Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buenos Aires and Skardu

For one person, living is cheaper in Skardu: $426 a month against $1,646 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $14,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index
22

Cost of Living Index in Skardu
Learn more

Skardu Living Index

Jump to prices

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,646

/mo nomad

Skardu

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$426

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,646 in Buenos Aires versus $426 in Skardu.

Buenos Aires $1,646
Skardu $426

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,680 in Buenos Aires versus $636 in Skardu.

Buenos Aires $2,680
Skardu $636

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,714 in Buenos Aires versus $847 in Skardu.

Buenos Aires $3,714
Skardu $847

Living in Buenos Aires is roughly 287% more expensive than in Skardu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Buenos Aires is 21% above, Skardu is 69% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.81 ARS 27.0K

$1.84 PKR 509

867.93%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.2 ARS 98.9K

$11.31 PKR 3,132

476.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.12 ARS 19.9K

$4.65 PKR 1,286

182.15%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 PKR 753

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.11 PKR 1,415

Cappuccino

$3.86 ARS 5,863

$1.68 PKR 464

129.76%

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

$2.06 ARS 3,133

$0.31 PKR 84.5

564.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ARS 2,542

$0.18 PKR 50.3

833.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.10 ARS 6,218

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 ARS 7,181

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 ARS 2,285

$0.86 PKR 238

75.58%

White Bread (500g)

$2.60 ARS 3,950

$0.59 PKR 164

340.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.57 ARS 2,380

$1.16 PKR 320

35.34%

Eggs

$2.73 ARS 4,144

$1.20 PKR 333

127.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.86 ARS 16.5K

$5.40 PKR 1,494

101.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.07 ARS 15.3K

$2.50 PKR 691

302.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 ARS 20.1K

$5.02 PKR 1,389

163.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ARS 4,255

$1.10 PKR 305

154.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 ARS 3,170

$0.54 PKR 149

287.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ARS 2,194

$0.79 PKR 220

83.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.00 ARS 3,040

$0.55 PKR 153

263.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,826

$0.28 PKR 76.3

328.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.20 ARS 1,821

$0.35 PKR 97.5

242.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.69 ARS 2,569

$0.46 PKR 127

267.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 ARS 2,711

$0.38 PKR 104

371.05%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.59 PKR 441

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 PKR 295

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 PKR 563

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.00 ARS 6,074

$2.10 PKR 580

90.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 ARS 8,388

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.12 ARS 3,219

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 ARS 4,212

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.69 ARS 1,049

$0.16 PKR 45.37

331.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.90 ARS 42.3K

$9.06 PKR 2,509

207.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 ARS 2,471

$1.24 PKR 343

31.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.97 ARS 1,478

$0.71 PKR 196

36.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.89 ARS 12.0K

$1.83 PKR 506

331.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 ARS 2,156

$1.18 PKR 327

20.34%

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

$23.3K ARS 35.4M

$19.1K PKR 5.3M

22.45%

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

$31.9K ARS 48.5M

$26.2K PKR 7.3M

21.81%

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

$199 ARS 302.7K

$87.8 PKR 24.3K

127.11%

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

$23.36 ARS 35.4K

$3.60 PKR 996

548.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.44 ARS 47.7K

$13.36 PKR 3,697

135.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.81 ARS 75.6K

$15.33 PKR 4,243

224.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.63 ARS 25.2K

$7.98 PKR 2,208

108.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.80 ARS 16.4K

$4.88 PKR 1,351

121.31%

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

$462 ARS 701.7K

$47.71 PKR 13.2K

869.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,790 ARS 13.3M

$1,082 PKR 299.5K

712.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$120 ARS 181.6K

$19.16 PKR 5,304

524.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$94.6 ARS 143.6K

$24.54 PKR 6,793

285.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 ARS 176.4K

$59.7 PKR 16.5K

94.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$137 ARS 208.6K

$34.15 PKR 9,451

302.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$750 ARS 1.1M

$128 PKR 35.4K

486.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$514 ARS 780.5K

$78.3 PKR 21.7K

557.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,567 ARS 2.4M

$250 PKR 69.3K

526.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 ARS 1.8M

$139 PKR 38.4K

761.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 ARS 4.0M

$1,070 PKR 296.0K

146.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,874 ARS 2.8M

$494 PKR 136.8K

279.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$924 ARS 1.4M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

340.38%

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

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 19, 2026

Last update for Skardu: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buenos Aires

$514 31.3%

Skardu

$78 18.4% 84.8% $436

Groceries & Markets

Buenos Aires

$285 17.3%

Skardu

$90 21.2% 68.3% $194

Eating Out

Buenos Aires

$273 16.6%

Skardu

$51 11.9% 81.4% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buenos Aires

$254 15.5%

Skardu

$105 24.6% 58.8% $149

Clothing & Footwear

Buenos Aires

$211 12.8%

Skardu

$62 14.5% 70.6% $149

Sport & Entertainment

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3%

Skardu

$25 5.9% 64.9% $46

Getting Around

Buenos Aires

$37 2.3%

Skardu

$15 3.4% 61% $23

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $750 in Buenos Aires and $128 in Skardu. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $65.0 in Buenos Aires vs $11.00 in Skardu for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $285 vs $90.0 per month, with Skardu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🇵🇰 Skardu

🕒 Local time

19:40 7:40 PM

03:40 3:40 AM

8 h ahead of Buenos Aires

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,891,082 Capital

260,000

💱 Currency

Argentine Peso ARS $

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to ARS – Argentine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇷 Argentine Peso ($)

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,706 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.86 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 311 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.21 EUR).

USD to ARS in detail →

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Buenos Aires Skardu 15,870 km ≈ 20 h nonstop flight

From you

Buenos Aires
Skardu

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 Skardu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Buenos Aires and Skardu differ by about 287% in total monthly costs ($1,646 vs $426 including rent). Skardu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,468 in Buenos Aires and $638 in Skardu 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: $750 in Buenos Aires versus $128 in Skardu. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $462 in Buenos Aires versus $47.71 in Skardu. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 215% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $426 in Skardu versus $1,646 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Skardu but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Skardu 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 Skardu 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 Skardu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 287% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.