Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Riyadh and Buenos Aires

For one person, living costs are similar in Riyadh and in Buenos Aires: $1,768 and $1,685 a month, rent and utilities included.

85

Cost of Living Index in Riyadh
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Riyadh Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Riyadh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,768

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,768 in Riyadh versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Riyadh $1,768
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,557 in Riyadh versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Riyadh $2,557
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,345 in Riyadh versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Riyadh $3,345
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Riyadh is roughly 5% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Riyadh 32% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 SAR 30.36

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-56.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 SAR 250

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

3.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.11 SAR 30.47

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-37.03%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.15 SAR 8.09

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 SAR 11.19

Cappuccino

$4.34 SAR 16.31

$3.98 ARS 6,029

9.05%

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

$0.86 SAR 3.24

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-58.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 SAR 1.12

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-80.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.84 ARS 5,830

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.60 ARS 6,970

Milk (1 liter)

$1.77 SAR 6.63

$1.44 ARS 2,181

22.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.32 SAR 4.97

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-46.34%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.40 SAR 9.03

$1.63 ARS 2,467

47.24%

Eggs

$3.06 SAR 11.48

$2.89 ARS 4,385

5.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.63 SAR 39.91

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-0.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.60 SAR 36.05

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-4.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.98 SAR 56.3

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

9.02%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 SAR 10.51

$2.75 ARS 4,166

1.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 SAR 7.45

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-9.17%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.51 SAR 9.43

$1.45 ARS 2,205

73.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 SAR 6.75

$1.99 ARS 3,013

-9.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.18 SAR 4.45

$1.24 ARS 1,885

-4.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.34 SAR 5.01

$1.27 ARS 1,921

5.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.79 SAR 6.70

$1.70 ARS 2,575

5.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.54 SAR 2.03

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-68.79%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$8.11 SAR 30.44

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 SAR 9.04

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.53 SAR 28.26

$4.18 ARS 6,337

80.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.80 ARS 8,790

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 ARS 3,163

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.77 ARS 4,198

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.05 SAR 3.96

$0.75 ARS 1,132

40.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$37.18 SAR 140

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

36.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.29 SAR 12.35

$1.62 ARS 2,451

103.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.91 SAR 7.19

$0.98 ARS 1,481

94.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.43 SAR 50.5

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

73.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.65 SAR 2.42

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-52.21%

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

$34.6K SAR 130.0K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

23.63%

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

$22.8K SAR 85.7K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-33.87%

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

$106 SAR 397

$216 ARS 326.9K

-50.99%

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

$29.10 SAR 109

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

13.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$72.7 SAR 273

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

131.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$91.4 SAR 343

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

83.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$56.4 SAR 212

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

230.42%

Cinema Ticket

$13.20 SAR 49.58

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

26.56%

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

$532 SAR 1,999

$466 ARS 706.7K

14.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.2K SAR 38.4K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

12.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 SAR 215

$122 ARS 185.2K

-53.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.4 SAR 204

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-44.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 SAR 393

$117 ARS 177.4K

-10.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 SAR 397

$140 ARS 211.9K

-24.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,211 SAR 4,547

$763 ARS 1.2M

58.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$834 SAR 3,132

$505 ARS 766.1K

65.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,223 SAR 8,346

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

39.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 SAR 4,658

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

4.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,011 SAR 11.3K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

12.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,937 SAR 7,274

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

4.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,037 SAR 7,648

$954 ARS 1.4M

113.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

57.25

-90.32%

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

Last update for Riyadh: 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

Riyadh

$834 47.7%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 39.4% $329

Groceries & Markets

Riyadh

$242 13.9%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 17.2% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Riyadh

$208 11.9%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 31.3% $65

Eating Out

Riyadh

$146 8.4%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 91.3% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Riyadh

$145 8.3%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 47.9% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Riyadh

$118 6.8%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 40% $47

Getting Around

Riyadh

$54 3.1%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 32.5% $18

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,211 in Riyadh and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Riyadh pays 113% 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: $66.0 in Riyadh vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $242 vs $284, with Riyadh cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇸🇦 Riyadh

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

10:01 10:01 AM

04:01 4:01 AM

6 h behind Riyadh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,188,286 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

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 SAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Riyadh Buenos Aires 12,860 km ≈ 17 h nonstop flight

From you

Riyadh
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

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

Riyadh and Buenos Aires differ by about 5% in total monthly costs ($1,768 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 113% higher in Riyadh, 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: $1,211 in Riyadh versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $532 in Riyadh versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Shoppers in Riyadh pay roughly 17% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,768 in Riyadh, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Riyadh. 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, Riyadh 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 5% less than in Riyadh. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.