Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Matola and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Matola: $995 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Matola
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Matola Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Matola

🇲🇿 Mozambique

$995

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $995 in Matola versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Matola $995
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,520 in Matola versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Matola $1,520
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,045 in Matola versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Matola $2,045
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Matola costs roughly 40% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Matola is 26% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.60 MZN 481

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-60.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.4 MZN 4,010

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-3.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.32 MZN 463

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-44.55%

Cappuccino

$1.58 MZN 99.9

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-58.96%

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

$0.82 MZN 52.1

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-58.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 MZN 46.85

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-53.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.15 MZN 72.9

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-70.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 MZN 96.3

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-67.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 MZN 97.4

$1.50 ARS 2,272

2.67%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 MZN 62.8

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-60.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.66 MZN 105

$1.61 ARS 2,445

3.11%

Eggs

$1.84 MZN 117

$2.84 ARS 4,316

-35.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.09 MZN 828

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

27.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.65 MZN 357

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-43.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 MZN 288

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-65.79%

Apples (1kg)

$2.07 MZN 131

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-28.13%

Banana (1kg)

$0.59 MZN 37.08

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-73.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 MZN 108

$1.40 ARS 2,120

22.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 MZN 67.9

$1.98 ARS 3,004

-45.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 MZN 62.7

$1.21 ARS 1,835

-18.18%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 MZN 51.8

$1.26 ARS 1,910

-34.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.97 MZN 61.2

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-43.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 MZN 33.63

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-69.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.83 MZN 179

$4.29 ARS 6,505

-34.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.98 MZN 442

$5.70 ARS 8,645

22.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.90 MZN 57.2

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-58.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.24 MZN 78.4

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-55.07%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.59 MZN 101

$1.57 ARS 2,375

1.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.20 MZN 75.6

$1.03 ARS 1,558

16.50%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.67 MZN 1,560

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

212.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 MZN 89.8

$1.42 ARS 2,160

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

$32.2K MZN 2.0M

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

15.28%

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

$22.8K MZN 1.4M

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

-34.72%

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

$39.72 MZN 2,512

$195 ARS 296.2K

-79.65%

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

$7.80 MZN 493

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-69.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$77.3 MZN 4,891

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

145.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.53 MZN 2,500

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-22.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$7.87 MZN 498

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-23.89%

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

$130 MZN 8,234

$463 ARS 703.2K

-71.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,052 MZN 319.5K

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

-42.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.07 MZN 3,104

$120 ARS 181.8K

-59.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.0 MZN 3,606

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-40.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$78.1 MZN 4,939

$114 ARS 173.1K

-31.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.4 MZN 5,019

$139 ARS 211.4K

-43.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$473 MZN 29.9K

$756 ARS 1.1M

-37.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$389 MZN 24.6K

$520 ARS 788.8K

-25.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$693 MZN 43.8K

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-56.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$552 MZN 34.9K

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-53.96%

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)

$315 MZN 19.9K

$938 ARS 1.4M

-66.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-56.33%

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

Last update for Matola: October 11, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Matola

$389 39.1%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 33.5% $130

Groceries & Markets

Matola

$182 18.3%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 55.3% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Matola

$125 12.6%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 102% $127

Clothing & Footwear

Matola

$119 11.9%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 77.9% $92

Eating Out

Matola

$117 11.7%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 141% $165

Sport & Entertainment

Matola

$55 5.6%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 29.5% $16

Getting Around

Matola

$7.6 * 0.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 389% $29

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 $473 in Matola and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 198% 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: $63.0 in Matola vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $182 vs $283 per month, with Matola cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇿 Matola

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

12:38 12:38 PM

07:38 7:38 AM

5 h behind Matola

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

675,422

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Mozambican Metical MZN MT

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MZN = 1.58 USD

100 MZN = 1.41 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MZN – Mozambican Metical Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇿 Mozambican Metical (MT)

Mozambican Metical exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 63.25 MZN (100 MZN = 1.58 USD). 1 EUR = 71.11 MZN (100 MZN = 1.41 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 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 MZN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Matola Buenos Aires 8,480 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Matola
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

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

Matola and Buenos Aires differ by about 66% in total monthly costs ($995 vs $1,656 including rent). Matola is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 198% 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: $473 in Matola versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $130 in Matola 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 Matola – a meal for two runs $63.0 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $995 in Matola versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Matola but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Matola 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, Matola 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 Matola gentler on the wallet – expenses run 66% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.