Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Bentota

For one person, living is cheaper in Bentota: $774 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Bentota
Learn more

Bentota Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Bentota

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Bentota actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $774 in Bentota.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Bentota $774

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $896 in Bentota.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Bentota $896

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $1,018 in Bentota.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Bentota $1,018

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 114% more expensive than in Bentota, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Bentota is 43% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$4.29 LKR 1,421

344.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$11.97 LKR 3,965

449.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$7.73 LKR 2,560

70.76%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.46 LKR 815

56.50%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$0.68 LKR 225

192.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.25 LKR 82.2

540.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.24 LKR 742

75.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$3.07 LKR 1,016

50.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.62 LKR 535

-7.41%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.53 LKR 176

377.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$0.74 LKR 244

117.57%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$1.56 LKR 518

82.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$14.03 LKR 4,648

-26.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$3.32 LKR 1,099

201.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$4.62 LKR 1,529

187.88%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$6.81 LKR 2,257

-57.71%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$0.73 LKR 241

201.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$4.59 LKR 1,519

-69.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$0.90 LKR 297

120.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.00 LKR 331

21.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$0.79 LKR 263

59.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$0.94 LKR 312

81.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.43 LKR 143

300.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$10.13 LKR 3,356

-57.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$13.36 LKR 4,424

-57.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.95 LKR 645

11.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$2.91 LKR 963

-5.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$0.18 LKR 61.0

316.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$0.40 LKR 133

292.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.31 LKR 103

232.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$0.87 LKR 289

808.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.39 LKR 461

2.16%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$37.2K LKR 12.3M

-24.79%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$40.1K LKR 13.3M

-12.85%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$54.0 LKR 17.9K

261.21%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$2.23 LKR 739

1028.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$9.03 LKR 2,990

249.28%

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

$4.28 LKR 1,417

141.59%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$38.08 LKR 12.6K

1116.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$1,230 LKR 407.3K

615.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$17.80 LKR 5,897

573.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$16.82 LKR 5,573

467.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$80.4 LKR 26.6K

41.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$42.09 LKR 13.9K

230.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$541 LKR 179.2K

39.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$298 LKR 98.7K

74.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,713 ARS 4.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,901 ARS 2.9M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$938 ARS 1.4M

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 Bentota: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Bentota

$298 38.5% 42.7% $222

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Bentota

$220 28.5% 22.2% $63

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Bentota

$108 14% 61.6% $174

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Bentota

$65 8.4% 74.1% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Bentota

$71 9.1% 66.5% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Bentota

$8.6 * 1.1% 88% $63

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Bentota

$2.7 * 0.4% 92.7% $34

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 $541 in Bentota. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $12.00 in Bentota for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $220 per month, with Bentota cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇱🇰 Bentota

🕒 Local time

19:47 7:47 PM

04:17 4:17 AM

8 h 30 min ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

37,000

💱 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 17, 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 17, 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

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Bentota 14,730 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Bentota

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 Bentota: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bentota is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 114% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You'd need roughly $2,484 in Buenos Aires and $1,160 in Bentota to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $541 in Bentota. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 29% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,656 per month in Buenos Aires versus $774 in Bentota – a 114% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $774 in Bentota versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Bentota but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Bentota the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Bentota 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 Bentota 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 Bentota gentler on the wallet – expenses run 114% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.