Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Phoenix and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Phoenix: $823 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Phoenix
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Phoenix Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Phoenix

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$823

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $823 in Phoenix versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Phoenix $823
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,303 in Phoenix versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Phoenix $1,303
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,783 in Phoenix versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Phoenix $1,783
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Phoenix costs roughly 50% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Phoenix is 39% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.12 MUR 99.7

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-88.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$31.62 MUR 1,489

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-51.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.31 MUR 344

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-44.62%

Cappuccino

$5.18 MUR 244

$3.85 ARS 5,841

34.55%

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

$0.60 MUR 28.29

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-69.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.55 MUR 25.79

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-65.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 MUR 96.4

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-47.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.29 MUR 249

$4.61 ARS 7,003

14.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.44 MUR 68.0

$1.50 ARS 2,272

-4.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.40 MUR 19.01

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-84.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 MUR 101

$1.61 ARS 2,445

34.16%

Eggs

$4.91 MUR 231

$2.84 ARS 4,316

72.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 MUR 387

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-17.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.45 MUR 304

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-51.50%

Apples (1kg)

$7.50 MUR 353

$2.88 ARS 4,366

160.42%

Banana (1kg)

$3.88 MUR 183

$2.20 ARS 3,334

76.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.58 MUR 215

$1.40 ARS 2,120

227.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.49 MUR 70.0

$1.98 ARS 3,004

-24.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 MUR 40.12

$1.21 ARS 1,835

-29.75%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 MUR 40.69

$1.26 ARS 1,910

-31.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 MUR 34.03

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-57.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 MUR 35.76

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-55.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

Wine (Bottle)

$10.39 MUR 489

$5.70 ARS 8,645

82.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 MUR 95.9

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-5.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.08 MUR 50.7

$0.75 ARS 1,141

44.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.33 MUR 486

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

-62.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 MUR 68.7

$1.03 ARS 1,558

41.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.33 MUR 62.5

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-6.34%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

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

$14.01 MUR 659

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-44.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.77 MUR 1,166

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

-21.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.58 MUR 1,204

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-49.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$5.21 MUR 245

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-49.61%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.3 MUR 2,511

$120 ARS 181.8K

-55.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.7 MUR 2,481

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-44.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$526 MUR 24.8K

$756 ARS 1.1M

-30.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 MUR 14.6K

$520 ARS 788.8K

-40.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$831 MUR 39.1K

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-47.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$535 MUR 25.2K

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-55.32%

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)

$959 MUR 45.1K

$938 ARS 1.4M

2.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-91.27%

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

Last update for Phoenix: 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

Phoenix

$311 37.8%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 67.1% $209

Groceries & Markets

Phoenix

$241 * 29.3%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 17.6% $42

Eating Out

Phoenix

$126 15.4%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 123% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Phoenix

$48 * 5.8%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 342% $163

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Phoenix

$39 * 4.7%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 550% $213

Sport & Entertainment

Phoenix

$36 4.4%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 98.8% $36

Getting Around

Phoenix

$22 * 2.7%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 68.6% $15

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 $526 in Phoenix and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Phoenix pays 2% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $32.00 in Phoenix vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $241 vs $283 per month, with Phoenix cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Phoenix

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

17:06 5:06 PM

10:06 10:06 AM

7 h behind Phoenix

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

115,289

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 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 MUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Phoenix Buenos Aires 10,910 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Phoenix
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

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

Phoenix and Buenos Aires differ by about 101% in total monthly costs ($823 vs $1,656 including rent). Phoenix is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 2% higher in Phoenix, 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: $526 in Phoenix versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Phoenix – a meal for two runs $32.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

A monthly transit pass in Phoenix runs roughly 164% less than in Buenos Aires. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $823 in Phoenix versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Phoenix but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Phoenix 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, Phoenix 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 Phoenix gentler on the wallet – expenses run 101% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.