.7K

-83.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,979 VES 5.2M

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-33.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.4 VES 45.8K

$122 ARS 185.2K

-57.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.16 VES 32.5K

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-61.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 VES 72.6K

$117 ARS 177.4K

-29.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.6 VES 81.8K

$140 ARS 211.9K

-33.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$228 VES 199.5K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-70.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$108 VES 94.7K

$505 ARS 766.1K

-78.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$569 VES 497.5K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-64.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$278 VES 243.0K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-76.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$448 VES 391.8K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-83.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$198 VES 172.8K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-89.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$210 VES 183.3K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-78.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.5

57.25

-62.45%

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

Last update for Maracay: 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

Maracay

$267 36.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 6.4% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Maracay

$120 16.3%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 78.9% $95

Accommodation & Living

Maracay

$108 14.7%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 366% $397

Eating Out

Maracay

$104 14.1%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 169% $175

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maracay

$62 8.5%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 337% $210

Getting Around

Maracay

$38 5.2%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 4% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Maracay

$38 5.1%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 86.6% $33

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $228 in Maracay and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 355% 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: $33.00 in Maracay vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $267 vs $284 per month, with Maracay cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇻🇪 Maracay

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

21:39 9:39 PM

22:39 10:39 PM

1 h ahead of Maracay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

425,606

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Venezuelan Bolívar VES Bs.S

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 VES = 1.14 USD

1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to VES – Venezuelan Bolívar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇻🇪 Venezuelan Bolívar (Bs.S)

Venezuelan Bolívar exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 875 VES (1,000 VES = 1.14 USD). 1 EUR = 980 VES (1,000 VES = 1.02 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 13, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to VES in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Maracay Buenos Aires 5,080 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Maracay
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

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

Maracay and Buenos Aires differ by about 131% in total monthly costs ($729 vs $1,685 including rent). Maracay is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 355% 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: $228 in Maracay versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $74.6 in Maracay 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 6% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $729 in Maracay versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Maracay but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Maracay 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, Maracay 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 Maracay gentler on the wallet – expenses run 131% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.