Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ungheni and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Ungheni: $652 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Ungheni
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Ungheni Living Index
80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

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Ungheni

🇲🇩 Moldova

$652

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $652 in Ungheni versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires.

Ungheni $652
Buenos Aires $1,656

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,019 in Ungheni versus $2,697 in Buenos Aires.

Ungheni $1,019
Buenos Aires $2,697

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,385 in Ungheni versus $3,737 in Buenos Aires.

Ungheni $1,385
Buenos Aires $3,737

Living in Ungheni costs roughly 61% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ungheni is 52% below, Buenos Aires is 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.49 MDL 133

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

-60.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$22.20 MDL 394

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

-66.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.57 MDL 117

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

-50.23%

Cappuccino

$1.42 MDL 25.24

$3.85 ARS 5,841

-63.12%

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

$0.70 MDL 12.36

$1.99 ARS 3,020

-64.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 MDL 7.79

$1.60 ARS 2,430

-72.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.99 MDL 17.59

$3.93 ARS 5,959

-74.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.42 MDL 25.24

$4.61 ARS 7,003

-69.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 MDL 30.30

$1.50 ARS 2,272

14.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.35 MDL 6.27

$2.53 ARS 3,837

-86.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.87 MDL 15.51

$1.61 ARS 2,445

-45.96%

Eggs

$1.89 MDL 33.57

$2.84 ARS 4,316

-33.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.15 MDL 180

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

-1.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.99 MDL 70.9

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-60.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.17 MDL 145

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

-38.57%

Apples (1kg)

$0.44 MDL 7.78

$2.88 ARS 4,366

-84.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 MDL 22.13

$2.20 ARS 3,334

-43.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.08 MDL 19.25

$1.40 ARS 2,120

-22.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.14 MDL 20.18

$1.98 ARS 3,004

-42.42%

Potato (1kg)

$0.47 MDL 8.36

$1.21 ARS 1,835

-61.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.35 MDL 6.23

$1.26 ARS 1,910

-72.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.21 MDL 39.33

$1.71 ARS 2,592

29.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.77 MDL 13.61

$1.72 ARS 2,603

-55.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 MDL 59.8

$4.29 ARS 6,505

-21.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.12 MDL 73.2

$5.70 ARS 8,645

-27.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.43 MDL 25.46

$2.17 ARS 3,288

-34.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 MDL 28.97

$2.76 ARS 4,188

-40.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 MDL 6.34

$0.75 ARS 1,141

-52.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 MDL 29.17

$1.57 ARS 2,375

4.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 MDL 6.72

$1.03 ARS 1,558

-63.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.71 MDL 66.0

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

-53.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 MDL 24.13

$1.42 ARS 2,160

-4.23%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

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

$20.2K MDL 358.3K

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

-42.31%

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

$136 MDL 2,422

$195 ARS 296.2K

-30.15%

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

$11.08 MDL 197

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

-55.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$15.88 MDL 282

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

-49.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.19 MDL 252

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

-72.13%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$3.88 MDL 69.0

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

-62.48%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.80 MDL 849

$120 ARS 181.8K

-60.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$16.72 MDL 297

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

-82.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$34.18 MDL 607

$114 ARS 173.1K

-70.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.3 MDL 1,213

$139 ARS 211.4K

-50.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$251 MDL 4,449

$756 ARS 1.1M

-66.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$113 MDL 2,003

$520 ARS 788.8K

-78.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$333 MDL 5,909

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

-79.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$277 MDL 4,914

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

-76.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,280 MDL 40.5K

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

-15.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,706 MDL 30.3K

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

-10.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$552 MDL 9,805

$938 ARS 1.4M

-41.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-86.03%

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

Last update for Ungheni: October 11, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ungheni

$165 25.3%

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1% 71.6% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ungheni

$163 25%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2% 54.2% $89

Accommodation & Living

Ungheni

$113 17.3%

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4% 361% $407

Eating Out

Ungheni

$109 16.7%

Buenos Aires

$282 17% 159% $173

Clothing & Footwear

Ungheni

$75 11.5%

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7% 181% $136

Sport & Entertainment

Ungheni

$22 3.4%

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3% 226% $50

Getting Around

Ungheni

$5 * 0.8%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 646% $32

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 $251 in Ungheni and $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 70% 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: $22.00 in Ungheni vs $66.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $165 vs $283 per month, with Ungheni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇩 Ungheni

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

01:43 1:43 AM

19:43 7:43 PM

6 h behind Ungheni

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

38,000

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.63 USD

100 MDL = 5.01 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 17.76 MDL (100 MDL = 5.63 USD). 1 EUR = 19.97 MDL (100 MDL = 5.01 EUR).

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 MDL in detail →

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Between locations

Ungheni Buenos Aires 12,490 km ≈ 16 h nonstop flight

From you

Ungheni
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

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

Ungheni and Buenos Aires differ by about 154% in total monthly costs ($652 vs $1,656 including rent). Ungheni is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 70% 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: $251 in Ungheni versus $756 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Ungheni – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $652 per month in Ungheni versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires – a 154% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $652 in Ungheni versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Ungheni but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Ungheni 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, Ungheni 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 Ungheni gentler on the wallet – expenses run 154% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.