Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Juan, Argentina and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in San Juan: $891 a month against $1,633 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in San Juan
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San Juan Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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San Juan

🇦🇷 Argentina

$891

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $891 in San Juan versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires.

San Juan $891
Buenos Aires $1,633

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,398 in San Juan versus $2,640 in Buenos Aires.

San Juan $1,398
Buenos Aires $2,640

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,904 in San Juan versus $3,646 in Buenos Aires.

San Juan $1,904
Buenos Aires $3,646

Living in San Juan costs roughly 45% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Juan is 35% below, Buenos Aires is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.16 ARS 11.0K

$18.24 ARS 28.1K

-60.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.73 ARS 61.1K

$66.3 ARS 101.9K

-40.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.51 ARS 19.2K

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

-3.47%

Cappuccino

$2.62 ARS 4,030

$3.73 ARS 5,742

-29.76%

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

$2.19 ARS 3,365

$2.03 ARS 3,128

7.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 ARS 2,797

$1.70 ARS 2,612

7.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.96 ARS 6,094

$4.06 ARS 6,243

-2.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 ARS 7,011

$4.75 ARS 7,301

-4.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.35 ARS 2,075

$1.46 ARS 2,249

-7.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.38 ARS 2,122

$2.54 ARS 3,904

-45.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.39 ARS 2,138

$1.58 ARS 2,434

-12.03%

Eggs

$1.45 ARS 2,227

$2.68 ARS 4,123

-45.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$2.90 ARS 4,463

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

-73.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.37 ARS 9,800

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

-36.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.75 ARS 16.5K

$13.18 ARS 20.3K

-18.44%

Apples (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,228

$2.76 ARS 4,250

-47.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 ARS 2,123

$2.20 ARS 3,384

-37.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.37 ARS 2,103

$1.40 ARS 2,148

-2.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,224

$1.99 ARS 3,055

-27.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.46 ARS 2,244

$1.20 ARS 1,845

21.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.38 ARS 2,127

$1.15 ARS 1,774

20.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.39 ARS 2,138

$1.63 ARS 2,500

-14.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ARS 2,241

$1.80 ARS 2,769

-18.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.69 ARS 4,138

$4.21 ARS 6,478

-36.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.95 ARS 7,616

$5.51 ARS 8,480

-10.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 ARS 2,241

$2.07 ARS 3,177

-29.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 ARS 2,205

$2.77 ARS 4,254

-48.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.04 ARS 1,596

$0.74 ARS 1,143

40.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.03 ARS 3,126

$1.61 ARS 2,481

26.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,494

$0.97 ARS 1,497

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 ARS 7,758

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

-38.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.13 ARS 1,742

$1.40 ARS 2,160

-19.29%

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

$26.8K ARS 41.2M

$23.2K ARS 35.7M

15.43%

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

$33.6K ARS 51.7M

$32.8K ARS 50.5M

2.38%

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

$141 ARS 216.9K

$196 ARS 301.9K

-28.16%

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

$9.91 ARS 15.2K

$23.91 ARS 36.8K

-58.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.96 ARS 27.6K

$31.50 ARS 48.5K

-42.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.64 ARS 45.6K

$48.01 ARS 73.8K

-38.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.62 ARS 25.6K

Cinema Ticket

$6.96 ARS 10.7K

$10.57 ARS 16.3K

-34.15%

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

$173 ARS 266.4K

$501 ARS 770.1K

-65.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,149 ARS 6.4M

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

-53.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$108 ARS 165.5K

$121 ARS 186.8K

-11.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.19 ARS 64.9K

$95.6 ARS 147.0K

-55.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.8 ARS 87.4K

$116 ARS 178.5K

-51.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$36.24 ARS 55.7K

$139 ARS 213.2K

-73.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$248 ARS 380.9K

$731 ARS 1.1M

-66.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$198 ARS 303.9K

$503 ARS 773.8K

-60.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$500 ARS 769.5K

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

-66.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$408 ARS 627.1K

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

-63.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 ARS 4.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$696 ARS 1.1M

$921 ARS 1.4M

-24.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-5.68%

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

Last update for San Juan: October 26, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

San Juan

$198 22.2%

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8% 155% $305

Groceries & Markets

San Juan

$190 21.3%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4% 49.5% $94

Eating Out

San Juan

$171 19.2%

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8% 60.2% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Juan

$169 19%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4% 49% $83

Clothing & Footwear

San Juan

$109 12.3%

Buenos Aires

$212 13% 94.2% $103

Sport & Entertainment

San Juan

$44 4.9%

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2% 58.8% $26

Getting Around

San Juan

$11 * 1.2%

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4% 256% $28

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 $248 in San Juan and $731 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 32% 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: $40 in San Juan vs $66 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $190 vs $284 per month, with San Juan cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Juan

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

08:07 8:07 AM

Same time as San Juan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

522,029

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

San Juan Buenos Aires 1,000 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

San Juan
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

San Juan vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Juan and Buenos Aires differ by about 83% in total monthly costs ($891 vs $1,633 including rent). San Juan is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in San Juan. 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: $248 in San Juan versus $731 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $173 in San Juan versus $501 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in San Juan – a meal for two runs $40 versus $66 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. San Juan is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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, San Juan 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.

It comes down to priorities – San Juan wins on affordability, Buenos Aires on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.