Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thompson and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Buenos Aires: $1,685 a month against $1,808 in Thompson, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

86

Cost of Living Index in Thompson
Learn more

Thompson Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

Jump to prices

Thompson

🇨🇦 Canada

$1,808

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,808 in Thompson versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Thompson $1,808
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,730 in Thompson versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Thompson $2,730
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,652 in Thompson versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Thompson $3,652
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Thompson is roughly 7% more expensive than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Thompson 35% above, Buenos Aires 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.37 CA$24.76

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-7.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$63.3 CA$90.2

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-1.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 CA$15.15

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-17.47%

Cappuccino

$3.62 CA$5.16

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-9.05%

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

$1.96 CA$2.79

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-4.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 CA$2.30

$1.55 ARS 2,349

4.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.33 CA$7.59

$3.84 ARS 5,830

38.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.60 CA$7.99

$4.60 ARS 6,970

21.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.13 CA$3.03

$1.44 ARS 2,181

47.92%

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 CA$3.56

$2.46 ARS 3,738

1.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.20 CA$4.57

$1.63 ARS 2,467

96.32%

Eggs

$3.33 CA$4.75

$2.89 ARS 4,385

15.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.09 CA$14.38

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-5.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.46 CA$16.33

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

14.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.70 CA$20.96

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

6.99%

Apples (1kg)

$3.65 CA$5.20

$2.75 ARS 4,166

32.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.17 CA$1.67

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-46.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.77 CA$5.38

$1.45 ARS 2,205

160.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 CA$5.93

$1.99 ARS 3,013

109.05%

Potato (1kg)

$2.40 CA$3.43

$1.24 ARS 1,885

93.55%

Onion (1kg)

$2.20 CA$3.14

$1.27 ARS 1,921

73.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.42 CA$3.45

$1.70 ARS 2,575

42.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.60 CA$2.27

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-7.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.73 CA$19.57

$4.18 ARS 6,337

228.47%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.67 CA$18.06

$5.80 ARS 8,790

118.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.69 CA$3.83

$2.09 ARS 3,163

28.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 CA$4.33

$2.77 ARS 4,198

9.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.20 CA$3.14

$0.75 ARS 1,132

193.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.2 CA$95.7

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

147.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.86 CA$4.08

$1.62 ARS 2,451

76.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.38 CA$1.97

$0.98 ARS 1,481

40.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.69 CA$32.34

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

193.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 CA$1.60

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-17.65%

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

$27.8K CA$39.7K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-0.64%

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

$20.4K CA$29.1K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-40.83%

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

$137 CA$195

$216 ARS 326.9K

-36.42%

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

$37.96 CA$54.1

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

48.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 CA$75.5

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

68.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.03 CA$58.5

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-17.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.67 CA$22.33

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

-8.15%

Cinema Ticket

$10.96 CA$15.62

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

5.08%

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

$641 CA$913

$466 ARS 706.7K

37.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.8K CA$19.6K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

52.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.5 CA$76.2

$122 ARS 185.2K

-56.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.21 CA$54.5

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-60.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.0 CA$120

$117 ARS 177.4K

-28.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 CA$146

$140 ARS 211.9K

-26.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$672 CA$958

$763 ARS 1.2M

-11.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$674 CA$960

$505 ARS 766.1K

33.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,090 CA$1,554

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-31.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,116 CA$1,590

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-5.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,094 CA$5,835

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

52.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,002 CA$5,705

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

115.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,531 CA$2,183

$954 ARS 1.4M

60.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.64

57.25

-91.90%

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

Last update for Thompson: October 5, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Thompson

$674 37.6%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 25% $168

Groceries & Markets

Thompson

$350 19.6%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 18.9% $66

Eating Out

Thompson

$266 14.9%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 4.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thompson

$228 12.7%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 19.5% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Thompson

$125 7%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 71.4% $89

Getting Around

Thompson

$86 4.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 57.3% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Thompson

$63 3.5%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 12.3% $7.7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $672 in Thompson and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Thompson pays 60% 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: $63.0 in Thompson vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires. Groceries flip the comparison at $350 vs $284, with Buenos Aires cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇦 Thompson

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

02:12 2:12 AM

04:12 4:12 AM

2 h ahead of Thompson

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,829

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Canadian Dollar CAD $

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1 CAD = 0.702 USD

1 CAD = 0.626 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to CAD – Canadian Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇦 Canadian Dollar ($)

Canadian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1.43 CAD (1 CAD = 0.702 USD). 1 EUR = 1.6 CAD (1 CAD = 0.626 EUR).

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).

USD to CAD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Thompson Buenos Aires 10,720 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Thompson
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

Thompson vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thompson and Buenos Aires differ by about 7% in total monthly costs ($1,808 vs $1,685 including rent). Buenos Aires is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 60% higher in Thompson, 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: $672 in Thompson versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $641 in Thompson 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 23% higher in Thompson. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,685 in Buenos Aires versus $1,808 in Thompson, a $3,000 budget is realistic in Buenos Aires but tight or insufficient in Thompson. The gap between the two cities makes Buenos Aires 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, Thompson 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 Buenos Aires gentler on the wallet – expenses run 7% less than in Thompson. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.