Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and East London

For one person, living is cheaper in East London: $1,001 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in East London
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East London Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

East London

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,001

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Buenos Aires and in East London

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $1,001 in East London.

Buenos Aires $1,656
East London $1,001

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $1,632 in East London.

Buenos Aires $2,697
East London $1,632

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $2,262 in East London.

Buenos Aires $3,737
East London $2,262

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 65% more expensive than in East London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, East London is 26% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 29.0K

$9.27 R 153

105.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.9K

$38.10 R 628

72.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$5.73 R 94.4

130.37%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,841

$2.07 R 34.16

85.99%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,020

$1.02 R 16.79

95.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,430

$0.78 R 12.92

105.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,959

$2.71 R 44.62

45.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 7,003

$3.16 R 52.1

45.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,272

$1.17 R 19.32

28.21%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,837

$0.94 R 15.51

169.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,445

$1.52 R 24.99

5.92%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,316

$2.29 R 37.81

24.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$8.72 R 144

18.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

$5.36 R 88.3

86.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.2K

$6.64 R 109

100.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,366

$1.55 R 25.49

85.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,334

$1.55 R 25.62

41.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,120

$1.68 R 27.68

-16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 3,004

$1.51 R 24.83

31.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,835

$1.67 R 27.53

-27.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,910

$1.42 R 23.45

-11.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,592

$1.12 R 18.49

52.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,603

$0.92 R 15.19

86.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,505

$2.85 R 47.01

50.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,645

$4.90 R 80.7

16.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,288

$1.14 R 18.79

90.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,188

$0.91 R 15.04

203.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,141

$1.54 R 25.40

-51.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.4K

$46.97 R 774

-41.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,375

$1.19 R 19.60

31.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,558

$0.49 R 8.11

110.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 12.0K

$8.55 R 141

-7.60%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,160

$1.35 R 22.30

5.19%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.4M

$35.4K R 582.9K

-21.00%

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

$35.0K ARS 53.1M

$30.1K R 495.4K

16.29%

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

$195 ARS 296.2K

$121 R 1,994

61.30%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.2K

$32.82 R 541

-23.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.9K

$44.33 R 730

-28.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.3K

$39.22 R 646

29.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.4K

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.7K

$4.81 R 79.3

114.97%

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

$463 ARS 703.2K

$176 R 2,896

163.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$5,405 R 89.1K

62.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.8K

$57.3 R 944

109.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.9K

$33.61 R 554

184.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 173.1K

$73.7 R 1,214

54.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 211.4K

$95.2 R 1,568

46.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$289 R 4,760

161.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 788.8K

$256 R 4,219

103.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$547 R 9,017

190.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$655 R 10.8K

83.08%

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

$1,657 R 27.3K

-43.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

420.45%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for East London: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

East London

$256 25.6% 50.7% $264

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

East London

$181 18.1% 36% $102

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

East London

$143 14.3% 49.1% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

East London

$198 19.8% 21.3% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

East London

$117 11.7% 44.6% $94

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

East London

$49 4.9% 31.8% $23

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

East London

$57 5.7% 53.6% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $756 in Buenos Aires and $289 in East London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

East London pays 77% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $66.0 in Buenos Aires vs $38.00 in East London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $181 per month, with East London cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇿🇦 East London

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

14:42 2:42 PM

5 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

267,007

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, 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).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires East London 7,710 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
East London

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 East London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and East London differ by about 65% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $1,001 including rent). East London is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 77% lower in East London. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $756 in Buenos Aires versus $289 in East London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $176 in East London. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 56% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,001 in East London versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in East London but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes East London the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Buenos Aires and East London 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 East London gentler on the wallet – expenses run 65% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.