TRAVEL GUIDES · TIPPING IN ARGENTINA · 2026
Nobody in Buenos Aires will chase you down the street over a tip, which is exactly why so many visitors are unsure what to leave.
A room at Café Tortoni, Buenos Aires. Photo: ProtoplasmaKid / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The bill arrives at a parrilla in Palermo, folded inside a leather wallet, and the waiter walks away without a word. There is no line for gratuity, no suggested percentage, no card machine hovering at the table. This is the moment when most travellers pull out their phone and search "tipping in Argentina". The short version: the tip is voluntary, the custom is around ten percent, cash is still the most reliable way to leave it, and a couple of things on the bill are not tips at all.
Is tipping expected in Argentina?
Expected in the sense of customary, yes. Obligatory, no. There is no law that fixes a tip in Argentina, and La Nación, one of the country's main newspapers, describes the tip in so many words as a voluntary gesture rather than an obligation. Nobody adds it to your bill, and nobody will comment if you leave less than the custom.
Restaurant and café staff do count on tips, and the local habit is consistent enough to follow without a second thought.
How much do you tip at restaurants and cafés in Buenos Aires?
Around ten percent of the bill. That is the figure La Nación gives as the local estimate, and it matches what porteños themselves do: a bit more when the service was warm, a bit less when it was not, nothing dramatic either way. At a café, where you may have spent the price of a cortado and a medialuna, people round up or leave some coins; the ten percent logic is for sit-down meals.
What is the "cubierto" on my bill?
The cubierto (also written "servicio de mesa", table service) is a fixed charge per person that many Buenos Aires restaurants add to the bill. It is not a tip. In the city of Buenos Aires it is regulated: a restaurant that charges it has to give you, at a minimum, drinking water, a bread basket that includes a gluten-free option, and a low-sodium salt alternative, and it cannot charge it to children under twelve.
So when you see "cubierto" on the bill, that is bread and water. The waiter's tip is a separate decision.
Can you tip by card in Argentina?
Increasingly, yes. Until recently the answer was "cash only", and with fewer people carrying pesos that became a real problem for restaurant staff. A national decree signed in August 2024 (DNU 731/2024) changed that: since November 2024, restaurants, bars, hotels, petrol stations and delivery services must give you the option of tipping electronically, by debit or credit card or digital wallet. The decree is explicit that the choice stays with you: whether to tip, in what form, and how much.
In practice the terminal may show a few percentages or let you type an amount, and not every terminal may have it set up. Ask "¿puedo dejar la propina con tarjeta?" before paying, and keep a few small notes on you in case the answer is no.
What about taxis, hotels, guides and drivers?
Here the custom is looser and there is no published figure, so what follows is what we see in Buenos Aires rather than a rule.
Taxis. Rounding up the meter is the norm. Nobody expects a percentage in a taxi, and a driver who helps with heavy bags will appreciate the round-up more than a calculation.
Hotels. Porters and housekeeping are tipped at the guest's discretion: a small note for the porter, something for housekeeping after a longer stay. A gesture, not an expectation.
Tour guides. A guide who has spent the day with you will welcome a tip at the end; the amount is up to you. Customary, not compulsory.
Private drivers and transfers. With Buenos Aires Transfers the rate is final and per vehicle: it does not include a tip, and it does not require one. If your driver made the trip easier and you want to leave something, that is entirely your call, in cash, at the end of the ride. Nobody will ask, and nothing on the card link you pay through adds a gratuity.
Landing at Ezeiza with too many questions and too few pesos? Book your transfer on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 2404-0448: the price you agree on is the price you pay, tip or no tip.
Tipping in Argentina at a glance
| Where | What is customary | Cash or card | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | Around 10 % of the bill | Cash most reliable; card where offered | The "cubierto" is a separate charge, not a tip |
| Café or bar | Round up or leave coins | Cash | 10 % applies to full meals, not a coffee |
| Taxi | Round up the meter | Cash | No percentage expected |
| Hotel staff | At your discretion | Cash | Porters and housekeeping, small notes |
| Tour guide | Customary, amount up to you | Cash | End of the tour |
| Private driver (BAT) | Optional, never included or required | Cash | Rate is final and per vehicle |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it rude not to tip in Argentina?
No. The tip is voluntary and nobody will confront you over it. Leaving around ten percent at a restaurant is the polite custom; leaving nothing after good service is unusual, but it is your decision.
Is the cubierto the same as the tip?
No. The cubierto is a per-person table charge for bread and water that some restaurants add to the bill. The tip is separate and goes to the staff.
Is the tip included in a Buenos Aires Transfers booking?
No. The rate is final and per vehicle, with no tip included or required. Anything you choose to leave the driver is a personal gesture, not part of the fare.
Arrive knowing what things cost
The pleasure of a first dinner in Buenos Aires is not doing arithmetic when the bill comes. Now you know: around ten percent, cash if you have it, the cubierto is not the tip, and the driver who brought you from the airport was paid in full before you stepped out of the car.
Send us your flight details on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 2404-0448 and we take care of the first leg. The rest of the tipping, you now know how to handle.