Cost of living comparison
compared to
Buenos Aires vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Buenos Aires is 56.4% cheaper than San Francisco.
- Restaurants
-
pay 26.6% less in Buenos Aires
- Groceries
-
pay 50.6% less in Buenos Aires
- Transportation
-
pay 39.1% less in Buenos Aires
- Housing
-
pay 73.6% less in Buenos Aires
- Childcare
-
pay 81.8% less in Buenos Aires
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 50.0% less in Buenos Aires
- Clothing
-
pay 38.1% more in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Buenos Aires instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 26.6% less for restaurants
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$27.15
|
$19.02
ARS28,867.92
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.00
|
$12.96
ARS19,666.72
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.16
|
$2.01
ARS3,046.07
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.70
|
$1.59
ARS2,416.19
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of restaurants
pay 50.6% less for groceries
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$5.31
|
$2.48
ARS3,760.09
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.16
|
$5.25
ARS7,963.70
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.63
|
$5.52
ARS8,377.38
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.93
|
$2.81
ARS4,263.39
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.99
|
$4.60
ARS6,980.92
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.78
|
$1.28
ARS1,941.94
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.30
|
$0.97
ARS1,476.56
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.00
|
$0.65
ARS986.85
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$3.11
|
$0.92
ARS1,393.21
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.34
|
$0.56
ARS848.67
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.67
|
$0.56
ARS844.69
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of groceries
pay 39.1% less for transportation
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.78
|
$5.28
ARS8,007.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$95.00
|
$27.50
ARS41,740.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,998.00
|
$28,500.00
ARS43M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$20.39
|
$9.60
ARS14,571.21
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of transportation
pay 73.6% less for housing
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$76.29
|
$31.11
ARS47,221.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$3,735.00
|
$770.79
ARS1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$2,618.75
|
$509.75
ARS774K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$164.32
|
$162.43
ARS247K
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of housing
pay 81.8% less for childcare
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,942.94
|
$464.87
ARS706K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$42,562.50
|
$8,896.36
ARS14M
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of childcare
pay 50.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.00
|
$3.95
ARS6,000.81
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.97
|
$3.86
ARS5,864.38
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.00
|
$4.21
ARS6,386.52
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$121.54
|
$49.97
ARS75,852.96
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$18.00
|
$10.38
ARS15,758.71
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 38.1% more for clothing
|
San Francisco
|
Buenos Aires
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$76.17
|
$120.49
ARS183K
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$47.67
|
$95.69
ARS145K
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$101.08
|
$115.94
ARS176K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$138.64
|
$138.37
ARS210K
|
|
San Francisco vs. Buenos Aires - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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