Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangalore and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $557 in Bangalore, rent and utilities included – about $490 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Bangalore outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

27

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
Learn more

Bangalore Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
Learn more

Machakos Living Index

Jump to prices

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$557

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bangalore and in Machakos

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $557 in Bangalore versus $516 in Machakos.

Bangalore $557
Machakos $516

Estimated couple costs with rent: $941 in Bangalore versus $797 in Machakos.

Bangalore $941
Machakos $797

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,324 in Bangalore versus $1,078 in Machakos.

Bangalore $1,324
Machakos $1,078

Living in Bangalore is roughly 8% more expensive than in Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bangalore 59% lower, Machakos 62% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.13 ₹297

$3.15 KES 408

-0.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.66 ₹1,677

$18.98 KES 2,461

-6.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.66 ₹443

$6.19 KES 803

-24.72%

Cappuccino

$2.28 ₹217

$1.98 KES 257

15.15%

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

$0.40 ₹37.91

$0.64 KES 83.0

-37.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 ₹13.62

$0.54 KES 69.8

-74.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 ₹216

$2.11 KES 273

7.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 ₹342

$2.71 KES 352

32.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.66 ₹62.4

$0.37 KES 48.53

78.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 ₹55.8

$0.44 KES 56.9

34.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ₹76.5

$0.74 KES 95.4

9.46%

Eggs

$1.14 ₹109

$1.36 KES 177

-16.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.19 ₹588

$10.73 KES 1,391

-42.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.75 ₹356

$6.29 KES 815

-40.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 KES 589

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 ₹272

$1.58 KES 205

81.01%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 ₹69.3

$0.73 KES 95.2

Oranges (1kg)

$1.20 ₹114

$0.40 KES 52.4

200.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.42 ₹39.54

$0.41 KES 53.1

2.44%

Potato (1kg)

$0.39 ₹36.59

$0.80 KES 104

-51.25%

Onion (1kg)

$0.40 ₹37.84

$0.81 KES 104

-50.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.40 ₹37.56

$0.68 KES 88.4

-41.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.30 ₹28.09

$0.38 KES 49.11

-21.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.66 ₹442

$3.51 KES 455

32.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.48 ₹900

$11.44 KES 1,483

-17.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₹187

$1.90 KES 247

3.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.98 ₹283

$2.80 KES 363

6.43%

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

$6.59 ₹626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ₹48.66

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.69 ₹1,490

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.06 ₹101

$0.79 KES 103

34.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 ₹28.52

$0.78 KES 101

-61.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.16 ₹205

$2.84 KES 368

-23.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 ₹109

$1.49 KES 193

-22.82%

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

$11.3K ₹1.1M

$19.2K KES 2.5M

-41.02%

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

$18.8K ₹1.8M

$21.5K KES 2.8M

-12.36%

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

$30.35 ₹2,882

$56.1 KES 7,279

-45.94%

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

$4.11 ₹390

$7.82 KES 1,014

-47.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.45 ₹992

$11.48 KES 1,488

-8.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.89 ₹1,794

$38.18 KES 4,950

-50.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.10 ₹579

Cinema Ticket

$4.86 ₹461

$7.62 KES 987

-36.22%

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

$102 ₹9,687

$45.44 KES 5,892

124.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,978 ₹282.8K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-75.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.83 ₹3,212

$11.34 KES 1,470

198.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.70 ₹2,915

$28.69 KES 3,719

7.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$56.3 ₹5,343

$69.4 KES 8,991

-18.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.05 ₹3,803

$38.50 KES 4,992

4.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₹29.4K

$93.9 KES 12.2K

229.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$179 ₹17.0K

$68.7 KES 8,905

160.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$799 ₹75.9K

$154 KES 20.0K

418.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 ₹45.6K

$115 KES 15.0K

316.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,928 ₹183.0K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,076 ₹102.2K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$943 ₹89.6K

$383 KES 49.6K

146.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.47

14.71

-42.42%

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

Last update for Bangalore: October 18, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bangalore

$179 32.1%

Machakos

$69 13.3% 61.6% $110

Groceries & Markets

Bangalore

$125 22.4%

Machakos

$159 30.8% 27.2% $34

Eating Out

Bangalore

$87 15.6%

Machakos

$88 17.1% 1.3% $1.2

Clothing & Footwear

Bangalore

$72 13%

Machakos

$67 12.9% 8.1% $5.8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bangalore

$45 8.1%

Machakos

$75 14.6% 68% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Bangalore

$29 5.1%

Machakos

$53 10.4% 86.7% $25

Getting Around

Bangalore

$20 3.6%

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9% 76.8% $16

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 $309 in Bangalore and $93.9 in Machakos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 146% 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 $19.00 in Machakos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $125 vs $159 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

17:10 5:10 PM

14:40 2:40 PM

2 h 30 min behind Bangalore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,495,492

114,109

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bangalore Machakos 4,730 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bangalore
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Machakos wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Bangalore. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Machakos the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 146% higher in Bangalore, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $309 in Bangalore versus $93.9 in Machakos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Bangalore pay roughly 27% less for everyday groceries. It's an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you'll spend $557 per month in Bangalore versus $516 in Machakos – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Machakos gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Machakos delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $516 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Machakos hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Bangalore and Machakos 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 Machakos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Bangalore. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.