Country topic
Cost of living in Argentina
The World Bank's price level index puts Argentina at 45.72 in 2025, where the United States is 100: about 0.46 of United States prices at market exchange rates. It follows the exchange rate: 45.84 in 2024, 47.15 in 2023 and 46.85 in 2022. It measures prices across the whole economy, not the cost of a newcomer's budget. [V1] Peso figures go out of date fast, so every one here carries its date. The Banco Central's official rate on 14 October 2026, the latest available on 15 October, was ARS 1,513.00 per US dollar, ARS 1,061.31 per Canadian dollar, ARS 1,053.35 per Australian dollar and ARS 844.41 per New Zealand dollar. Other, unofficial exchange rates exist; we did not use them and convert only at this sourced rate. [V2]
What we found
The research, with its sources.
Research information, not advice. Rules change, so check the source before you act on one.
- The World Bank's price level index puts Argentina at 45.72 in 2025, where the United States is 100: about 0.46 of United States prices at market exchange rates. It follows the exchange rate: 45.84 in 2024, 47.15 in 2023 and 46.85 in 2022. It measures prices across the whole economy, not the cost of a newcomer's budget. [V1]
- Peso figures go out of date fast, so every one here carries its date. The Banco Central's official rate on 14 October 2026, the latest available on 15 October, was ARS 1,513.00 per US dollar, ARS 1,061.31 per Canadian dollar, ARS 1,053.35 per Australian dollar and ARS 844.41 per New Zealand dollar. Other, unofficial exchange rates exist; we did not use them and convert only at this sourced rate. [V2]
- The monthly minimum wage was ARS 391,200 from 1 October 2026 and is set to rise to ARS 398,800 on 1 November, ARS 406,400 on 1 December, ARS 414,200 on 1 January 2027 and ARS 437,000 in April 2027 (Resolución 4/2026). It sets the rentista and pensionado income test at five wages: about ARS 2,000,000 a month now and about ARS 2,200,000 in April 2027. To be safe, have more than ARS 2,200,000 a month. [V3] [V4]
- Four asking rents for one-bedroom flats in Palermo, Botánico, Villa Urquiza and Las Cañitas, seen on 15 October 2026, ran from ARS 650,000 to ARS 1,200,000 a month, about US$430 to US$793 at the Banco Central rate of 14 October 2026. Building fees of ARS 160,000 to ARS 327,000 a month come on top in most of them; in Las Cañitas they include water and heating. These are asking prices on adverts with no publication date, not an average or a quote. [V5] [V6] [V7] [V8] [V2]
- The adverts we read set conditions that a newcomer paid from abroad may not meet: a guarantee insurance policy (seguro de caución), a pay slip with a year of service, rent of no more than 30% of income, or a rental guarantee and fire insurance. Contracts ran 6 to 12 months, and one advert had a rent update after three months. Outside Buenos Aires we saw one advert each: a furnished 40 m² one-bedroom flat in Nueva Córdoba at ARS 880,000 a month (about US$582) and a furnished 35 m² flat in Mendoza at ARS 580,000 (about US$383), posted 17 and 41 days earlier. One advert is not a city average. [V8] [V7] [V9] [V10] [V2]
- Entry-level private health plans cost ARS 160,000 to ARS 840,000 a month in July 2026, and the highest-cover plans more than ARS 1,000,000, depending on provider, age and region; plans are repriced every month (a news report; the regulator's price list was not read). In hospitals run by the national state, routine treatment is given only against health insurance or prepayment, and emergency care cannot be refused to anyone. [V11] [V12] [V13]
- In Buenos Aires a SUBE card is required for the subte, buses and trains, and the Government of Canada says strikes occur regularly and cause delays. A press report puts the general subte fare with a registered card at ARS 1,817 from 1 October 2026; the city government's fare table was not read, so check it. A monthly transport cost depends on how often you travel and is unknown. [V14] [V15]
- DNM's fee table, at ARS 1,000 a unit, lists a temporary residence or its extension at 100 units (ARS 100,000) and the digital nomad extension at 40 units (ARS 40,000) for non-Mercosur nationals; a preferential appointment for a residence filing costs 50 more units. The nomad entry process is US$200 in the Montreal consulate's guide; other consulates' fees are unknown. Electricity, gas, internet, groceries, leisure and personal incidentals have no dated, sourced price here, so they are unknown, and personal tax and social contributions are excluded. [V16] [V17]
The Fernshore Index
How the Index grades the cost of living.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
73 of 100Strong
Price level 0.457 of United States prices (2025). The index moves with the exchange rate and was 0.472 in 2023.
