Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pasto and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Pasto: $799 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Pasto
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Pasto Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Pasto

🇨🇴 Colombia

$799

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $799 in Pasto versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Pasto $799
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,210 in Pasto versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Pasto $1,210
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,622 in Pasto versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Pasto $1,622
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Pasto costs roughly 52% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Pasto is 41% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.98 COP 12.6K

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-79.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.79 COP 75.4K

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-63.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.46 COP 23.7K

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-43.48%

Cappuccino

$1.56 COP 4,934

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-59.48%

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

$0.86 COP 2,724

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-56.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.61 COP 1,943

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-61.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.16 COP 3,666

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-70.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 COP 6,968

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-52.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.09 COP 3,464

$1.50 ARS 2,272

-27.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.29 COP 4,088

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-49.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.18 COP 3,744

$1.61 ARS 2,445

-26.71%

Eggs

$2.14 COP 6,771

$2.84 ARS 4,316

-24.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.61 COP 14.6K

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-55.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.26 COP 16.7K

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-47.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.29 COP 23.1K

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-45.19%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 COP 7,748

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-15.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 COP 3,302

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-52.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 COP 4,108

$1.40 ARS 2,120

-7.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.07 COP 3,379

$1.98 ARS 3,004

-45.96%

Potato (1kg)

$1.15 COP 3,648

$1.21 ARS 1,835

-4.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.13 COP 3,586

$1.26 ARS 1,910

-10.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 COP 2,537

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-53.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.64 COP 2,041

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-62.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.37 COP 7,509

$4.29 ARS 6,505

-44.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.81 COP 31.1K

$5.70 ARS 8,645

72.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 COP 3,443

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-49.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.77 COP 5,599

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-35.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 COP 2,271

$0.75 ARS 1,141

-4.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.39 COP 96.4K

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

11.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 COP 4,532

$1.57 ARS 2,375

-8.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 COP 5,688

$1.03 ARS 1,558

73.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.98 COP 18.9K

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

-24.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.93 COP 2,958

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-34.51%

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

$18.1K COP 57.2M

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

-35.40%

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

$25.7K COP 81.6M

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

-26.38%

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

$83.4 COP 264.4K

$195 ARS 296.2K

-57.28%

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

$8.89 COP 28.2K

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-64.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.38 COP 71.0K

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

-29.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.02 COP 73.0K

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-54.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$3.89 COP 12.3K

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-62.38%

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

$235 COP 744.6K

$463 ARS 703.2K

-49.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,071 COP 19.2M

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

-30.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.6 COP 185.6K

$120 ARS 181.8K

-51.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.60 COP 103.4K

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-65.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.4 COP 261.4K

$114 ARS 173.1K

-27.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$71.8 COP 227.6K

$139 ARS 211.4K

-48.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$269 COP 851.9K

$756 ARS 1.1M

-64.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 COP 751.4K

$520 ARS 788.8K

-54.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$530 COP 1.7M

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-66.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$415 COP 1.3M

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-65.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,429 COP 4.5M

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

-47.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,069 COP 3.4M

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

-43.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.06

57.25

-77.19%

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

Last update for Pasto: 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

Pasto

$237 29.7%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 119% $283

Groceries & Markets

Pasto

$173 21.7%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 63.5% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pasto

$115 14.4%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 120% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Pasto

$110 13.8%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 91% $101

Eating Out

Pasto

$89 11.1%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 217% $193

Getting Around

Pasto

$44 5.5%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 15.3% $6.7

Sport & Entertainment

Pasto

$31 3.9%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 132% $41

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $269 in Pasto and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24.00 in Pasto vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $173 vs $283 per month, with Pasto cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Pasto

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

21:36 9:36 PM

23:36 11:36 PM

2 h ahead of Pasto

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

392,930

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,565 COP (10,000 COP = 2.81 EUR).

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 COP in detail →

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Between locations

Pasto Buenos Aires 4,440 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Pasto
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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

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

Pasto and Buenos Aires differ by about 107% in total monthly costs ($799 vs $1,656 including rent). Pasto is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $1,198 in Pasto and $2,484 in Buenos Aires to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $269 in Pasto versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $235 in Pasto versus $463 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 63% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $799 in Pasto versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Pasto but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Pasto 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, Pasto 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 Pasto gentler on the wallet – expenses run 107% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.