Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangalore and Dhahran

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $552 a month against $1,317 in Dhahran, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
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Bangalore Living Index
64

Cost of Living Index in Dhahran
Learn more

Dhahran Living Index

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Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$552

/mo nomad

Dhahran

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,317

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bangalore and in Dhahran

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $552 in Bangalore versus $1,317 in Dhahran.

Bangalore $552
Dhahran $1,317

Estimated couple costs with rent: $936 in Bangalore versus $1,671 in Dhahran.

Bangalore $936
Dhahran $1,671

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,320 in Bangalore versus $2,026 in Dhahran.

Bangalore $1,320
Dhahran $2,026

Living in Bangalore costs roughly 58% less than in Dhahran, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bangalore 59% lower, Dhahran 2% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.20 ₹304

$5.30 SAR 19.90

-39.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.72 ₹1,683

$39.17 SAR 147

-54.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.74 ₹451

$6.35 SAR 23.81

-25.35%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 SAR 6.80

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.59 SAR 5.96

Cappuccino

$2.24 ₹213

$4.01 SAR 15.03

-44.14%

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

$0.38 ₹36.16

$0.74 SAR 2.76

-48.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 ₹11.88

$0.19 SAR 0.70

-31.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 ₹217

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 ₹351

Milk (1 liter)

$0.63 ₹60.1

$1.65 SAR 6.18

-61.82%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 ₹55.6

$0.97 SAR 3.62

-39.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ₹77.2

$1.97 SAR 7.41

-58.88%

Eggs

$1.12 ₹106

$3.87 SAR 14.54

-71.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.97 ₹567

$8.59 SAR 32.23

-30.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.75 ₹356

$10.92 SAR 40.97

-65.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.89 SAR 52.1

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ₹266

$2.15 SAR 8.07

30.23%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 ₹72.6

$1.39 SAR 5.21

-45.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.18 ₹112

$1.78 SAR 6.69

-33.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹36.11

$1.80 SAR 6.74

-78.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹35.71

$1.50 SAR 5.61

-74.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 ₹34.08

$0.96 SAR 3.61

-62.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 ₹40.06

$1.97 SAR 7.39

-78.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₹30.82

$0.85 SAR 3.19

-62.35%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.81 SAR 18.03

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 SAR 6.15

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.46 SAR 9.22

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 ₹456

$5.57 SAR 20.92

-13.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.31 ₹884

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 ₹185

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₹285

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

$6.37 ₹605

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.54 ₹50.9

$0.83 SAR 3.11

-34.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.55 ₹1,477

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 ₹97.2

$1.36 SAR 5.12

-25.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 ₹28.63

$3.25 SAR 12.21

-90.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 ₹194

$9.52 SAR 35.73

-78.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ₹105

$0.65 SAR 2.44

69.23%

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

$12.5K ₹1.2M

$53.2K SAR 199.7K

-76.45%

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

$18.7K ₹1.8M

$20.7K SAR 77.6K

-9.48%

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

$30.94 ₹2,938

$59.0 SAR 221

-47.57%

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

$4.10 ₹389

$42.19 SAR 158

-90.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.39 ₹987

$64.9 SAR 244

-84.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.87 ₹1,792

$195 SAR 731

-90.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.79 ₹550

$93.5 SAR 351

-93.81%

Cinema Ticket

$4.82 ₹457

$10.56 SAR 39.62

-54.36%

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

$102 ₹9,658

$65.3 SAR 245

55.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,257 ₹309.3K

$13.3K SAR 49.8K

-75.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.54 ₹3,185

$50.6 SAR 190

-33.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.76 ₹2,921

$41.79 SAR 157

-26.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.7 ₹5,002

$76.9 SAR 289

-31.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.37 ₹3,834

$90.4 SAR 339

-55.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$307 ₹29.1K

$361 SAR 1,355

-15.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$176 ₹16.7K

$453 SAR 1,700

-61.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$782 ₹74.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 ₹45.8K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,857 ₹176.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,074 ₹102.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$940 ₹89.2K

$2,785 SAR 10.5K

-66.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.46

4.5

88.00%

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

Last update for Bangalore: October 10, 2026

Last update for Dhahran: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bangalore

$176 31.9%

Dhahran

$453 34.4% 158% $277

Groceries & Markets

Bangalore

$124 22.4%

Dhahran

$231 17.6% 87.1% $108

Eating Out

Bangalore

$88 15.9%

Dhahran

$113 8.6% 29.2% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Bangalore

$71 12.8%

Dhahran

$117 8.9% 65% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bangalore

$45 8.2%

Dhahran

$166 12.6% 266% $121

Sport & Entertainment

Bangalore

$29 5.2%

Dhahran

$216 16.4% 657% $187

Getting Around

Bangalore

$20 3.7%

Dhahran

$21 * 1.6% 3.5% $0.7

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 $307 in Bangalore and $361 in Dhahran. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dhahran pays 196% 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: $18.00 in Bangalore vs $39.00 in Dhahran for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $231 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🇸🇦 Dhahran

🕒 Local time

07:02 7:02 AM

04:32 4:32 AM

2 h 30 min behind Bangalore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,495,492

120,521

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bangalore Dhahran 3,230 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Bangalore
Dhahran

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

Bangalore vs Dhahran: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 139% lower than in Dhahran. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 196% lower in Dhahran. 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: $307 in Bangalore versus $361 in Dhahran. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 87% higher in Dhahran. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $552 per month in Bangalore versus $1,317 in Dhahran – a 139% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $552 in Bangalore versus $1,317 in Dhahran, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Bangalore but tight or insufficient in Dhahran. The gap between the two cities makes Bangalore the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $552 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bangalore and Dhahran 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 Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 139% less than in Dhahran. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.