Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matera and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Matera: $1,472 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

72

Cost of Living Index in Matera
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Matera Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Matera

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,472

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,472 in Matera versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Matera $1,472
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,358 in Matera versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Matera $2,358
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,245 in Matera versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Matera $3,245
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Matera costs roughly 11% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Matera 9% above, Buenos Aires 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.87 €13.23

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-22.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$62.0 €55.1

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-5.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.08 €9.86

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-16.06%

Cappuccino

$1.82 €1.62

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-52.73%

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

$2.21 €1.96

$1.99 ARS 3,020

11.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 €1.01

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-29.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.49 €4.88

$3.93 ARS 5,959

39.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 €2.91

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-29.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 €1.35

$1.50 ARS 2,272

1.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 €1.44

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-35.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.26 €2.90

$1.61 ARS 2,445

102.48%

Eggs

$3.55 €3.16

$2.84 ARS 4,316

25.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.56 €13.84

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

51.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.28 €10.92

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

22.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.54 €18.27

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

54.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 €2.23

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-12.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 €1.86

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-5.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.40 ARS 2,120

-21.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 €3.30

$1.98 ARS 3,004

87.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.21 ARS 1,835

47.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.69 €1.50

$1.26 ARS 1,910

34.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 €1.32

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-13.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.43 €0.38

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-75.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.77 €6.03

$4.29 ARS 6,505

57.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 €5.47

$5.70 ARS 8,645

7.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 €1.59

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-17.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 €2.70

$2.76 ARS 4,188

10.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.74 €1.55

$0.75 ARS 1,141

132.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.36 €18.11

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

-25.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.41 €3.92

$1.57 ARS 2,375

180.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 €1.12

$1.03 ARS 1,558

22.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.36 €20.78

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

195.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 €1.75

$1.42 ARS 2,160

38.03%

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

$36.3K €32.3K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

29.74%

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

$35.6K €31.7K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

1.87%

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

$203 €180

$195 ARS 296.2K

3.90%

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

$9.48 €8.43

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-62.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.11 €27.67

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

-1.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.8 €48.77

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

7.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.98 €21.33

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

43.34%

Cinema Ticket

$11.19 €9.95

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

8.22%

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

$453 €403

$463 ARS 703.2K

-2.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,017 €7,131

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

-8.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$67.0 €59.6

$120 ARS 181.8K

-44.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.36 €37.68

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-55.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.3

$114 ARS 173.1K

-10.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$134 €119

$139 ARS 211.4K

-3.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$697 €620

$756 ARS 1.1M

-7.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$413 €367

$520 ARS 788.8K

-20.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 €942

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-33.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$867 €771

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-27.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,726 €2,425

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

0.48%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,234 €2,877

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

70.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,759 €1,564

$938 ARS 1.4M

87.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.08

57.25

-94.62%

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

Last update for Matera: October 10, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Matera

$413 28%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 26% $107

Groceries & Markets

Matera

$324 22%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 12.5% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matera

$243 16.5%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 3.5% $8.5

Eating Out

Matera

$221 15%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 27.2% $60

Clothing & Footwear

Matera

$156 10.6%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 35.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Matera

$77 5.3%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 7.3% $5.6

Getting Around

Matera

$38 2.6%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 2.8% $1.1

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $697 in Matera and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Matera pays 88% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $62.0 in Matera vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $324 vs $283, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Matera

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

02:48 2:48 AM

21:48 9:48 PM

5 h behind Matera

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

59,607

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Matera Buenos Aires 11,350 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Matera and Buenos Aires differ by about 13% in total monthly costs ($1,472 vs $1,656 including rent). Matera is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 88% higher in Matera, 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: $697 in Matera versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $453 in Matera versus $463 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Buenos Aires pay roughly 14% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,472 in Matera versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Matera but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Matera 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, Matera 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 Matera gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.