Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife
🇪🇸 Spain
$1,920
/mo nomad
Buenos Aires
🇦🇷 Argentina
$1,685
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

  • Santa Cruz de Tenerife $1,920
  • Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,849 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

  • Santa Cruz de Tenerife $2,849
  • Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,777 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

  • Santa Cruz de Tenerife $3,777
  • Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is roughly 14% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Santa Cruz de Tenerife 43% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$20.06 €17.90
$18.73 ARS 28.4K
7.10%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$61.9 €55.2
$64.5 ARS 97.8K
-4.06%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.40 €10.18
$12.88 ARS 19.5K
-11.49%
Cappuccino
$2.00 €1.78
$3.98 ARS 6,029
-49.75%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.90 €1.69
$2.05 ARS 3,103
-7.32%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.30 €1.16
$1.55 ARS 2,349
-16.13%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.87 €2.56
$3.84 ARS 5,830
-25.26%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.30 €2.95
$4.60 ARS 6,970
-28.26%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.37 €1.22
$1.44 ARS 2,181
-4.86%
White Bread (500g)
$2.47 €2.21
$2.46 ARS 3,738
0.41%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.59 €1.42
$1.63 ARS 2,467
-2.45%
Eggs
$4.19 €3.74
$2.89 ARS 4,385
44.98%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$19.69 €17.57
$10.65 ARS 16.1K
84.88%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$9.90 €8.84
$10.00 ARS 15.2K
-1.00%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.92 €15.99
$13.74 ARS 20.8K
30.42%
Apples (1kg)
$2.78 €2.48
$2.75 ARS 4,166
1.09%
Banana (1kg)
$2.41 €2.15
$2.18 ARS 3,300
10.55%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.24 €2.00
$1.45 ARS 2,205
54.48%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.52 €2.24
$1.99 ARS 3,013
26.63%
Potato (1kg)
$2.13 €1.90
$1.24 ARS 1,885
71.77%
Onion (1kg)
$1.97 €1.76
$1.27 ARS 1,921
55.12%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.69 €1.51
$1.70 ARS 2,575
-0.59%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.91 €0.81
$1.73 ARS 2,617
-47.40%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$5.71 €5.09
$4.18 ARS 6,337
36.60%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.67 €6.85
$5.80 ARS 8,790
32.24%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.68 €1.50
$2.09 ARS 3,163
-19.62%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.75 €1.56
$2.77 ARS 4,198
-36.82%
🚌 Getting Around
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.38 €1.23
$0.75 ARS 1,132
84.00%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$42.25 €37.70
$27.15 ARS 41.2K
55.62%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.11 €3.67
$1.62 ARS 2,451
153.70%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.73 €1.54
$0.98 ARS 1,481
76.53%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$16.93 €15.11
$7.72 ARS 11.7K
119.30%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.74 €1.55
$1.36 ARS 2,058
27.94%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.8K €31.0K
$28.0K ARS 42.5M
24.11%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$29.4K €26.3K
$34.5K ARS 52.4M
-14.74%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$127 €113
$216 ARS 326.9K
-41.16%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.02 €20.54
$25.61 ARS 38.8K
-10.11%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$35.10 €31.32
$31.36 ARS 47.6K
11.93%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$54.5 €48.67
$49.82 ARS 75.6K
9.47%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.52 €10.28
$17.06 ARS 25.9K
-32.47%
Cinema Ticket
$10.09 €9.01
$10.43 ARS 15.8K
-3.26%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$405 €362
$466 ARS 706.7K
-13.04%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,015 €4,476
$9,057 ARS 13.7M
-44.62%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$94.3 €84.1
$122 ARS 185.2K
-22.79%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$41.88 €37.37
$97.4 ARS 147.8K
-57.02%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$91.9 €82.0
$117 ARS 177.4K
-21.41%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$111 €99.3
$140 ARS 211.9K
-20.41%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,138 €1,016
$763 ARS 1.2M
49.14%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$882 €787
$505 ARS 766.1K
74.62%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,705 €1,522
$1,598 ARS 2.4M
6.69%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,255 €1,120
$1,185 ARS 1.8M
5.93%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$3,834 €3,421
$2,678 ARS 4.1M
43.13%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,170 €1,936
$1,858 ARS 2.8M
16.77%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Buenos Aires
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,864 €1,663
$954 ARS 1.4M
95.27%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.56
57.25
-93.78%

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

Last update for Santa Cruz de Tenerife: October 3, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$882
Buenos Aires
$505 42.7% $377
Groceries & Markets
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$329
Buenos Aires
$284 13.7% $45
Eating Out
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$252
Buenos Aires
$279 10.5% $27
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$185
Buenos Aires
$273 47.4% $88
Clothing & Footwear
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$153
Buenos Aires
$214 40.4% $62
Sport & Entertainment
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$75
Buenos Aires
$71 5.4% $4
Getting Around
Santa Cruz de Tenerife
$61
Buenos Aires
$37 39.5% $24

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,138 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife pays 95% 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: $62.0 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $329 vs $284, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇪🇸 Santa Cruz de Tenerife
🇦🇷 Buenos Aires
🕒 Local time
09:58 9:58 AM
05:58 5:58 AM
4 h behind Santa Cruz de Tenerife
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
209,395
2,891,082 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Santa Cruz de Tenerife Buenos Aires 8,300 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Santa Cruz de Tenerife
  • 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
Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in Buenos Aires?
Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Buenos Aires differ by about 14% in total monthly costs ($1,920 vs $1,685 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Buenos Aires?
Average pay runs 95% higher in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and in Buenos Aires?
Rent for a central apartment: $1,138 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
What is the difference in childcare costs between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Buenos Aires?
Childcare runs $405 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.
Which city has cheaper grocery shopping?
Supermarket bills run roughly 16% higher in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.
Which city is more doable on $3,000 per month?
At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,920 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires the clear choice for anyone on this budget.
How does quality of life compare between Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Buenos Aires?
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.
Is Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Buenos Aires safer for residents?
Safety-wise, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 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.
Where should expats move: Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Buenos Aires?
Expats usually find Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 14% less than in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife vs other spots: cost of living compared

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