Buenos Aires vs Kuala Lumpur: cost of living for digital nomads

Buenos Aires, Argentina and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, line by line from the catalogue: what a month costs, rent, food, coworking, safety and internet. Every figure links back to its source on the city page.

The short version

  • Buenos Aires and Kuala Lumpur cost about the same per month ($1,300).
  • Rent is the biggest gap: $550 in Kuala Lumpur against $600 in Buenos Aires.
  • Both score 7/10 on safety.
  • Buenos Aires is temperate; Kuala Lumpur is tropical.

Buenos Aires wins 3 of the measured lines; Kuala Lumpur wins 2.

LineBuenos AiresKuala Lumpur
Monthly total (USD)$1,300$1,300
Rent$600$550
Food$360$350
Transport$40$60
Coworking$110$120
Safety (out of 10)7/107/10
Internet (Mbps)100100
Climatetemperatetropical
City sizemetrometro
Settinginlandinland
Nomad score (out of 10)9/108/10

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Compare Buenos Aires with

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Costs are typical monthly figures for one person in USD, from the sources named on each city page; safety and internet are the catalogue's own ratings. Check the city pages for the dates each was last verified.