Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between India and Sierra Leone

Name: Sierra Leone
Address: SL

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $399 a month against $1,821 in Sierra Leone, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in India
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India Living Index
87

Cost of Living Index in Sierra Leone
Learn more

Sierra Leone Living Index

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🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

$1,821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in India and in Sierra Leone

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $399 in India versus $1,821 in Sierra Leone.

India $399
Sierra Leone $1,821

Estimated couple costs with rent: $639 in India versus $1,538 in Sierra Leone.

India $639
Sierra Leone $1,538

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $879 in India versus $1,256 in Sierra Leone.

India $879
Sierra Leone $1,256

Internal cost variation is higher in India: monthly costs span $230 to $813, compared to $1,778–$1,778 in Sierra Leone. City choice carries more weight in India.

Living in India costs about 78% less than in Sierra Leone on average.

India (71% below) and Sierra Leone (34% above) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.14 ₹204

$2.01 SLL 46.0K

6.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.46 ₹996

$40.44 SLL 923.1K

-74.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.80 ₹362

$10.82 SLL 247.0K

-64.88%

Cappuccino

$1.68 ₹160

$2.58 SLL 59.0K

-34.88%

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

$0.38 ₹36.03

$1.64 SLL 37.5K

-76.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ₹14.62

$0.83 SLL 18.9K

-81.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.87 ₹178

$2.05 SLL 46.8K

-8.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.18 ₹303

$3.52 SLL 80.3K

-9.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.62 ₹59.3

$2.44 SLL 55.8K

-74.59%

White Bread (500g)

$0.50 ₹47.82

$0.68 SLL 15.5K

-26.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.63 ₹60.4

$1.28 SLL 29.3K

-50.78%

Eggs

$0.96 ₹91.4

$1.83 SLL 41.7K

-47.54%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.85 ₹462

$7.28 SLL 166.2K

-33.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.84 ₹271

$9.85 SLL 224.9K

-71.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.20 SLL 118.7K

Apples (1kg)

$2.00 ₹191

$7.17 SLL 163.7K

-72.11%

Banana (1kg)

$0.65 ₹61.5

$2.93 SLL 66.8K

-77.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.97 ₹92.4

$0.74 SLL 16.9K

31.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.47 ₹44.35

$5.08 SLL 116.0K

-90.75%

Potato (1kg)

$0.34 ₹31.91

$1.98 SLL 45.2K

-82.83%

Onion (1kg)

$0.42 ₹39.78

$1.62 SLL 36.9K

-74.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ₹44.45

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.31 ₹29.71

$1.12 SLL 25.7K

-72.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.08 ₹483

$3.06 SLL 69.7K

66.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.31 ₹696

$7.90 SLL 180.2K

-7.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 ₹155

$1.52 SLL 34.6K

7.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 ₹263

$1.95 SLL 44.4K

41.54%

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

$5.11 ₹487

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.26 ₹24.89

$0.45 SLL 10.2K

-42.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.58 ₹817

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.00 ₹94.8

$0.49 SLL 11.1K

104.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.27 ₹25.77

$0.52 SLL 11.9K

-48.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 ₹146

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 ₹102

$1.36 SLL 31.0K

-21.32%

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

$11.2K ₹1.1M

$12.2K SLL 277.8M

-7.86%

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

$20.1K ₹1.9M

$25.2K SLL 574.9M

-20.38%

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

$37.08 ₹3,531

$60.6 SLL 1.4M

-38.77%

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

$3.58 ₹341

$17.71 SLL 404.4K

-79.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.15 ₹681

$52.3 SLL 1.2M

-86.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.00 ₹1,428

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.17 ₹683

Cinema Ticket

$3.20 ₹304

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

$58.8 ₹5,599

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,667 ₹158.7K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.03 ₹2,193

$10.02 SLL 228.8K

129.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.17 ₹2,302

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$41.20 ₹3,923

$20.12 SLL 459.3K

104.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.62 ₹2,820

$50.1 SLL 1.1M

-40.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$146 ₹13.9K

$918 SLL 21.0M

-84.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$96.4 ₹9,176

$1,281 SLL 29.2M

-92.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$343 ₹32.7K

$3,505 SLL 80.0M

-90.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$234 ₹22.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,177 ₹112.1K

$1,099 SLL 25.1M

7.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$633 ₹60.3K

$1,092 SLL 24.9M

-41.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$409 ₹38.9K

$1,317 SLL 30.1M

-68.96%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.93

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

Last update for India: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sierra Leone: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

India

$102 25.6%

Sierra Leone

$262 * 14.4% 156% $160

Accommodation & Living

India

$96 24.1%

Sierra Leone

$1.3K 70.3% 1229% $1.2K

Eating Out

India

$67 16.7%

Sierra Leone

$107 5.9% 60.5% $40

Clothing & Footwear

India

$53 13.3%

Sierra Leone

$36 * 2% 32% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

India

$48 12%

Sierra Leone

$131 7.2% 173% $83

Sport & Entertainment

India

$21 5.4%

Sierra Leone

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

India

$12 3%

Sierra Leone

$4.9 * 0.3% 59.2% $7.1

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $120 in India, $942 in Sierra Leone. Capital cities: $277 in Delhi vs $942 in Freetown.

National salary averages: $412 in India, $1,332 in Sierra Leone. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 685% higher in Sierra Leone.

Dining out costs 264% more in Sierra Leone.

Salaries are about 3.2 times higher in Sierra Leone, and purchasing power comes out stronger in India.

Good to know

🇮🇳 India

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

🕒 Local time

22:43 10:43 PM

17:13 5:13 PM

5 h 30 min behind India

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,326,093,247

7,557,212

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

Sierra Leonean Leone SLL Le

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR

100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD

100,000 SLL = 3.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SLL, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 95.22 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.44 EUR).

Sierra Leonean Leone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 22,828 SLL (100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD). 1 EUR = 25,407 SLL (100,000 SLL = 3.94 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

India Sierra Leone 9,600 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

India
Sierra Leone

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

India vs Sierra Leone: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $399 per month in India and $1,821 in Sierra Leone, there’s a 356% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $942 in Sierra Leone and $120 in India. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

It depends on what you’re after: India wins on affordability; Sierra Leone may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.