Cost of living in India
Summary of cost of living in India
- Family of four estimated monthly costs: ₨111,582
- Single person estimated monthly costs: ₨47,529
- India is the cheapest country in Asia (12 out of 12)
- India is the cheapest country in the World (77 out of 77)
Food | |||
---|---|---|---|
Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | ₨370 | ||
Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) | ₨294 | ||
500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | ₨143 | ||
1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | ₨52 | ||
12 eggs, large | ₨73 | ||
1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | ₨36 | ||
500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | ₨227 | ||
1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | ₨140 | ||
1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | ₨31 | ||
0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | ₨132 | ||
1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | ₨774 | ||
2 liters of coca-cola | ₨85 | ||
Bread for 2 people for 1 day | ₨36 | ||
Housing | |||
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area | ₨33,366 | ||
Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area | ₨19,918 | ||
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | ₨4,363 | ||
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area | ₨19,026 | ||
Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area | ₨12,499 | ||
Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio | ₨3,334 | ||
Internet 8 mbps (1 month) | ₨676 | ||
40” flat screen tv | ₨29,555 | ||
Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) | ₨10,444 | ||
Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | ₨411 | ||
Hourly rate for cleaning help | ₨211 | ||
Clothes | |||
1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) | ₨2,314 | ||
1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) | ₨2,579 | ||
1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) | ₨3,601 | ||
1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | ₨2,719 | ||
Transportation | |||
Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new | ₨918,724 | ||
1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | ₨80 | ||
Monthly ticket public transport | ₨1,164 | ||
Personal Care | |||
Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) | ₨100 | ||
1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | ₨212 | ||
Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) | ₨624 | ||
1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) | ₨316 | ||
Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | ₨161 | ||
Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | ₨254 | ||
4 rolls of toilet paper | ₨140 | ||
Tube of toothpaste | ₨68 | ||
Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | ₨239 | ||
Entertainment | |||
Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | ₨1,175 | ||
2 tickets to the movies | ₨473 | ||
2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | ₨1,631 | ||
Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | ₨1,624 | ||
1 cocktail drink in downtown club | ₨568 | ||
Cappuccino in expat area of the city | ₨193 | ||
1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | ₨191 | ||
Ipad wi-fi 128gb | ₨36,202 | ||
1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | ₨5.27 | ||
1 month of gym membership in business district | ₨1,577 | ||
1 package of marlboro cigarettes | ₨271 |
Map of Cost of Living in India

This map shows only the top cities in India. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan:
List of all the cities available in Expatistan
The color of each marker corresponds with the cost of living in the city red markers show more expensive cities green ones show cheaper cities
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in India
(top cities by data quality)
Ranking | City | Price Index * |
---|---|---|
1st | Latur | 84 |
2nd | Mumbai | 72 |
3rd | Shimoga | 67 |
4th | Nagpur | 66 |
5th | Bijapur | 64 |
6th | Bangalore | 63 |
7th | Delhi | 62 |
8th | Nagercoil | 61 |
9th | Thane | 61 |
10th | Aizawl | 59 |
11th | Hyderabad, India | 57 |
12th | Lucknow | 56 |
13th | Guwahati | 55 |
14th | Pune | 54 |
15th | Ahmedabad | 54 |
16th | Madras | 54 |
17th | Srinagar | 52 |
18th | Coimbatore | 51 |
19th | Rajkot | 50 |
20th | Patna | 50 |
21st | Mangalore | 49 |
22nd | Visakhapatnam | 48 |
23rd | Surat | 48 |
24th | Bhopal | 46 |
25th | Bhubaneswar | 45 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to India? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in India of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
List of all cities available in India
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Bangalore is 15% more expensive than in Pune
- Cost of living in Hyderabad, India is 9% cheaper than in Bangalore
- Cost of living in Faridabad is 22% cheaper than in Delhi
- Cost of living in Mumbai is 49% cheaper than in Madison, Wisconsin
- Cost of living in Bangalore is 39% cheaper than in Prague
- Cost of living in Jaipur is 38% cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur
- Cost of living in Mumbai is 17% more expensive than in Delhi
- Cost of living in Delhi is 74% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Ahmedabad is 27% cheaper than in Istanbul
- Cost of living in Madras is 73% cheaper than in Paris
- Cost of living in Pune is about the same as in Indore
- Cost of living in Ranchi is 15% more expensive than in Guwahati
- Cost of living in Vadodara is 12% cheaper than in Kochi
- Cost of living in Salem is 14% cheaper than in Antalya
- Cost of living in Mumbai is 69% cheaper than in London
- Cost of living in Madras is 58% cheaper than in Kitchener-Waterloo
- Cost of living in Kozhikode is 59% cheaper than in Houston, Texas
- Cost of living in Bangalore is about the same as in Delhi
- Cost of living in Surat is 11% cheaper than in Pune
- Cost of living in Kolkata is 37% cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur
Compare other countries
Prices recently added
- 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality in Gwalior costs ₨700 (about 20 hours ago)
- 1 liter of whole fat milk in Jaipur costs ₨40 (about 20 hours ago)
- 2 liters of whole fat milk in Tumkur costs ₨13 (1 day ago)
- 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality in Bhubaneswar costs ₨750 (1 day ago)
- 4 uk pt of whole fat milk in Muzaffarnagar costs ₨15 (1 day ago)
- 500 ml beer in neighbourhood pub in Kolkata costs ₨300 (2 days ago)
- Nice dinner at an italian restaurant, dinner for two in Kolkata costs ₨1,500 (2 days ago)
- 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) in Kolkata costs ₨2,000 (2 days ago)
- 2 tickets to the movies in Kolkata costs ₨250 (2 days ago)
- Basic dinner out in neighborhood pub, dinner for two in Kolkata costs ₨1,000 (2 days ago)