Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santa Fe and Maseru

For one person, living is cheaper in Maseru: $665 a month against $1,077 in Santa Fe, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

52

Cost of Living Index in Santa Fe
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Santa Fe Living Index
32

Cost of Living Index in Maseru
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Maseru Living Index

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Santa Fe

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,077

/mo nomad

Maseru

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$665

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Santa Fe and in Maseru

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Santa Fe and in Maseru actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,077 in Santa Fe versus $665 in Maseru.

Santa Fe $1,077
Maseru $665

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,662 in Santa Fe versus $1,119 in Maseru.

Santa Fe $1,662
Maseru $1,119

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,247 in Santa Fe versus $1,572 in Maseru.

Santa Fe $2,247
Maseru $1,572

Living in Santa Fe is roughly 62% more expensive than in Maseru, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities sit below the global median: Santa Fe 21% lower, Maseru 51% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.16 ARS 15.6K

$8.75 LSL 146

16.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.08 ARS 58.6K

$24.35 LSL 405

56.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.35 ARS 19.0K

$8.24 LSL 137

49.88%

Cappuccino

$1.72 ARS 2,644

$2.04 LSL 33.95

-15.69%

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

$1.48 ARS 2,274

$1.06 LSL 17.57

39.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 ARS 2,054

$0.86 LSL 14.40

55.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.47 ARS 5,337

$1.82 LSL 30.34

90.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.03 ARS 7,738

$2.38 LSL 39.65

111.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 ARS 1,561

$1.14 LSL 18.92

-11.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 ARS 2,399

$0.82 LSL 13.65

90.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.02 ARS 1,575

$1.81 LSL 30.14

-43.65%

Eggs

$1.54 ARS 2,375

$1.57 LSL 26.14

-1.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.17 ARS 12.6K

$6.64 LSL 111

23.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.04 ARS 9,287

$6.15 LSL 102

-1.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.32 ARS 15.9K

$5.96 LSL 99.2

73.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,073

$1.93 LSL 32.07

3.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.51 ARS 2,325

$2.30 LSL 38.31

-34.35%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.87 ARS 1,344

$2.63 LSL 43.79

-66.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.51 ARS 3,854

$2.45 LSL 40.77

2.45%

Potato (1kg)

$0.58 ARS 895

$1.58 LSL 26.23

-63.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.68 ARS 1,047

$1.62 LSL 26.98

-58.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 ARS 1,631

$1.54 LSL 25.67

-31.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 ARS 1,644

$0.83 LSL 13.76

28.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.17 ARS 4,875

$5.08 LSL 84.6

-37.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.84 ARS 7,440

$7.24 LSL 121

-33.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 ARS 1,940

$1.08 LSL 17.96

16.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 ARS 3,280

$1.47 LSL 24.44

44.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.07 ARS 1,640

$0.82 LSL 13.57

30.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.41 LSL 506

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.98 ARS 1,505

$0.70 LSL 11.70

40.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 ARS 1,509

$0.63 LSL 10.49

55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.72 LSL 61.9

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ARS 1,770

$1.28 LSL 21.38

-10.16%

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

$19.8K ARS 30.5M

$21.3K LSL 354.3K

-6.90%

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

$29.7K ARS 45.7M

$16.1K LSL 268.3K

84.47%

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

$59.6 ARS 91.7K

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

$19.80 ARS 30.5K

$14.39 LSL 240

37.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.28 ARS 32.7K

$38.15 LSL 635

-44.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.94 ARS 52.2K

$22.91 LSL 382

48.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.38 ARS 29.8K

Cinema Ticket

$4.91 ARS 7,550

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

$260 ARS 400.2K

$51.5 LSL 857

405.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,522 ARS 7.0M

$1,163 LSL 19.4K

288.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.8 ARS 133.6K

$46.43 LSL 773

87.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.9 ARS 93.7K

$55.9 LSL 930

9.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 ARS 176.2K

$105 LSL 1,741

9.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 ARS 218.3K

$152 LSL 2,524

-6.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$505 ARS 776.9K

$94.0 LSL 1,565

437.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$365 ARS 561.9K

$55.7 LSL 927

556.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$936 ARS 1.4M

$429 LSL 7,140

118.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$595 ARS 915.2K

$171 LSL 2,840

248.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$376 LSL 6,266

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,271 ARS 2.0M

$509 LSL 8,475

149.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$854 ARS 1.3M

$627 LSL 10.4K

36.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

100

8.5

1076.47%

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

Last update for Santa Fe: October 26, 2026

Last update for Maseru: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santa Fe

$365 33.9%

Maseru

$56 8.4% 84.8% $310

Groceries & Markets

Santa Fe

$197 18.3%

Maseru

$195 29.3% 1.3% $2.5

Clothing & Footwear

Santa Fe

$182 16.9%

Maseru

$161 24.2% 11.3% $21

Eating Out

Santa Fe

$178 16.5%

Maseru

$141 21.2% 20.7% $37

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santa Fe

$101 9.4%

Maseru

$53 * 7.9% 47.8% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Santa Fe

$44 4.1%

Maseru

$23 * 3.4% 47.6% $21

Getting Around

Santa Fe

$10 * 0.9%

Maseru

$38 5.6% 270% $27

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 $505 in Santa Fe and $94 in Maseru. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Santa Fe pays 36% 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: $38 in Santa Fe vs $24 in Maseru for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $197 vs $195 per month, with Maseru cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Santa Fe

🇱🇸 Maseru

🕒 Local time

14:59 2:59 PM

19:59 7:59 PM

5 h ahead of Santa Fe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

391,164

227,880 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Lesotho Loti LSL L

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

100 LSL = 6.01 USD

100 LSL = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LSL, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,538 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD). 1 EUR = 1,712 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR).

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.65 LSL (100 LSL = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.53 LSL (100 LSL = 5.4 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santa Fe Maseru 8,190 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Santa Fe
Maseru

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 Fe vs Maseru: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santa Fe and Maseru differ by about 62% in total monthly costs ($1,077 vs $665 including rent). Maseru is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 36% higher in Santa Fe, 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: $505 in Santa Fe versus $94 in Maseru. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $260 in Santa Fe versus $51 in Maseru. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,077 per month in Santa Fe versus $665 in Maseru – a 62% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Maseru gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

For families, Maseru is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Santa Fe, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

It comes down to priorities – Maseru wins on affordability, Santa Fe on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.