Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between El Nido and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $557 a month against $739 in El Nido, rent and utilities included – about $2,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

36

Cost of Living Index in El Nido
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El Nido Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
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Bangalore Living Index

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El Nido

🇵🇭 Philippines

$739

/mo nomad

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$557

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in El Nido and in Bangalore

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $739 in El Nido versus $557 in Bangalore.

El Nido $739
Bangalore $557

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,148 in El Nido versus $941 in Bangalore.

El Nido $1,148
Bangalore $941

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,557 in El Nido versus $1,324 in Bangalore.

El Nido $1,557
Bangalore $1,324

Living in El Nido is roughly 33% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities sit below the global median: El Nido 45% lower, Bangalore 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.84 ₱305

$3.13 ₹297

54.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.13 ₱1,771

$17.66 ₹1,677

59.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.70 ₱233

$4.66 ₹443

-20.60%

Cappuccino

$2.25 ₱142

$2.28 ₹217

-1.32%

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

$1.17 ₱73.8

$0.40 ₹37.91

192.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 ₱20.45

$0.14 ₹13.62

128.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.30 ₱81.8

$2.27 ₹216

-42.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 ₱125

$3.60 ₹342

-44.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.59 ₱100

$0.66 ₹62.4

140.91%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 ₱63.1

$0.59 ₹55.8

69.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 ₱81.4

$0.81 ₹76.5

59.26%

Eggs

$1.95 ₱123

$1.14 ₹109

71.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.33 ₱336

$6.19 ₹588

-13.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.98 ₱250

$3.75 ₹356

6.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.98 ₱439

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 ₱142

$2.86 ₹272

-21.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 ₱97.1

$0.73 ₹69.3

110.96%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.26 ₱142

$1.20 ₹114

88.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 ₱72.8

$0.42 ₹39.54

176.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.95 ₱123

$0.39 ₹36.59

400.00%

Onion (1kg)

$2.01 ₱127

$0.40 ₹37.84

402.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.92 ₱58.0

$0.40 ₹37.56

130.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ₱33.65

$0.30 ₹28.09

76.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.35 ₱211

$4.66 ₹442

-28.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.24 ₱456

$9.48 ₹900

-23.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 ₱62.9

$1.97 ₹187

-49.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 ₱118

$2.98 ₹283

-37.25%

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

$6.59 ₹626

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.24 ₱15.07

$0.51 ₹48.66

-52.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$10.28 ₱648

$15.69 ₹1,490

-34.48%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.85 ₱53.8

$1.06 ₹101

-19.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 ₱12.47

$0.30 ₹28.52

-33.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.72 ₱108

$2.16 ₹205

-20.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.31 ₱82.3

$1.15 ₹109

13.91%

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

$19.2K ₱1.2M

$11.3K ₹1.1M

69.68%

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

$21.6K ₱1.4M

$18.8K ₹1.8M

14.82%

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

$121 ₱7,638

$30.35 ₹2,882

299.70%

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

$14.38 ₱906

$4.11 ₹390

249.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$24.44 ₱1,539

$10.45 ₹992

133.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.90 ₱2,197

$18.89 ₹1,794

84.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.99 ₱251

$6.10 ₹579

-34.59%

Cinema Ticket

$5.23 ₱329

$4.86 ₹461

7.61%

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

$124 ₱7,818

$102 ₹9,687

21.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,869 ₱432.4K

$2,978 ₹282.8K

130.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.86 ₱2,132

$33.83 ₹3,212

0.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.81 ₱1,185

$30.70 ₹2,915

-38.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$66.9 ₱4,211

$56.3 ₹5,343

18.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.95 ₱3,145

$40.05 ₹3,803

24.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$269 ₱17.0K

$309 ₹29.4K

-12.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$177 ₱11.2K

$179 ₹17.0K

-0.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$535 ₱33.7K

$799 ₹75.9K

-33.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$358 ₱22.5K

$481 ₹45.6K

-25.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,607 ₱164.1K

$1,928 ₹183.0K

35.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$900 ₱56.7K

$1,076 ₹102.2K

-16.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$257 ₱16.2K

$943 ₹89.6K

-72.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.79

8.47

-19.83%

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

Last update for El Nido: October 19, 2026

Last update for Bangalore: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

El Nido

$177 24%

Bangalore

$179 32.1% 0.9% $1.7

Groceries & Markets

El Nido

$174 23.6%

Bangalore

$125 22.4% 28.2% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

El Nido

$160 21.7%

Bangalore

$45 8.1% 72% $115

Eating Out

El Nido

$93 12.6%

Bangalore

$87 15.6% 6.6% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

El Nido

$76 10.3%

Bangalore

$72 13% 5.1% $3.9

Sport & Entertainment

El Nido

$45 6.1%

Bangalore

$29 5.1% 36.9% $17

Getting Around

El Nido

$13 1.8%

Bangalore

$20 3.6% 55.1% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $269 in El Nido and $309 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 268% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $28.00 in El Nido vs $18.00 in Bangalore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $174 vs $125 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇭 El Nido

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🕒 Local time

05:11 5:11 AM

02:41 2:41 AM

2 h 30 min behind El Nido

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,494

8,495,492

💱 Currency

Philippine Peso PHP ₱

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 PHP = 1.59 USD

100 PHP = 1.41 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to PHP – Philippine Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇭 Philippine Peso (₱)

Philippine Peso exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 62.96 PHP (100 PHP = 1.59 USD). 1 EUR = 70.78 PHP (100 PHP = 1.41 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to PHP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

El Nido Bangalore 4,540 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

El Nido
Bangalore

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

El Nido vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in El Nido. 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 268% lower in Bangalore. 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: $269 in El Nido versus $309 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Bangalore runs roughly 53% less than in El Nido. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $124 in El Nido versus $102 in Bangalore. 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 $557 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, El Nido and Bangalore 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 33% less than in El Nido. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.