Source: Price level index (GDP), Argentina. Checked 15 October 2026.
The country
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Topics
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Questions about Cost of living in Argentina.
How much does it cost to live in Argentina?
We cannot give a monthly budget. The World Bank puts 2025 prices at 0.457 of US prices at market exchange rates. Four Buenos Aires one-bedroom asking rents ran from ARS 650,000 to ARS 1,200,000 on 15 October 2026, plus building fees. Groceries, utilities, internet and leisure are unknown.
What do landlords in Argentina ask for?
In the adverts we read, rent is in pesos with building fees on top, and conditions include a guarantee insurance policy, a pay slip with a year of service, rent of no more than 30% of income, or a rental guarantee and fire insurance. Contracts ran 6 to 12 months. Ask whether foreign income records are accepted.
How much does health care cost in Argentina?
Entry-level private plans cost ARS 160,000 to 840,000 a month in July 2026, and the highest-cover plans more than ARS 1,000,000, by provider, age and region; plans are repriced monthly. National hospitals give routine care only against insurance or prepayment, and cannot refuse emergencies.
How fast do prices change in pesos?
Fast. The minimum wage is ARS 391,200 from 1 October 2026, with ARS 398,800 on 1 November, ARS 406,400 on 1 December and ARS 437,000 in April 2027. Health plans are repriced monthly. We convert only at the Banco Central rate: ARS 1,513 per US dollar on 14 October 2026.
What does residence cost in Argentina?
DNM's table, at ARS 1,000 a unit, lists a temporary residence or its extension at 100 units (ARS 100,000) and the nomad extension at 40 units (ARS 40,000), for non-Mercosur nationals. The nomad entry process is US$200 in the Montreal consulate's guide; other consulates' fees are unknown.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Argentina, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 45.72 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026. The index moves with the exchange rate: 2024 was 45.84, 2023 47.15 and 2022 46.85. The latest year, 2025, is used.
- [V1] Price level index (GDP), Argentina, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V2] Official exchange rates, 14 October 2026, Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V3] Resolución 4/2026: minimum, vital and mobile wage from September 2026 to April 2027, Consejo Nacional del Empleo, la Productividad y el Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil, Boletín Oficial of 2 September 2026. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V4] Disposición 1732/2023: minimum amount for rentistas and pensionados (updated text), Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, argentina.gob.ar (Normativa). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V5] Two-room flat in Palermo, Coronel Niceto Vega 5800, Argenprop (private rental portal). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V6] Two-room flat in Botánico, Avenida Coronel Díaz 2100, Argenprop (private rental portal). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V7] Two-room flat in Villa Urquiza, Pacheco 3200, Argenprop (private rental portal). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V8] Furnished two-room flat in Las Cañitas, Santos Dumont 2400, Argenprop (private rental portal). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V9] Furnished one-bedroom flat in Nueva Córdoba, MercadoLibre Inmuebles (private property portal). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V10] Furnished one-bedroom flat in the city of Mendoza, MercadoLibre Inmuebles (private property portal). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V11] OSDE, Swiss Medical and Galeno rise again and some plans pass one million pesos, iProfesional (Argentine news site, not official). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V12] Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 366/2025 (Boletín Oficial, 29 May 2025), Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, published in the Boletín Oficial. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V13] Resolución 1066/2026: health care for foreigners in national hospitals (Boletín Oficial, 11 August 2026), Ministerio de Salud, published in the Boletín Oficial. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V14] Subte and bus fares from 1 October 2026, Calcular Sueldo (Argentine news site, not official). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V15] Argentina travel advice and advisories, Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca). Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V16] Migration fees table (Decree 584/2024), Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, argentina.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [V17] Electronic Entry Permit (TIE 24H): step-by-step guide, digital nomads (PDF), Consulate General of Argentina in Montreal, cancilleria.gob.ar (a non-official guide and translation of the DNM process, as the PDF itself says). Checked 15 October 2026.