Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangalore and Mombasa

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $535 a month against $726 in Mombasa, rent and utilities included – about $2,300 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
Learn more

Bangalore Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Mombasa
Learn more

Mombasa Living Index

Jump to prices

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$535

/mo nomad

Mombasa

🇰🇪 Kenya

$726

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bangalore and in Mombasa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $535 in Bangalore versus $726 in Mombasa.

Bangalore $535
Mombasa $726

Estimated couple costs with rent: $927 in Bangalore versus $1,140 in Mombasa.

Bangalore $927
Mombasa $1,140

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,318 in Bangalore versus $1,553 in Mombasa.

Bangalore $1,318
Mombasa $1,553

Living in Bangalore costs roughly 26% less than in Mombasa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bangalore 60% lower, Mombasa 46% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.04 ₹294

$2.65 KES 343

14.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.83 ₹1,725

$24.75 KES 3,210

-27.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.78 ₹463

$10.36 KES 1,343

-53.86%

Cappuccino

$2.24 ₹217

$2.75 KES 357

-18.55%

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

$0.39 ₹37.49

$0.68 KES 88.1

-42.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.14 ₹13.64

$0.52 KES 67.1

-73.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 ₹226

$2.28 KES 296

2.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.91 ₹379

$3.33 KES 432

17.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.61 ₹58.6

$0.99 KES 128

-38.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.57 ₹55.2

$0.53 KES 69.3

7.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ₹77.9

$1.52 KES 197

-46.71%

Eggs

$1.12 ₹109

$1.75 KES 227

-36.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.93 ₹574

$13.89 KES 1,802

-57.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.85 ₹373

$4.92 KES 639

-21.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.42 KES 703

Apples (1kg)

$2.78 ₹269

$2.17 KES 282

28.11%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 ₹72.2

$1.15 KES 149

-34.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.22 ₹118

$1.77 KES 230

-31.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.40 ₹39.19

$0.71 KES 91.6

-43.66%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹36.40

$0.74 KES 95.8

-48.65%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 ₹34.72

$1.05 KES 136

-65.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 ₹40.31

$0.60 KES 78.0

-30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₹31.21

$0.46 KES 59.4

-30.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.61 ₹446

$3.99 KES 517

15.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.01 ₹872

$9.71 KES 1,259

-7.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 ₹180

$1.93 KES 250

-3.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 ₹283

$2.90 KES 377

0.69%

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

$6.35 ₹614

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 ₹48.89

$0.80 KES 103

-36.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.71 ₹1,520

$39.24 KES 5,089

-59.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.01 ₹97.8

$3.17 KES 411

-68.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 ₹29.43

$1.76 KES 229

-82.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.10 ₹203

$4.49 KES 583

-53.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ₹104

$1.59 KES 206

-32.08%

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

$12.6K ₹1.2M

$12.1K KES 1.6M

3.73%

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

$19.1K ₹1.8M

$12.2K KES 1.6M

56.75%

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

$30.32 ₹2,934

$76.8 KES 9,958

-60.51%

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

$4.11 ₹398

$9.20 KES 1,194

-55.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.23 ₹990

$34.52 KES 4,478

-70.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.61 ₹1,801

$18.03 KES 2,339

3.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.95 ₹576

$19.39 KES 2,515

-69.31%

Cinema Ticket

$4.60 ₹446

$15.22 KES 1,974

-69.78%

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

$104 ₹10.1K

$85.5 KES 11.1K

21.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,176 ₹307.3K

$5,377 KES 697.4K

-40.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.29 ₹3,125

$13.31 KES 1,727

142.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.85 ₹2,889

$13.57 KES 1,760

119.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$53.3 ₹5,160

$23.10 KES 2,996

130.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$39.66 ₹3,838

$46.02 KES 5,969

-13.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$309 ₹29.9K

$231 KES 30.0K

33.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$175 ₹16.9K

$157 KES 20.3K

11.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 ₹76.3K

$538 KES 69.8K

46.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$481 ₹46.6K

$374 KES 48.5K

28.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,889 ₹182.8K

$5,456 KES 707.6K

-65.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,067 ₹103.3K

$3,836 KES 497.6K

-72.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$919 ₹89.0K

$318 KES 41.3K

188.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

-34.62%

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

Last update for Bangalore: October 4, 2026

Last update for Mombasa: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bangalore

$175 32%

Mombasa

$157 21.8% 10.4% $18

Groceries & Markets

Bangalore

$122 22.4%

Mombasa

$186 26% 52.2% $64

Eating Out

Bangalore

$87 15.9%

Mombasa

$108 15.1% 24.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Bangalore

$70 12.8%

Mombasa

$43 6% 38.1% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bangalore

$45 8.2%

Mombasa

$121 16.8% 170% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Bangalore

$28 5.1%

Mombasa

$48 6.8% 74.3% $21

Getting Around

Bangalore

$20 3.7%

Mombasa

$54 7.6% 169% $34

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $309 in Bangalore and $231 in Mombasa. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 189% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $18.00 in Bangalore vs $25.00 in Mombasa for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $122 vs $186 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🇰🇪 Mombasa

🕒 Local time

14:09 2:09 PM

11:39 11:39 AM

2 h 30 min behind Bangalore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,495,492

1,300,000

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 INR (1,000 INR = 9.21 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bangalore Mombasa 4,600 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bangalore
Mombasa

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 Mombasa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 36% lower than in Mombasa. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 189% 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 $231 in Mombasa. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 150% less than in Mombasa. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $104 in Bangalore versus $85.5 in Mombasa. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Bangalore 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 Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $535 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 36% less than in Mombasa. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.