Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Milan and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $2,531 in Milan, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Milan
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Milan Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Milan

🇮🇹 Italy

$2,531

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,531 in Milan versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Milan $2,531
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,874 in Milan versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Milan $3,874
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,216 in Milan versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Milan $5,216
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Milan is roughly 50% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Milan 89% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.62 €20.18

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

20.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.2 €78.7

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

36.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.34 €11.91

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

3.57%

Cappuccino

$2.16 €1.93

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-45.73%

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

$3.67 €3.27

$2.05 ARS 3,103

79.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 €1.62

$1.55 ARS 2,349

17.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.85 €6.12

$3.84 ARS 5,830

78.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.76 €6.03

$4.60 ARS 6,970

46.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 €1.52

$1.44 ARS 2,181

18.75%

White Bread (500g)

$3.28 €2.92

$2.46 ARS 3,738

33.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.67 €3.27

$1.63 ARS 2,467

125.15%

Eggs

$4.93 €4.40

$2.89 ARS 4,385

70.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$22.72 €20.27

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

113.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.25 €12.72

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

42.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.58 €20.15

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

64.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.98 €2.66

$2.75 ARS 4,166

8.36%

Banana (1kg)

$2.44 €2.18

$2.18 ARS 3,300

11.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.37 €3.00

$1.45 ARS 2,205

132.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.20 €3.75

$1.99 ARS 3,013

111.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.31 €2.06

$1.24 ARS 1,885

86.29%

Onion (1kg)

$2.08 €1.86

$1.27 ARS 1,921

63.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.72 €1.54

$1.70 ARS 2,575

1.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 €0.51

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-67.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.31 €6.52

$4.18 ARS 6,337

74.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.79 €8.74

$5.80 ARS 8,790

68.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-2.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 €2.21

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-10.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.46 €2.19

$0.75 ARS 1,132

228.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.94 €39.21

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

61.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.80 €6.96

$1.62 ARS 2,451

381.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.27 €2.03

$0.98 ARS 1,481

131.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$64.7 €57.8

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

738.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.18 €1.95

$1.36 ARS 2,058

60.29%

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

$36.0K €32.1K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

28.41%

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

$35.8K €32.0K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

3.70%

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

$252 €225

$216 ARS 326.9K

16.96%

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

$10.22 €9.12

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-60.09%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.41 €26.24

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-6.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$85.6 €76.4

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

71.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.45 €30.74

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

101.93%

Cinema Ticket

$12.14 €10.84

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

16.40%

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

$837 €747

$466 ARS 706.7K

79.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.1K €17.1K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

111.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €90.6

$122 ARS 185.2K

-16.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.73 €44.38

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-48.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 €105

$117 ARS 177.4K

0.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$166 €148

$140 ARS 211.9K

18.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,715 €1,531

$763 ARS 1.2M

124.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,158 €1,034

$505 ARS 766.1K

129.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,413 €3,045

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

113.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,066 €1,844

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

74.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$10.6K €9,479

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

296.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,004 €4,466

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

169.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,190 €1,954

$954 ARS 1.4M

129.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.18

57.25

-94.45%

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

Last update for Milan: 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

Milan

$1.2K 45.3%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 56.4% $653

Groceries & Markets

Milan

$415 16.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 31.5% $131

Eating Out

Milan

$317 12.4%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 11.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Milan

$292 11.4%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 6.6% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Milan

$195 7.6%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 9.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Milan

$110 4.3%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 35.7% $39

Getting Around

Milan

$73 2.9%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 49.8% $36

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,715 in Milan and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Milan pays 129% 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: $88.0 in Milan vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $415 vs $284 per month, with Buenos Aires cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇹 Milan

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

09:52 9:52 AM

04:52 4:52 AM

5 h behind Milan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,394,798

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 = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Milan Buenos Aires 11,190 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Milan
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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

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

Milan and Buenos Aires differ by about 50% in total monthly costs ($2,531 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 129% higher in Milan, 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: $1,715 in Milan versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $837 in Milan 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 46% higher in Milan. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $2,531 in Milan, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Milan. 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, Milan 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 50% less than in Milan. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.