Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thimphu and Buenos Aires

For one person, living is cheaper in Thimphu: $510 a month against $1,685 in Buenos Aires, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Thimphu
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Thimphu Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Buenos Aires
Learn more

Buenos Aires Living Index

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Thimphu

🇧🇹 Bhutan

$510

/mo nomad

Buenos Aires

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,685

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Thimphu and in Buenos Aires actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $510 in Thimphu versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires.

Thimphu $510
Buenos Aires $1,685

Estimated couple costs with rent: $799 in Thimphu versus $2,742 in Buenos Aires.

Thimphu $799
Buenos Aires $2,742

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,088 in Thimphu versus $3,799 in Buenos Aires.

Thimphu $1,088
Buenos Aires $3,799

Living in Thimphu costs roughly 70% less than in Buenos Aires, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Thimphu is 62% below, Buenos Aires is 26% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.56 BTN 248

$18.73 ARS 28.4K

-86.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.16 BTN 1,372

$64.5 ARS 97.8K

-78.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 BTN 474

$12.88 ARS 19.5K

-62.03%

Cappuccino

$1.31 BTN 127

$3.98 ARS 6,029

-67.09%

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

$0.49 BTN 47.11

$2.05 ARS 3,103

-76.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.17 BTN 16.47

$1.55 ARS 2,349

-89.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.55 BTN 247

$3.84 ARS 5,830

-33.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.60 BTN 155

$4.60 ARS 6,970

-65.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.77 BTN 74.8

$1.44 ARS 2,181

-46.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 BTN 102

$2.46 ARS 3,738

-56.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.03 BTN 100

$1.63 ARS 2,467

-36.81%

Eggs

$1.84 BTN 179

$2.89 ARS 4,385

-36.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.69 BTN 358

$10.65 ARS 16.1K

-65.35%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.01 BTN 388

$10.00 ARS 15.2K

-59.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.01 BTN 389

$13.74 ARS 20.8K

-70.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.51 BTN 243

$2.75 ARS 4,166

-8.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 BTN 151

$2.18 ARS 3,300

-28.44%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 BTN 152

$1.45 ARS 2,205

8.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.71 BTN 68.6

$1.99 ARS 3,013

-64.32%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 BTN 54.2

$1.24 ARS 1,885

-54.84%

Onion (1kg)

$0.70 BTN 68.3

$1.27 ARS 1,921

-44.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.39 BTN 38.00

$1.70 ARS 2,575

-77.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 BTN 30.22

$1.73 ARS 2,617

-82.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.81 BTN 369

$4.18 ARS 6,337

-8.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$2.91 BTN 282

$5.80 ARS 8,790

-49.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.62 BTN 60.5

$2.09 ARS 3,163

-70.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 BTN 127

$2.77 ARS 4,198

-52.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 BTN 73.5

$0.75 ARS 1,132

1.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.18 BTN 502

$27.15 ARS 41.2K

-80.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.75 BTN 72.7

$1.62 ARS 2,451

-53.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 BTN 147

$0.98 ARS 1,481

55.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.16 BTN 15.51

$7.72 ARS 11.7K

-97.93%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.76 BTN 73.4

$1.36 ARS 2,058

-44.12%

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

$16.8K BTN 1.6M

$28.0K ARS 42.5M

-40.20%

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

$15.0K BTN 1.5M

$34.5K ARS 52.4M

-56.42%

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

$34.28 BTN 3,321

$216 ARS 326.9K

-84.10%

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

$35.89 BTN 3,477

$25.61 ARS 38.8K

40.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.76 BTN 2,399

$31.36 ARS 47.6K

-21.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.99 BTN 4,553

$49.82 ARS 75.6K

-5.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.41 BTN 718

$17.06 ARS 25.9K

-56.57%

Cinema Ticket

$3.17 BTN 307

$10.43 ARS 15.8K

-69.61%

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

$45.87 BTN 4,444

$466 ARS 706.7K

-90.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$576 BTN 55.8K

$9,057 ARS 13.7M

-93.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.3 BTN 4,874

$122 ARS 185.2K

-58.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.08 BTN 2,430

$97.4 ARS 147.8K

-74.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.8 BTN 6,570

$117 ARS 177.4K

-42.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$14.29 BTN 1,384

$140 ARS 211.9K

-89.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$126 BTN 12.2K

$763 ARS 1.2M

-83.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$86.0 BTN 8,328

$505 ARS 766.1K

-82.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$187 BTN 18.2K

$1,598 ARS 2.4M

-88.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$156 BTN 15.1K

$1,185 ARS 1.8M

-86.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,543 BTN 633.9K

$2,678 ARS 4.1M

144.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$384 BTN 37.2K

$1,858 ARS 2.8M

-79.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$351 BTN 34.0K

$954 ARS 1.4M

-63.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

57.25

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

Last update for Thimphu: October 4, 2026

Last update for Buenos Aires: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Thimphu

$125 24.2%

Buenos Aires

$284 17.1% 128% $159

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thimphu

$95 18.4%

Buenos Aires

$273 16.4% 187% $178

Accommodation & Living

Thimphu

$86 16.7%

Buenos Aires

$505 30.4% 488% $419

Clothing & Footwear

Thimphu

$71 13.7%

Buenos Aires

$214 12.9% 202% $143

Eating Out

Thimphu

$69 13.5%

Buenos Aires

$279 16.8% 302% $209

Sport & Entertainment

Thimphu

$53 10.3%

Buenos Aires

$71 4.3% 32.5% $17

Getting Around

Thimphu

$17 3.2%

Buenos Aires

$37 2.2% 121% $20

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $126 in Thimphu and $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buenos Aires pays 172% 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: $14.00 in Thimphu vs $64.0 in Buenos Aires for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $125 vs $284 per month, with Thimphu cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇧🇹 Thimphu

🇦🇷 Buenos Aires

🕒 Local time

09:41 9:41 AM

00:41 12:41 AM

9 h behind Thimphu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

98,676 Capital

2,891,082 Capital

💱 Currency

Bhutanese Ngultrum BTN Nu.

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 BTN = 10.32 USD

1,000 BTN = 9.2 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.59 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.88 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, USD, EUR to BTN – Bhutanese Ngultrum Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇹 Bhutanese Ngultrum (Nu.)

Bhutanese Ngultrum exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.88 BTN (100 BTN = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 BTN (1,000 BTN = 9.2 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 BTN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Thimphu Buenos Aires 16,890 km ≈ 22 h nonstop flight

From you

Thimphu
Buenos Aires

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

Thimphu vs Buenos Aires: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thimphu and Buenos Aires differ by about 231% in total monthly costs ($510 vs $1,685 including rent). Thimphu is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 172% lower in Buenos Aires. 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: $126 in Thimphu versus $763 in Buenos Aires. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $45.87 in Thimphu versus $466 in Buenos Aires. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 128% higher in Buenos Aires. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $510 in Thimphu versus $1,685 in Buenos Aires, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Thimphu but tight or insufficient in Buenos Aires. The gap between the two cities makes Thimphu 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, Thimphu and Buenos Aires 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 Thimphu gentler on the wallet – expenses run 231% less than in Buenos Aires. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.