Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Quito and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Quito: $979 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

48

Cost of Living Index in Quito
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Quito Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Quito

🇪🇨 Ecuador

$979

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $979 in Quito versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Quito $979
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,607 in Quito versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Quito $1,607
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,234 in Quito versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Quito $2,234
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Quito costs roughly 42% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Quito is 27% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.14 $6.14

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-67.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.9 $53.9

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

-16.42%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.81 $7.81

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-39.36%

Cappuccino

$3.42 $3.42

$3.98 ARS 6,027

-14.07%

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

$1.44 $1.44

$2.05 ARS 3,102

-29.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.55 ARS 2,348

-26.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.48 $3.48

$3.84 ARS 5,828

-9.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.89 $5.89

$4.60 ARS 6,968

28.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.44 ARS 2,180

-20.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 $1.54

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-37.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 $1.51

$1.63 ARS 2,466

-7.36%

Eggs

$2.16 $2.16

$2.89 ARS 4,384

-25.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.40 $6.40

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-39.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.48 $5.48

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-45.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 $7.81

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-43.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.33 $2.33

$2.75 ARS 4,165

-15.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.24 $1.24

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-43.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.31 $1.31

$1.45 ARS 2,204

-9.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 $1.14

$1.99 ARS 3,012

-42.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 $1.21

$1.24 ARS 1,884

-2.42%

Onion (1kg)

$1.02 $1.02

$1.27 ARS 1,920

-19.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 $0.93

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-45.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 $1.05

$1.73 ARS 2,616

-39.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.02 $6.02

$4.18 ARS 6,335

44.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.93 $9.93

$5.80 ARS 8,787

71.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.59 $1.59

$2.09 ARS 3,162

-23.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 $3.08

$2.77 ARS 4,197

11.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.37 $0.37

$0.75 ARS 1,131

-50.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.95 $20.95

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-22.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 $1.54

$1.62 ARS 2,450

-4.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 $1.53

$0.98 ARS 1,480

56.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.01 $10.01

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

29.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 $0.87

$1.36 ARS 2,057

-36.03%

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

$21.0K $21.0K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-25.08%

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

$28.6K $28.6K

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

-17.31%

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

$28.97 $28.97

$216 ARS 326.8K

-86.56%

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

$17.57 $17.57

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-31.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.14 $28.14

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

-10.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.48 $46.48

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

-6.70%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.70 $17.70

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

3.75%

Cinema Ticket

$6.38 $6.38

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-38.83%

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

$746 $746

$466 ARS 706.5K

60.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,015 $9,015

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-0.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 $68.8

$122 ARS 185.1K

-43.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.4 $50.4

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-48.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 $117

$117 ARS 177.3K

0.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$109 $109

$140 ARS 211.8K

-22.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$478 $478

$763 ARS 1.2M

-37.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$313 $313

$505 ARS 765.8K

-38.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$967 $967

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-39.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$549 $549

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-53.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,763 $1,763

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-34.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$720 $720

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-61.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$597 $597

$954 ARS 1.4M

-37.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.12

57.25

-82.32%

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

Last update for Quito: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Quito

$313 31.8%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 61.3% $192

Groceries & Markets

Quito

$198 20.1%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 43.8% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Quito

$156 15.8%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 37.8% $59

Eating Out

Quito

$153 15.5%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 82.3% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Quito

$75 7.6%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 265% $198

Sport & Entertainment

Quito

$59 6%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 19.3% $11

Getting Around

Quito

$32 3.2%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 15.8% $5

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $478 in Quito and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 60% 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: $54.0 in Quito vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $198 vs $284 per month, with Quito cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇨 Quito

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

20:55 8:55 PM

22:55 10:55 PM

2 h ahead of Quito

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,671,191 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

United States Dollar USD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 USD = 0.892 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, EUR to USD – United States Dollar Converter

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

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

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

ARS to USD in detail →

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Between locations

Quito Buenos Aires 4,360 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Quito
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

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

Quito and Buenos Aires differ by about 72% in total monthly costs ($979 vs $1,685 including rent). Quito is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 60% 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: $478 in Quito versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $746 in Quito 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 44% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $979 in Quito versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Quito but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Quito 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, Quito 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 Quito gentler on the wallet – expenses run 72% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.