Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Joao da Madeira and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Joao da Madeira: $1,510 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Buenos Aires despite lower rent and utilities.

73

Cost of Living Index in Sao Joao da Madeira
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Sao Joao da Madeira Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Sao Joao da Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,510

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Sao Joao da Madeira 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 Sao Joao da Madeira and in Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Sao Joao da Madeira $1,510
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,107 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Sao Joao da Madeira $2,107
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,704 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Sao Joao da Madeira $2,704
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Sao Joao da Madeira costs roughly 9% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Sao Joao da Madeira 12% above, Buenos Aires 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.06 €8.95

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-47.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.79 €17.60

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-69.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.85 €6.98

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-40.53%

Cappuccino

$1.14 €1.01

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-70.39%

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

$1.09 €0.97

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-45.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.87

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-39.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.32 €2.95

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-15.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 €1.93

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-52.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 €0.75

$1.50 ARS 2,272

-43.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.32 €0.28

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-87.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.61 ARS 2,445

-29.19%

Eggs

$2.68 €2.39

$2.84 ARS 4,316

-5.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.58 €7.63

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-16.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.52 €4.91

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-44.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.51 €5.79

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-51.05%

Apples (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-29.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.35 €1.20

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-38.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.83 €1.63

$1.40 ARS 2,120

30.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 €2.54

$1.98 ARS 3,004

43.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.21 ARS 1,835

62.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$1.26 ARS 1,910

49.21%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.71 ARS 2,592

-27.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-43.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.28 €5.59

$4.29 ARS 6,505

46.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.53 €4.02

$5.70 ARS 8,645

-20.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 €1.07

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-44.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-40.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.24 €1.99

$0.75 ARS 1,141

198.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.68 €35.29

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

45.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.33 €3.85

$1.57 ARS 2,375

175.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 €1.58

$1.03 ARS 1,558

72.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.67 €14.83

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

111.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.90 €1.69

$1.42 ARS 2,160

33.80%

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

$33.1K €29.4K

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

18.35%

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

$37.7K €33.5K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

7.69%

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

$110 €97.7

$195 ARS 296.2K

-43.74%

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

$16.96 €15.08

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-32.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.09 €40.99

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

46.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.59 €33.44

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-26.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.09 €13.42

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

-9.80%

Cinema Ticket

$5.44 €4.84

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-47.39%

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

$341 €303

$463 ARS 703.2K

-26.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.0K €8,931

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

14.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$65.5 €58.3

$120 ARS 181.8K

-45.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.57 €33.42

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-60.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.7 €73.5

$114 ARS 173.1K

-27.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.5 €87.6

$139 ARS 211.4K

-29.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 €851

$756 ARS 1.1M

26.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$768 €683

$520 ARS 788.8K

47.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,517 €1,349

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-4.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,164 €1,035

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-2.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,957 €2,630

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

9.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,267 €2,017

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

19.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,048 €932

$938 ARS 1.4M

11.72%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.55

57.25

-93.80%

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

Last update for Sao Joao da Madeira: October 12, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sao Joao da Madeira

$768 50.8%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 32.3% $248

Groceries & Markets

Sao Joao da Madeira

$184 12.2%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 53.8% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Joao da Madeira

$173 11.5%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 45.7% $79

Eating Out

Sao Joao da Madeira

$147 9.7%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 91.8% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Joao da Madeira

$128 8.5%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 64.9% $83

Getting Around

Sao Joao da Madeira

$62 4.1%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 40.2% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Joao da Madeira

$48 3.2%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 47.7% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $957 in Sao Joao da Madeira and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Sao Joao da Madeira pays 12% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $20.00 in Sao Joao da Madeira vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $184 vs $283 per month, with Sao Joao da Madeira cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Sao Joao da Madeira

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

19:27 7:27 PM

15:27 3:27 PM

4 h behind Sao Joao da Madeira

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,144

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Joao da Madeira Buenos Aires 9,830 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Joao da Madeira
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

Sao Joao da Madeira vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sao Joao da Madeira and Buenos Aires differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($1,510 vs $1,656 including rent). Sao Joao da Madeira is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 12% higher in Sao Joao da Madeira, 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: $957 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $341 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $463 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 54% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,510 in Sao Joao da Madeira versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Sao Joao da Madeira but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Sao Joao da Madeira 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, Sao Joao da Madeira 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 Sao Joao da Madeira gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.