What Buenos Aires costs
A city where transport is negligible and the bed and the dinner are the whole budget — and where figures go stale faster than anywhere else on this site.
- Lean
- about €50 a day per person: a hostel bed
- Comfortable
- about €120 a day per person
- Biggest line
- The room and the dinner
Buenos Aires per person per day: about €50 with a hostel bed and cheap restaurants, about €120 with a three-star hotel, dinner in a restaurant and the Colón tour. Transport is negligible, the room and the dinner are the whole budget, and a card charges the same rate as the street, so there is no hidden discount for cash.
The sums are per person per day, in euros, for two profiles. The figures are refreshed more often than on other pages of this site, because peso prices go stale faster than anywhere else — which is also why there is no peso price list here.
Lean — about €50 a day
The sum: a bed, two meals, two subte rides and one museum. The Defensa market, the tango on Dorrego and Bellas Artes cost nothing; a menú ejecutivo instead of lunch à la carte brings the total down further.
Comfortable — about €120 a day
The sum includes two subte rides; cabs and wine with dinner are not counted. The hotel is the city average — above it in Palermo and Recoleta, below in the centre.
Money, in one sentence
A card charges at the market rate with no surcharge, so the figures above are what the card actually takes — no hidden discount for cash; why that is, and since when, is on the city page. Cash is needed for two things: buying and topping up the SUBE card at a kiosk, and the hat on Dorrego.
Where you save without losing anything
- The menú ejecutivo — a weekday set lunch with a starter, a main and a drink; the same kitchen charges à la carte at night.
- Museums by day of the week — Bellas Artes is free every day it opens; MALBA charges €3.45 on Wednesdays instead of €6.90.
- Tango on Plaza Dorrego on Sunday afternoons — for the hat, between the market stalls.
- A bus instead of the subte — €0.50 a ride, half the subte fare, on the same SUBE card; most lines run at night, less often.
Where you pay more than it is worth
A tango dinner show in a tourist hall: you pay for the show and the food comes with it; the same dance is on Dorrego on Sundays for the hat, and at a milonga for an entry ticket. Restaurants on Caminito and in Puerto Madero charge for the location — two streets away is a different bill.
The same comparison for 143 places: hostel, hotel, getting into town and a day pass. Travel costs →
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What is free in Buenos Aires?
The National Museum of Fine Arts every day it opens, the antiques market on Defensa and the tango on Plaza Dorrego on Sundays, the Bosques de Palermo with the rose garden, and Plaza de Mayo with the Mothers on Thursdays. On the lean profile that is half the plan without a ticket.
How do you pay for transport?
Only with a SUBE card — bought and topped up in cash at a kiosk, valid on the subte and the buses. A bus is half the subte fare and most lines run at night; both fares rise month by month, so top the card up for a day or two, not for the whole stay.
Why do peso prices go stale so fast?
Because inflation and monthly increases still move prices even after the exchange rate settled. The subte fare, for instance, rises every month through 2026 by the city's own decision — a figure that is right in September is wrong by December; which is why this page carries euros that get refreshed, not pesos.
Ready for Buenos Aires?
Where to next
What to eat in Buenos Aires
→A city where meat cooks for hours and one person stands at the grill — and nobody interferes.
Mendoza · 986 km
→A wine country in a desert, watered by channels older than the Spanish arrival — where no tasting is planned without a driver
How well does Buenos Aires suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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