Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Birgunj and Kolkata (Calcutta)

For one person, living is cheaper in Birgunj: $353 a month against $428 in Kolkata (Calcutta), rent and utilities included – about $900 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Kolkata (Calcutta) outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

17

Cost of Living Index in Birgunj
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Birgunj Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Kolkata (Calcutta)
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Kolkata (Calcutta) Living Index

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Birgunj

🇳🇵 Nepal

$353

/mo nomad

Kolkata (Calcutta)

🇮🇳 India

$428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Birgunj and in Kolkata (Calcutta)

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $353 in Birgunj versus $428 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Birgunj $353
Kolkata (Calcutta) $428

Estimated couple costs with rent: $575 in Birgunj versus $676 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Birgunj $575
Kolkata (Calcutta) $676

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $797 in Birgunj versus $924 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Birgunj $797
Kolkata (Calcutta) $924

Living in Birgunj costs roughly 18% less than in Kolkata (Calcutta), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: Birgunj 74% lower, Kolkata (Calcutta) 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.35 NPR 205

$2.10 ₹200

-35.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$20.58 NPR 3,127

$14.69 ₹1,395

40.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.63 NPR 1,159

$4.28 ₹406

78.27%

Cappuccino

$1.50 NPR 228

$1.64 ₹156

-8.54%

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

$0.50 NPR 75.8

$0.45 ₹42.80

11.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.13 NPR 19.49

$0.13 ₹12.23

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.34 NPR 356

$1.94 ₹184

20.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 NPR 488

$3.21 ₹305

Milk (1 liter)

$0.68 NPR 103

$0.71 ₹67.6

-4.23%

White Bread (500g)

$0.23 NPR 34.72

$0.47 ₹44.41

-51.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.61 NPR 92.2

$0.70 ₹66.9

-12.86%

Eggs

$1.59 NPR 242

$1.04 ₹98.6

52.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.39 NPR 1,123

$5.20 ₹494

42.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.25 NPR 341

$3.06 ₹291

-26.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.87 NPR 892

Apples (1kg)

$2.06 NPR 313

$2.39 ₹227

-13.81%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 NPR 139

$0.83 ₹78.8

9.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.27 NPR 193

$1.47 ₹140

-13.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.58 NPR 87.6

$0.62 ₹58.7

-6.45%

Potato (1kg)

$0.39 NPR 58.7

$0.30 ₹28.62

30.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.53 NPR 80.6

$0.44 ₹42.10

20.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.14 NPR 21.90

$0.34 ₹32.68

-58.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.18 NPR 28.09

$0.28 ₹26.62

-35.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.61 NPR 245

$5.12 ₹486

-68.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.65 NPR 1,162

$10.30 ₹978

-25.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.31 NPR 350

$1.83 ₹174

26.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.91 NPR 442

$2.81 ₹267

3.56%

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

$6.57 ₹624

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.12 NPR 17.63

$0.16 ₹15.06

-25.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$3.13 ₹297

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.75 NPR 266

$0.66 ₹62.3

165.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.15 NPR 175

$0.32 ₹30.52

259.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.33 NPR 507

$1.61 ₹153

106.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.11 NPR 168

$1.11 ₹105

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

$29.0K NPR 4.4M

$15.9K ₹1.5M

82.41%

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

$35.9K NPR 5.4M

$22.5K ₹2.1M

59.08%

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

$31.86 NPR 4,841

$52.9 ₹5,020

-39.74%

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

$3.18 NPR 484

$4.97 ₹472

-36.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.01 NPR 1,368

$7.30 ₹693

23.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.82 NPR 1,948

$15.66 ₹1,486

-18.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.55 ₹1,097

Cinema Ticket

$1.98 NPR 301

$3.42 ₹325

-42.11%

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

$64.8 NPR 9,843

$47.35 ₹4,496

36.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,586 NPR 848.8K

$2,072 ₹196.7K

169.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$25.37 NPR 3,855

$27.13 ₹2,576

-6.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.79 NPR 4,071

$26.58 ₹2,523

0.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$25.77 NPR 3,916

$35.20 ₹3,342

-26.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$16.46 NPR 2,501

$28.34 ₹2,691

-41.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$33.84 NPR 5,141

$152 ₹14.5K

-77.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$38.56 NPR 5,859

$96.3 ₹9,142

-59.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$123 NPR 18.8K

$393 ₹37.3K

-68.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$77.2 NPR 11.7K

$212 ₹20.1K

-63.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$661 NPR 100.4K

$1,115 ₹105.9K

-40.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$481 NPR 73.1K

$597 ₹56.7K

-19.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$392 ₹37.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.72

9.04

7.52%

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

Last update for Birgunj: October 12, 2026

Last update for Kolkata (Calcutta): October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Birgunj

$130 37%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$117 27.4% 9.8% $13

Eating Out

Birgunj

$72 20.5%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$68 15.8% 6.3% $4.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Birgunj

$44 12.5%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$65 15.2% 47.9% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Birgunj

$42 12.1%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$53 12.3% 24.2% $10

Accommodation & Living

Birgunj

$39 10.9%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$96 22.5% 150% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Birgunj

$17 4.8%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$23 5.3% 34.1% $5.7

Getting Around

Birgunj

$8 * 2.3%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$6 1.4% 24.4% $2

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 $33.84 in Birgunj and $152 in Kolkata (Calcutta). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $21.00 in Birgunj vs $15.00 in Kolkata (Calcutta) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $130 vs $118 per month, with Kolkata (Calcutta) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇵 Birgunj

🇮🇳 Kolkata (Calcutta)

🕒 Local time

19:56 7:56 PM

19:41 7:41 PM

15 min behind Birgunj

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

135,904

4,486,679

💱 Currency

Nepalese Rupee NPR रु

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 NPR = 6.58 USD

1,000 NPR = 5.85 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to NPR – Nepalese Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇳🇵 Nepalese Rupee (रु)

Nepalese Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 152 NPR (1,000 NPR = 6.58 USD). 1 EUR = 171 NPR (1,000 NPR = 5.85 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to NPR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Birgunj Kolkata (Calcutta) 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Birgunj
Kolkata (Calcutta)

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

Birgunj vs Kolkata (Calcutta): Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Birgunj wins on cost – living expenses run 21% lower than in Kolkata (Calcutta). Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Birgunj the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $529 in Birgunj and $642 in Kolkata (Calcutta) to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $33.84 in Birgunj versus $152 in Kolkata (Calcutta). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $64.8 in Birgunj versus $47.35 in Kolkata (Calcutta). Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Birgunj – a meal for two runs $21.00 versus $15.00 in Kolkata (Calcutta). If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

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

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Birgunj and Kolkata (Calcutta) 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 Birgunj gentler on the wallet – expenses run 21% less than in Kolkata (Calcutta). Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.