Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Santo Domingo and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Santo Domingo: $1,122 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Santo Domingo
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Santo Domingo Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Santo Domingo

🇩🇴 Dominican Republic

$1,122

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,122 in Santo Domingo versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Santo Domingo $1,122
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,761 in Santo Domingo versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Santo Domingo $1,761
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,401 in Santo Domingo versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Santo Domingo $2,401
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Santo Domingo costs roughly 33% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Santo Domingo is 16% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.19 DOP 622

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-45.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.5 DOP 3,082

$64.5 ARS 97.7K

-21.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.79 DOP 475

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-39.52%

Cappuccino

$2.23 DOP 136

$3.98 ARS 6,027

-43.97%

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

$1.02 DOP 62.5

$2.05 ARS 3,102

-50.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 DOP 33.14

$1.55 ARS 2,348

-65.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 DOP 156

$3.84 ARS 5,828

-33.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 DOP 201

$4.60 ARS 6,968

-28.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 DOP 81.1

$1.44 ARS 2,180

-7.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 DOP 91.5

$2.46 ARS 3,737

-39.02%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.63 DOP 99.3

$1.63 ARS 2,466

Eggs

$2.36 DOP 144

$2.89 ARS 4,384

-18.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 DOP 451

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-30.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.59 DOP 341

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-44.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 DOP 409

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-51.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 DOP 194

$2.75 ARS 4,165

16.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 DOP 51.8

$2.18 ARS 3,299

-61.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.76 DOP 168

$1.45 ARS 2,204

90.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.86 DOP 114

$1.99 ARS 3,012

-6.53%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 DOP 127

$1.24 ARS 1,884

66.94%

Onion (1kg)

$2.25 DOP 137

$1.27 ARS 1,920

77.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.03 DOP 63.1

$1.70 ARS 2,574

-39.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 DOP 59.0

$1.73 ARS 2,616

-43.93%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.19 DOP 317

$4.18 ARS 6,335

24.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.24 DOP 625

$5.80 ARS 8,787

76.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 DOP 154

$2.09 ARS 3,162

21.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.97 DOP 181

$2.77 ARS 4,197

7.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 DOP 36.59

$0.75 ARS 1,131

-20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.04 DOP 1,101

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-33.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 DOP 205

$1.62 ARS 2,450

107.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.21 DOP 135

$0.98 ARS 1,480

125.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 DOP 348

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

-26.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 DOP 87.4

$1.36 ARS 2,057

5.15%

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

$23.4K DOP 1.4M

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-16.56%

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

$34.2K DOP 2.1M

$34.5K ARS 52.3M

-1.09%

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

$93.8 DOP 5,720

$216 ARS 326.8K

-56.50%

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

$31.81 DOP 1,940

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

24.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.01 DOP 2,258

$31.36 ARS 47.5K

18.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.96 DOP 1,828

$49.82 ARS 75.5K

-39.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.22 DOP 1,477

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

41.97%

Cinema Ticket

$7.30 DOP 445

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-30.01%

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

$256 DOP 15.6K

$466 ARS 706.5K

-45.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,297 DOP 445.1K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-19.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.66 DOP 2,785

$122 ARS 185.1K

-62.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.81 DOP 2,855

$97.4 ARS 147.7K

-51.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.1 DOP 5,373

$117 ARS 177.3K

-24.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 DOP 7,691

$140 ARS 211.8K

-9.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$712 DOP 43.4K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-6.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$348 DOP 21.2K

$505 ARS 765.8K

-31.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,451 DOP 88.5K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-9.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$622 DOP 38.0K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-47.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,205 DOP 134.5K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-17.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,203 DOP 73.4K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-35.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$590 DOP 36.0K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-38.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.56

57.25

-76.31%

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

Last update for Santo Domingo: October 6, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Santo Domingo

$348 31.5%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 45.1% $157

Groceries & Markets

Santo Domingo

$221 20%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 28.3% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Santo Domingo

$163 14.7%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 67.6% $110

Eating Out

Santo Domingo

$157 14.2%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 77.3% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Santo Domingo

$138 12.5%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 55.3% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Santo Domingo

$45 4%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 58.6% $26

Getting Around

Santo Domingo

$35 3.2%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 5.2% $1.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $712 in Santo Domingo and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 62% 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: $51.0 in Santo Domingo vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $221 vs $284 per month, with Santo Domingo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇩🇴 Santo Domingo

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

21:11 9:11 PM

22:11 10:11 PM

1 h ahead of Santo Domingo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

965,040 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Dominican Peso DOP $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 DOP = 1.64 USD

100 DOP = 1.46 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to DOP – Dominican Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇴 Dominican Peso ($)

Dominican Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 61 DOP (100 DOP = 1.64 USD). 1 EUR = 68.42 DOP (100 DOP = 1.46 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,516 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.6 USD). 1 EUR = 1,700 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to DOP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Santo Domingo Buenos Aires 6,030 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Santo Domingo
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

Santo Domingo vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Santo Domingo and Buenos Aires differ by about 50% in total monthly costs ($1,122 vs $1,685 including rent). Santo Domingo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 62% lower in Buenos Aires. 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: $712 in Santo Domingo versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $256 in Santo Domingo versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 28% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,122 in Santo Domingo versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Santo Domingo but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Santo Domingo 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, Santo Domingo 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 Santo Domingo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 50% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.