Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between San Martin de los Andes and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in San Martin de los Andes: $1,264 a month against $1,633 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in San Martin de los Andes
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San Martin de los Andes Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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San Martin de los Andes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,264

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,264 in San Martin de los Andes versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires.

San Martin de los Andes $1,264
Buenos Aires $1,633

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,136 in San Martin de los Andes versus $2,640 in Buenos Aires.

San Martin de los Andes $2,136
Buenos Aires $2,640

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,007 in San Martin de los Andes versus $3,646 in Buenos Aires.

San Martin de los Andes $3,007
Buenos Aires $3,646

Living in San Martin de los Andes costs roughly 23% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: San Martin de los Andes is 7% below, Buenos Aires is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.03 ARS 27.7K

$18.24 ARS 28.1K

-1.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.1 ARS 87.9K

$66.3 ARS 101.9K

-13.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.84 ARS 21.3K

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

6.79%

Cappuccino

$3.30 ARS 5,080

$3.73 ARS 5,742

-11.53%

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

$1.97 ARS 3,034

$2.03 ARS 3,128

-2.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 ARS 3,115

$1.70 ARS 2,612

18.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 ARS 5,298

$4.06 ARS 6,243

-15.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 ARS 7,175

$4.75 ARS 7,301

-1.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,178

$1.46 ARS 2,249

-2.74%

White Bread (500g)

$2.37 ARS 3,648

$2.54 ARS 3,904

-6.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,041

$1.58 ARS 2,434

25.32%

Eggs

$2.92 ARS 4,496

$2.68 ARS 4,123

8.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.62 ARS 16.3K

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

-4.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 ARS 12.2K

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

-21.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.95 ARS 15.3K

$13.18 ARS 20.3K

-24.51%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 ARS 3,284

$2.76 ARS 4,250

-22.83%

Banana (1kg)

$2.31 ARS 3,560

$2.20 ARS 3,384

5.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 ARS 2,292

$1.40 ARS 2,148

6.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.48 ARS 3,807

$1.99 ARS 3,055

24.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.17 ARS 1,793

$1.20 ARS 1,845

-2.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 ARS 1,702

$1.15 ARS 1,774

-3.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.63 ARS 2,500

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 ARS 2,215

$1.80 ARS 2,769

-20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 ARS 5,292

$4.21 ARS 6,478

-18.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.39 ARS 8,296

$5.51 ARS 8,480

-2.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.13 ARS 3,272

$2.07 ARS 3,177

2.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 ARS 4,660

$2.77 ARS 4,254

9.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 ARS 1,430

$0.74 ARS 1,143

25.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.58 ARS 2,424

$1.61 ARS 2,481

-1.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,497

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 ARS 1,872

$1.40 ARS 2,160

-12.86%

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

$27.5K ARS 42.3M

$23.2K ARS 35.7M

18.43%

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

$30.9K ARS 47.6M

$32.8K ARS 50.5M

-5.78%

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

$134 ARS 206.4K

$196 ARS 301.9K

-31.64%

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

$15.99 ARS 24.6K

$23.91 ARS 36.8K

-33.12%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.53 ARS 42.4K

$31.50 ARS 48.5K

-12.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.26 ARS 48.1K

$48.01 ARS 73.8K

-34.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.28 ARS 29.7K

$16.62 ARS 25.6K

16.00%

Cinema Ticket

$8.74 ARS 13.4K

$10.57 ARS 16.3K

-17.31%

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

$239 ARS 367.8K

$501 ARS 770.1K

-52.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,149 ARS 6.4M

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

-53.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 ARS 163.3K

$121 ARS 186.8K

-12.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$85.5 ARS 131.5K

$95.6 ARS 147.0K

-10.54%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$126 ARS 194.5K

$116 ARS 178.5K

8.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 ARS 200.2K

$139 ARS 213.2K

-6.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$465 ARS 715.7K

$731 ARS 1.1M

-36.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$311 ARS 478.0K

$503 ARS 773.8K

-38.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,006 ARS 1.5M

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

-31.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 ARS 1.3M

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

-26.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,703 ARS 4.2M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,249 ARS 1.9M

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

-35.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$921 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

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

Last update for San Martin de los Andes: October 25, 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 Martin de los Andes

$311 24.6%

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8% 61.9% $192

Eating Out

San Martin de los Andes

$268 21.2%

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8% 2.4% $6.4

Groceries & Markets

San Martin de los Andes

$252 * 20%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4% 12.5% $32

Clothing & Footwear

San Martin de los Andes

$202 16%

Buenos Aires

$212 13% 5.2% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

San Martin de los Andes

$178 14.1%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4% 41.6% $74

Sport & Entertainment

San Martin de los Andes

$49 3.9%

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2% 41.9% $20

Getting Around

San Martin de los Andes

$5.3 * 0.4%

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4% 643% $34

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 $465 in San Martin de los Andes and $731 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $57 in San Martin de los Andes vs $66 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $252 vs $284 per month, with San Martin de los Andes cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 San Martin de los Andes

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

11:11 11:11 AM

Same time as San Martin de los Andes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

36,913

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 Martin de los Andes Buenos Aires 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

San Martin de los Andes
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 Martin de los Andes vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Martin de los Andes and Buenos Aires differ by about 29% in total monthly costs ($1,264 vs $1,633 including rent). San Martin de los Andes is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,897 in San Martin de los Andes and $2,450 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: $465 in San Martin de los Andes versus $731 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $239 in San Martin de los Andes 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 Martin de los Andes – a meal for two runs $57 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 $1,000. San Martin de los Andes 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 Martin de los Andes 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.