Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bangalore and Shantou

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $552 a month against $692 in Shantou, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Shantou
Learn more

Shantou Living Index

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Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$552

/mo nomad

Shantou

🇨🇳 China

$692

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bangalore and in Shantou

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $552 in Bangalore versus $692 in Shantou.

Bangalore $552
Shantou $692

Estimated couple costs with rent: $936 in Bangalore versus $1,104 in Shantou.

Bangalore $936
Shantou $1,104

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,320 in Bangalore versus $1,516 in Shantou.

Bangalore $1,320
Shantou $1,516

Living in Bangalore costs roughly 20% less than in Shantou, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bangalore 59% lower, Shantou 49% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.20 ₹305

$2.29 ¥15.35

39.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$17.72 ₹1,686

$23.70 ¥158

-25.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.74 ₹451

$5.17 ¥34.59

-8.32%

Cappuccino

$2.24 ₹213

$3.38 ¥22.63

-33.73%

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

$0.38 ₹36.22

$0.47 ¥3.12

-19.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 ₹11.90

$0.31 ¥2.05

-58.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 ₹218

$0.88 ¥5.92

160.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 ₹351

$2.13 ¥14.28

73.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.63 ₹60.2

$1.60 ¥10.71

-60.63%

White Bread (500g)

$0.59 ₹55.7

$1.45 ¥9.73

-59.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.81 ₹77.3

$0.77 ¥5.18

5.19%

Eggs

$1.12 ₹106

$1.69 ¥11.33

-33.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.97 ₹568

$13.63 ¥91.1

-56.20%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.75 ₹357

$3.43 ¥22.91

9.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.16 ¥88.0

Apples (1kg)

$2.80 ₹267

$1.95 ¥13.03

43.59%

Banana (1kg)

$0.76 ₹72.7

$1.50 ¥10.05

-49.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.18 ₹113

$1.81 ¥12.14

-34.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹36.18

$1.30 ¥8.70

-70.77%

Potato (1kg)

$0.38 ₹35.78

$0.82 ¥5.49

-53.66%

Onion (1kg)

$0.36 ₹34.14

$1.06 ¥7.11

-66.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 ₹40.13

$0.59 ¥3.96

-28.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₹30.87

$0.43 ¥2.88

-25.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.80 ₹457

$3.69 ¥24.71

30.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.31 ₹886

$12.00 ¥80.2

-22.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.95 ₹185

$0.83 ¥5.57

134.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 ₹285

$1.79 ¥11.98

67.60%

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

$6.37 ₹606

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.54 ₹51.0

$0.36 ¥2.41

50.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.55 ₹1,480

$24.27 ¥162

-35.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.02 ₹97.4

$1.53 ¥10.24

-33.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.30 ₹28.69

$0.38 ¥2.56

-21.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.04 ₹194

$7.31 ¥48.86

-72.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.10 ₹105

$1.23 ¥8.25

-10.57%

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

$12.5K ₹1.2M

$19.8K ¥132.4K

-36.67%

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

$18.7K ₹1.8M

$18.0K ¥120.5K

3.93%

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

$30.94 ₹2,943

$56.7 ¥379

-45.39%

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

$4.10 ₹390

$8.89 ¥59.5

-53.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.39 ₹989

$13.86 ¥92.7

-25.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$18.87 ₹1,795

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.79 ₹551

Cinema Ticket

$4.82 ₹458

$7.54 ¥50.5

-36.07%

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

$102 ₹9,677

$540 ¥3,614

-81.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,257 ₹309.9K

$24.2K ¥162.1K

-86.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.54 ₹3,191

$55.6 ¥372

-39.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.76 ₹2,927

$39.70 ¥265

-22.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$52.7 ₹5,012

$73.1 ¥489

-27.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.37 ₹3,841

$91.4 ¥611

-55.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$307 ₹29.2K

$298 ¥1,991

2.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$176 ₹16.7K

$151 ¥1,011

16.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$782 ₹74.4K

$602 ¥4,027

29.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 ₹45.9K

$294 ¥1,969

63.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,857 ₹176.7K

$2,278 ¥15.2K

-18.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,074 ₹102.2K

$4,469 ¥29.9K

-75.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$940 ₹89.4K

$1,062 ¥7,099

-11.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.46

3.35

152.54%

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

Last update for Bangalore: October 10, 2026

Last update for Shantou: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bangalore

$176 31.9%

Shantou

$151 21.8% 14.1% $25

Groceries & Markets

Bangalore

$124 22.4%

Shantou

$214 31% 73.4% $91

Eating Out

Bangalore

$88 15.9%

Shantou

$86 12.5% 1.5% $1.4

Clothing & Footwear

Bangalore

$71 12.8%

Shantou

$117 16.9% 65.1% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bangalore

$45 8.2%

Shantou

$79 11.5% 74.8% $34

Sport & Entertainment

Bangalore

$29 5.2%

Shantou

$15 * 2.2% 47.1% $13

Getting Around

Bangalore

$20 3.7%

Shantou

$29 4.2% 44.1% $8.9

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 $298 in Shantou. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Shantou pays 13% 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 $24.00 in Shantou for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $124 vs $214 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🇨🇳 Shantou

🕒 Local time

15:03 3:03 PM

17:33 5:33 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Bangalore

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,495,492

5,389,328

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.51 USD

1,000 INR = 9.39 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 95.14 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.39 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.49 CNY (1 CNY = 0.134 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Bangalore Shantou 4,270 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bangalore
Shantou

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 Shantou: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 25% lower than in Shantou. 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 13% lower in Shantou. 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 $298 in Shantou. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 56% less than in Shantou. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $102 in Bangalore versus $540 in Shantou. 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 $552 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 25% less than in Shantou. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.