Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Shillong

For one person, living is cheaper in Shillong: $402 a month against $1,656 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $15,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

80

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Shillong
Learn more

Shillong Living Index

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Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,656

/mo nomad

Shillong

🇮🇳 India

$402

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,656 in Buenos Aires versus $402 in Shillong.

Buenos Aires $1,656
Shillong $402

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,697 in Buenos Aires versus $638 in Shillong.

Buenos Aires $2,697
Shillong $638

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,737 in Buenos Aires versus $874 in Shillong.

Buenos Aires $3,737
Shillong $874

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 312% more expensive than in Shillong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 23% above, Shillong is 70% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.09 ARS 28.9K

$3.35 ₹318

469.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.8 ARS 99.5K

$11.44 ₹1,086

475.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.20 ARS 20.0K

$4.81 ₹457

174.43%

Cappuccino

$3.85 ARS 5,821

$1.66 ₹157

131.93%

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

$1.99 ARS 3,010

$0.41 ₹38.89

385.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 ARS 2,422

$0.15 ₹13.94

966.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.93 ARS 5,940

$1.22 ₹116

222.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 ARS 6,979

$3.49 ₹331

32.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 ARS 2,264

$0.61 ₹57.9

145.90%

White Bread (500g)

$2.53 ARS 3,825

$0.31 ₹29.07

716.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.61 ARS 2,437

$0.58 ₹55.4

177.59%

Eggs

$2.84 ARS 4,302

$0.92 ₹86.9

208.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.30 ARS 15.6K

$3.86 ₹366

166.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.00 ARS 15.1K

$2.43 ₹231

311.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.30 ARS 20.1K

Apples (1kg)

$2.88 ARS 4,351

$2.16 ₹205

33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$2.20 ARS 3,323

$0.68 ₹64.4

223.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.40 ARS 2,113

$0.93 ₹88.4

50.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.98 ARS 2,994

$0.52 ₹49.22

280.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.21 ARS 1,829

$0.31 ₹29.25

290.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 ARS 1,904

$0.35 ₹32.78

260.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.71 ARS 2,583

$0.22 ₹20.91

677.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.72 ARS 2,595

$0.25 ₹23.68

588.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.29 ARS 6,484

$5.11 ₹485

-16.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 ARS 8,617

$4.83 ₹458

18.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 ARS 3,277

$1.28 ₹121

69.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ARS 4,174

$1.97 ₹187

40.10%

Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)

$4.78 ₹454

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.75 ARS 1,137

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.27 ARS 41.3K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.57 ARS 2,367

$0.74 ₹70.3

112.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.03 ARS 1,553

$0.28 ₹26.52

267.86%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.90 ARS 11.9K

$1.29 ₹123

512.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,153

$1.09 ₹104

30.28%

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

$27.9K ARS 42.3M

$12.6K ₹1.2M

121.32%

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

$35.0K ARS 52.9M

$16.0K ₹1.5M

117.88%

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

$195 ARS 295.2K

$34.74 ₹3,299

461.89%

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

$25.16 ARS 38.0K

$3.29 ₹313

664.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.54 ARS 47.7K

$6.12 ₹581

415.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.9 ARS 77.0K

$9.99 ₹948

409.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.73 ARS 25.3K

$5.11 ₹486

227.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.34 ARS 15.6K

$3.10 ₹294

233.55%

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

$463 ARS 700.9K

$27.65 ₹2,626

1575.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,793 ARS 13.3M

$1,164 ₹110.5K

655.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.2K

$17.41 ₹1,653

588.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$95.5 ARS 144.4K

$22.11 ₹2,100

331.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 ARS 172.6K

$36.74 ₹3,489

210.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$139 ARS 210.7K

$27.45 ₹2,606

407.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$756 ARS 1.1M

$210 ₹19.9K

260.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$520 ARS 786.2K

$131 ₹12.4K

297.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,590 ARS 2.4M

$727 ₹69.0K

118.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,198 ARS 1.8M

$284 ₹27.0K

322.18%

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

$442 ₹41.9K

112.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

7.38

675.75%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 11, 2026

Last update for Shillong: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$520 31.4%

Shillong

$131 32.5% 74.9% $389

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$283 17.1%

Shillong

$86 21.3% 69.8% $198

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$282 17%

Shillong

$76 19% 72.9% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$252 15.2%

Shillong

$44 11% 82.5% $208

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.7%

Shillong

$47 11.6% 77.9% $164

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$72 4.3%

Shillong

$16 4% 77.4% $55

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2%

Shillong

$2.1 * 0.5% 94.2% $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 $210 in Shillong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 112% 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 $11.00 in Shillong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $283 vs $86.0 per month, with Shillong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇮🇳 Shillong

🕒 Local time

23:40 11:40 PM

08:10 8:10 AM

8 h 30 min ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

143,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.87 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.35 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 1,513 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.61 USD). 1 EUR = 1,703 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.87 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.35 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Buenos Aires Shillong 17,000 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Shillong

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 Shillong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Shillong differ by about 312% in total monthly costs ($1,656 vs $402 including rent). Shillong is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 112% 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 $210 in Shillong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $463 in Buenos Aires versus $27.65 in Shillong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Shillong – a meal for two runs $11.00 versus $66.0 in Buenos Aires. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $402 in Shillong versus $1,656 in Buenos Aires, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Shillong but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Shillong 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 Shillong 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 Shillong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 312% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.