Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,214 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
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Buenos Aires Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,214

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Sao Tome and Principe is 17.7% cheaper than Buenos Aires without rent, and 28% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Sao Tome and Principe is 9.8% cheaper than Buenos Aires without rent, and 30.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 STN 192

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-52.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 STN 999

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-29.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.62 STN 188

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-33.07%

Cappuccino

$2.42 STN 52.8

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-39.20%

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

$1.74 STN 38.06

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-15.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 STN 24.57

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-27.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 STN 38.46

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-54.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 STN 39.44

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-60.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 STN 34.44

$1.44 ARS 2,181

9.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 STN 33.42

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-37.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 STN 42.63

$1.63 ARS 2,467

19.63%

Eggs

$4.50 STN 98.3

$2.89 ARS 4,385

55.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 STN 424

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

82.25%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.55 STN 427

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

95.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.90 STN 457

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

52.11%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 STN 81.2

$2.75 ARS 4,166

35.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.50

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-19.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.3

$1.45 ARS 2,205

146.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 STN 73.7

$1.99 ARS 3,013

69.35%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 STN 63.9

$1.24 ARS 1,885

135.48%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 STN 51.7

$1.27 ARS 1,921

86.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 STN 11.06

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-70.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 STN 43.32

$1.73 ARS 2,617

14.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 STN 49.25

$4.18 ARS 6,337

-46.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.12 STN 177

$5.80 ARS 8,790

40.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 STN 30.74

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-32.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 STN 37.22

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-38.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 STN 30.77

$0.75 ARS 1,132

88.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 STN 37.81

$1.62 ARS 2,451

6.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 STN 57.8

$0.98 ARS 1,481

169.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 STN 304

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

80.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 STN 37.00

$1.36 ARS 2,058

24.26%

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

$24.3K STN 531.2K

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-13.21%

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

$31.1K STN 678.7K

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-10.05%

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

$225 STN 4,918

$216 ARS 326.9K

4.42%

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

$31.43 STN 687

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

22.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 STN 1,477

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

115.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 STN 731

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-32.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.52 STN 558

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

49.59%

Cinema Ticket

$20.45 STN 447

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

96.07%

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

$228 STN 4,976

$466 ARS 706.7K

-51.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 STN 47.2K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-76.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$122 ARS 185.2K

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 STN 1,656

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-22.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$117 ARS 177.4K

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.52 STN 405

$140 ARS 211.9K

-86.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 STN 6,178

$763 ARS 1.2M

-62.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,256

$505 ARS 766.1K

-61.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 STN 20.7K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-40.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,627

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-62.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,860 STN 40.6K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

-30.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,129 STN 24.7K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-39.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 STN 9,428

$954 ARS 1.4M

-54.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

57.25

-87.11%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 6, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 29.3% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$324 26.9%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 15.9% $52

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.1%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 159% $310

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 87% $130

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.2%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 5% $3.7

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 405% $172

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$21 * 1.7%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 78% $16

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

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

08:04 8:04 AM

05:04 5:04 AM

3 h behind Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.58 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,517 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD). 1 EUR = 1,701 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

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