Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ushuaia and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Ushuaia: $960 a month against $1,633 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

46

Cost of Living Index in Ushuaia
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Ushuaia Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Ushuaia

🇦🇷 Argentina

$960

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,633

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $960 in Ushuaia versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires.

Ushuaia $960
Buenos Aires $1,633

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,575 in Ushuaia versus $2,640 in Buenos Aires.

Ushuaia $1,575
Buenos Aires $2,640

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,190 in Ushuaia versus $3,646 in Buenos Aires.

Ushuaia $2,190
Buenos Aires $3,646

Living in Ushuaia costs roughly 41% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Ushuaia is 29% below, Buenos Aires is 20% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.44 ARS 16.1K

$18.24 ARS 28.1K

-42.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.71 ARS 51.8K

$66.3 ARS 101.9K

-49.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 ARS 14.1K

$12.96 ARS 19.9K

-29.09%

Cappuccino

$2.68 ARS 4,119

$3.73 ARS 5,742

-28.15%

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

$1.73 ARS 2,655

$2.03 ARS 3,128

-14.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.55 ARS 2,389

$1.70 ARS 2,612

-8.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.06 ARS 3,170

$4.06 ARS 6,243

-49.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.94 ARS 4,522

$4.75 ARS 7,301

-38.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.26 ARS 1,936

$1.46 ARS 2,249

-13.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.62 ARS 2,485

$2.54 ARS 3,904

-36.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 ARS 3,106

$1.58 ARS 2,434

27.85%

Eggs

$2.24 ARS 3,449

$2.68 ARS 4,123

-16.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.03 ARS 15.4K

$11.14 ARS 17.1K

-9.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.35 ARS 9,762

$10.08 ARS 15.5K

-37.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.09 ARS 14.0K

$13.18 ARS 20.3K

-31.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.96 ARS 3,012

$2.76 ARS 4,250

-28.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 ARS 3,311

$2.20 ARS 3,384

-2.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 ARS 1,954

$1.40 ARS 2,148

-9.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 ARS 3,993

$1.99 ARS 3,055

30.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.14 ARS 1,758

$1.20 ARS 1,845

-5.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 ARS 1,830

$1.15 ARS 1,774

3.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.26 ARS 1,941

$1.63 ARS 2,500

-22.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.44 ARS 2,216

$1.80 ARS 2,769

-20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.20 ARS 4,921

$4.21 ARS 6,478

-23.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.02 ARS 7,727

$5.51 ARS 8,480

-8.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.04 ARS 3,140

$2.07 ARS 3,177

-1.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 ARS 4,699

$2.77 ARS 4,254

10.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 ARS 1,180

$0.74 ARS 1,143

4.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.83 ARS 45.9K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 ARS 2,374

$1.61 ARS 2,481

-4.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.92 ARS 1,416

$0.97 ARS 1,497

-5.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.15 ARS 9,463

$8.15 ARS 12.5K

-24.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ARS 1,686

$1.40 ARS 2,160

-21.43%

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

$27.8K ARS 42.8M

$23.2K ARS 35.7M

19.82%

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

$30.3K ARS 46.6M

$32.8K ARS 50.5M

-7.84%

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

$66.4 ARS 102.1K

$196 ARS 301.9K

-66.17%

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

$17.26 ARS 26.6K

$23.91 ARS 36.8K

-27.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$22.37 ARS 34.4K

$31.50 ARS 48.5K

-28.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.18 ARS 40.3K

$48.01 ARS 73.8K

-45.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.02 ARS 21.6K

$16.62 ARS 25.6K

-15.64%

Cinema Ticket

$6.27 ARS 9,638

$10.57 ARS 16.3K

-40.68%

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

$222 ARS 341.6K

$501 ARS 770.1K

-55.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,648 ARS 4.1M

$8,870 ARS 13.6M

-70.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.6 ARS 113.2K

$121 ARS 186.8K

-39.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.9 ARS 106.0K

$95.6 ARS 147.0K

-27.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 179.1K

$116 ARS 178.5K

0.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 ARS 171.5K

$139 ARS 213.2K

-19.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$336 ARS 517.1K

$731 ARS 1.1M

-53.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$237 ARS 364.5K

$503 ARS 773.8K

-52.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$673 ARS 1.0M

$1,477 ARS 2.3M

-54.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$543 ARS 835.5K

$1,119 ARS 1.7M

-51.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,889 ARS 2.9M

$2,703 ARS 4.2M

-30.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,281 ARS 2.0M

$1,940 ARS 3.0M

-33.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$921 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

58.5

57.25

2.18%

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

Last update for Ushuaia: October 26, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ushuaia

$237 24.7%

Buenos Aires

$503 30.8% 112% $266

Groceries & Markets

Ushuaia

$230 24%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.4% 23.3% $54

Eating Out

Ushuaia

$173 18%

Buenos Aires

$274 16.8% 59% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Ushuaia

$167 17.4%

Buenos Aires

$212 13% 27.3% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ushuaia

$106 11%

Buenos Aires

$252 15.4% 137% $146

Sport & Entertainment

Ushuaia

$39 4%

Buenos Aires

$69 4.2% 78.6% $30

Getting Around

Ushuaia

$9.2 * 1%

Buenos Aires

$39 2.4% 326% $30

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 $336 in Ushuaia and $731 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $34 in Ushuaia vs $66 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $230 vs $284 per month, with Ushuaia cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Ushuaia

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

18:52 6:52 PM

Same time as Ushuaia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

79,538

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.5 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.84 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Ushuaia Buenos Aires 2,370 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Ushuaia
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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

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

Total monthly costs including rent come to $960 in Ushuaia and $1,633 in Buenos Aires, so Ushuaia is about 41% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You’d need roughly $1,440 in Ushuaia and $2,450 in Buenos Aires to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $336 in Ushuaia versus $731 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $222 in Ushuaia versus $501 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Ushuaia – a meal for two runs $34 versus $66 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $960 in Ushuaia versus $1,633 in Buenos Aires, a $1,200 budget is realistic in Ushuaia but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Ushuaia 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, Ushuaia and Buenos Aires are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.