Practical guide · Argentina
Cost of living in Argentina: build your own budget
Compare dated CABA rent benchmarks, gather household quotes and calculate monthly costs, move-in costs and a reserve in pesos or US dollars.
Calculate from your quotes
Amounts in Argentine pesos (ARS) for the whole household. No thousands separators; use a decimal point. Blank = missing quote; zero = deliberately excluded. Inputs are neither saved nor sent.
How much does it cost to live in Argentina?
Start with a household budget for your actual address, lease and needs. Rent, building charges, health cover, schooling and exchange costs can change the total substantially. Obtain dated quotes before committing to a move.
A useful starting reference is the official CABA rent report, published 10 August 2026 for April–June. The figures below are provisional asking-price benchmarks for used apartments advertised in pesos. They are not furnished newcomer offers or signed lease prices. Two ambientes normally means one bedroom plus a living room, not two bedrooms.
| Apartment | Base size | Advertised rent |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1 ambiente | 30 m² | ARS 565,658 |
| 1 bedroom / 2 ambientes | 43 m² | ARS 764,485 |
| 2 bedrooms / 3 ambientes | 70 m² | ARS 1,174,304 |
Get these eight monthly quotes
Housing: record rent currency, adjustment method, term, deposit, guarantee and charges included. Ask separately for expensas (building charges), utilities, internet and mobile. A refundable deposit still requires cash at move-in.
Daily life: estimate groceries and transport for your household. Health: request a quote for each person, provider network, exclusions and waiting periods. Education: ask the actual school about tuition, enrollment, transport, meals and materials. Other: add childcare, pets, leisure and costs kept in your home country.
Write the quote date, payment currency and review date on your worksheet. Enter zero only for an item you have deliberately excluded. Blank entries remain missing; a subtotal is not a complete budget.
Separate recurring costs from the cash needed to arrive
One-off costs include flights, temporary accommodation not already counted as rent, document formalities and professional fees; deposit and guarantee costs; and furniture or setup. Avoid counting the same accommodation twice.
The calculator adds your chosen buffer to monthly expenses, multiplies that subtotal by the number of months you choose, then adds one-off costs. The optional dollar amount divides pesos by the ARS-per-USD rate you enter. Include conversion fees in your quotes. This is arithmetic on your inputs, not an exchange-rate or inflation forecast.
For a single person, prioritize the lease and health quote. For a couple, price both people and shared versus separate needs. For a family, obtain the school and health quotes before choosing an address. The same calculator supports each household; it does not assume that costs scale by headcount.
Keep prices current without confusing inflation and your budget
INDEC’s price index tracks a specified basket; your household has different weights and needs. Recheck quotes before signing or paying, and whenever your lease, household, school, healthcare or exchange method changes.
For Córdoba and Mendoza, collect local quotes using the same categories. This guide does not apply CABA rent figures to other cities or claim a comparable current cost ranking.