Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zanzibar and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Zanzibar: $577 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
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Zanzibar Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$577

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $577 in Zanzibar versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Zanzibar $577
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $857 in Zanzibar versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Zanzibar $857
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,137 in Zanzibar versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Zanzibar $1,137
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Zanzibar costs roughly 66% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zanzibar is 57% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.78 TZS 12.5K

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-74.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.74 TZS 57.0K

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-66.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.54 TZS 14.5K

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-56.99%

Cappuccino

$2.21 TZS 5,810

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-44.47%

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

$0.60 TZS 1,568

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-70.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 TZS 874

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-78.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 TZS 4,999

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-50.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 TZS 7,135

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-40.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 TZS 5,357

$1.44 ARS 2,181

41.67%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 TZS 1,902

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-70.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 TZS 2,185

$1.63 ARS 2,467

-49.08%

Eggs

$2.68 TZS 7,044

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-7.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.54 TZS 19.8K

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-29.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.21 TZS 5,803

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-77.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.12 TZS 16.1K

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-55.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 TZS 7,493

$2.75 ARS 4,166

4.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 TZS 2,918

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-49.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.75 TZS 1,967

$1.45 ARS 2,205

-48.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.59 TZS 1,556

$1.99 ARS 3,013

-70.35%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 TZS 2,581

$1.24 ARS 1,885

-20.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 TZS 3,871

$1.27 ARS 1,921

16.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 TZS 1,960

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-55.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 TZS 1,283

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-71.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.06 TZS 5,403

$4.18 ARS 6,337

-50.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.28 TZS 24.4K

$5.80 ARS 8,790

60.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 TZS 4,043

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-26.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 TZS 3,428

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-52.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 TZS 817

$0.75 ARS 1,132

-58.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 TZS 9,701

$1.62 ARS 2,451

128.40%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 TZS 2,073

$0.98 ARS 1,481

-19.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 TZS 6,862

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

-66.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 TZS 3,339

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-6.62%

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

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

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

$48.8K TZS 128.0M

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

41.32%

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

$73.3 TZS 192.4K

$216 ARS 326.9K

-65.99%

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

$11.35 TZS 29.8K

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

-55.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.97 TZS 131.1K

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

59.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.66 TZS 77.8K

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-40.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

Cinema Ticket

$9.71 TZS 25.5K

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-6.90%

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

$466 ARS 706.7K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.93 TZS 33.9K

$122 ARS 185.2K

-89.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.28 TZS 45.3K

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-82.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$15.25 TZS 40.0K

$117 ARS 177.4K

-86.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$13.08 TZS 34.3K

$140 ARS 211.9K

-90.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$149 TZS 389.9K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-80.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$99.0 TZS 259.8K

$505 ARS 766.1K

-80.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$201 TZS 528.4K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-87.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$150 TZS 393.4K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-87.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$37.6K TZS 98.6M

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

1303.03%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

516.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$313 TZS 820.4K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-67.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

-82.53%

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

Last update for Zanzibar: October 5, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zanzibar

$164 28.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 72.9% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zanzibar

$135 23.1%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 102% $138

Eating Out

Zanzibar

$100 17.2%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 179% $179

Accommodation & Living

Zanzibar

$99 17%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 410% $406

Sport & Entertainment

Zanzibar

$49 8.4%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 44% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Zanzibar

$26 4.5%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 714% $188

Getting Around

Zanzibar

$8.9 * 1.5%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 312% $28

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 $149 in Zanzibar and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 205% 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 Zanzibar vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $164 vs $284 per month, with Zanzibar cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

13:21 1:21 PM

07:21 7:21 AM

6 h behind Zanzibar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

709,809

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to TZS – Tanzanian Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇿 Tanzanian Shilling (Sh)

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,940 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to TZS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zanzibar Buenos Aires 10,310 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Zanzibar
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

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

Zanzibar and Buenos Aires differ by about 192% in total monthly costs ($577 vs $1,685 including rent). Zanzibar is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 205% 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: $149 in Zanzibar versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Zanzibar – a meal for two runs $22.00 versus $64.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $577 per month in Zanzibar versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires – a 192% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $577 in Zanzibar versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Zanzibar but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Zanzibar 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, Zanzibar 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 Zanzibar gentler on the wallet – expenses run 192% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.