Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Badulla

For one person, living is cheaper in Badulla: $543 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Badulla
Learn more

Badulla Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Badulla

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$543

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in Badulla

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Buenos Aires and in Badulla actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $543 in Badulla.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Badulla $543

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $877 in Badulla.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Badulla $877

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,211 in Badulla.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Badulla $1,211

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 205% more expensive than in Badulla, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Badulla is 60% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$3.88 LKR 1,287

392.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$25.05 LKR 8,298

162.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.37 LKR 2,442

79.10%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.55 LKR 844

50.98%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.71 LKR 236

180.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.27 LKR 89.5

492.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.22 LKR 735

77.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$3.07 LKR 1,015

50.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.55 LKR 514

-3.23%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.53 LKR 174

377.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$0.60 LKR 199

168.33%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.66 LKR 551

71.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$13.97 LKR 4,627

-26.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$3.56 LKR 1,178

180.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$7.62 LKR 2,522

74.54%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$6.65 LKR 2,202

-56.69%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$0.87 LKR 288

152.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$4.35 LKR 1,440

-67.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.33 LKR 439

48.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$0.99 LKR 329

22.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.77 LKR 255

63.64%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.87 LKR 287

96.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.45 LKR 151

282.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$10.13 LKR 3,354

-57.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$12.74 LKR 4,221

-55.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.90 LKR 628

14.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.93 LKR 971

-5.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.38 LKR 125

313.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.37 LKR 123

178.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$0.88 LKR 293

797.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.38 LKR 456

2.90%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$36.5K LKR 12.1M

-23.46%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$40.7K LKR 13.5M

-14.12%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$195 ARS 296.2K

$57.9 LKR 19.2K

237.42%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$4.31 LKR 1,429

483.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$21.13 LKR 6,998

49.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.49 LKR 1,488

130.29%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$463 ARS 703.2K

$38.34 LKR 12.7K

1108.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$1,205 LKR 399.2K

629.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$18.44 LKR 6,108

549.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$16.32 LKR 5,405

485.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$80.2 LKR 26.6K

42.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$41.30 LKR 13.7K

237.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$76.1 LKR 25.2K

894.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$44.45 LKR 14.7K

1069.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$89.9 LKR 29.8K

1233.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

$4,542 LKR 1.5M

-40.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

$742 LKR 245.8K

156.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

$224 LKR 74.3K

317.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

12.69

351.14%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Badulla: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Badulla

$44 8.2% 91.4% $475

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Badulla

$229 42.2% 19.1% $54

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Badulla

$105 19.3% 62.8% $177

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Badulla

$83 15.3% 66.9% $169

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Badulla

$70 12.9% 66.7% $141

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Badulla

$9 * 1.7% 87.5% $63

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Badulla

$2.2 * 0.4% 93.9% $35

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $76.1 in Badulla. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 318% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $25.00 in Badulla for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $229 per month, with Badulla cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇱🇰 Badulla

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

19:33 7:33 PM

8 h 30 min ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

110,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 331 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.02 USD). 1 EUR = 372 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.69 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Buenos Aires Badulla 14,860 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Badulla

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Buenos Aires vs Badulla: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Badulla is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 205% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 318% higher in Buenos Aires, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $76.1 in Badulla. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $38.34 in Badulla. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Badulla – a meal for two runs $25.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $543 in Badulla versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Badulla but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Badulla the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Badulla is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Buenos Aires, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and Badulla are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Badulla gentler on the wallet – expenses run 205% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.