Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabul and Kolkata (Calcutta)

For one person, living is cheaper in Kolkata (Calcutta): $428 a month against $500 in Kabul, rent and utilities included – about $860 less a year. The total is higher in Kabul despite lower rent and utilities.

25

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
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Kabul Living Index
21

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

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Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$500

/mo nomad

Kolkata (Calcutta)

🇮🇳 India

$428

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kabul 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 Kabul and in Kolkata (Calcutta) actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $500 in Kabul versus $428 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Kabul $500
Kolkata (Calcutta) $428

Estimated couple costs with rent: $682 in Kabul versus $676 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Kabul $682
Kolkata (Calcutta) $676

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $864 in Kabul versus $924 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

Kabul $864
Kolkata (Calcutta) $924

Living in Kabul is roughly 17% more expensive than in Kolkata (Calcutta), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kabul 63% lower, Kolkata (Calcutta) 68% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.80 ؋182

$2.10 ₹200

33.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.75 ؋502

$14.69 ₹1,395

-47.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.52 ؋293

$4.28 ₹406

5.61%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ؋153

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 ؋122

Cappuccino

$1.07 ؋69.4

$1.64 ₹156

-34.76%

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

$0.48 ؋31.36

$0.45 ₹42.80

6.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ؋9.98

$0.13 ₹12.23

15.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.94 ₹184

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 ₹305

Milk (1 liter)

$0.83 ؋53.6

$0.71 ₹67.6

16.90%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 ؋16.24

$0.47 ₹44.41

-46.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ؋117

$0.70 ₹66.9

157.14%

Eggs

$1.53 ؋99.2

$1.04 ₹98.6

47.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.34 ؋281

$5.20 ₹494

-16.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ؋264

$3.06 ₹291

33.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ؋435

Apples (1kg)

$0.70 ؋45.14

$2.39 ₹227

-70.71%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 ؋55.1

$0.83 ₹78.8

2.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.93 ؋60.6

$1.47 ₹140

-36.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 ؋33.12

$0.62 ₹58.7

-17.74%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ؋42.18

$0.30 ₹28.62

116.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ؋30.60

$0.44 ₹42.10

6.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.28 ؋17.93

$0.34 ₹32.68

-17.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 ؋23.98

$0.28 ₹26.62

32.14%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.82 ؋118

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 ؋48.45

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.05 ؋68.0

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.43 ؋157

$5.12 ₹486

-52.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.30 ₹978

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 ₹174

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.81 ₹267

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

$6.57 ₹624

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 ؋10.63

$0.16 ₹15.06

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.99 ؋1,361

$3.13 ₹297

570.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ؋139

$0.66 ₹62.3

224.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 ؋31.27

$0.32 ₹30.52

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 ؋175

$1.61 ₹153

67.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ؋70.1

$1.11 ₹105

-2.70%

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

$8,472 ؋549.2K

$15.9K ₹1.5M

-46.72%

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

$33.8K ؋2.2M

$22.5K ₹2.1M

49.89%

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

$41.65 ؋2,700

$52.9 ₹5,020

-21.22%

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

$12.84 ؋833

$4.97 ₹472

158.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$96.1 ؋6,227

$7.30 ₹693

1215.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$10.86 ؋704

$15.66 ₹1,486

-30.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.07 ؋264

$11.55 ₹1,097

-64.76%

Cinema Ticket

$2.32 ؋151

$3.42 ₹325

-32.16%

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

$19.99 ؋1,296

$47.35 ₹4,496

-57.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,035 ؋67.1K

$2,072 ₹196.7K

-50.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.80 ؋700

$27.13 ₹2,576

-60.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.92 ؋1,032

$26.58 ₹2,523

-40.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.1 ؋3,704

$35.20 ₹3,342

62.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.12 ؋1,629

$28.34 ₹2,691

-11.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$123 ؋7,984

$152 ₹14.5K

-19.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$107 ؋6,917

$96.3 ₹9,142

10.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 ؋13.8K

$393 ₹37.3K

-45.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$117 ؋7,553

$212 ₹20.1K

-45.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$684 ؋44.4K

$1,115 ₹105.9K

-38.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$352 ؋22.8K

$597 ₹56.7K

-41.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ؋22.1K

$392 ₹37.2K

-12.87%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.04

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

Last update for Kabul: October 11, 2026

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

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabul

$151 30.1%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$65 15.2% 56.7% $85

Accommodation & Living

Kabul

$107 21.3%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$96 22.5% 9.8% $10

Groceries & Markets

Kabul

$101 20.2%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$117 27.4% 16.4% $17

Eating Out

Kabul

$51 10.3%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$68 15.8% 32% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Kabul

$49 9.8%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$53 12.3% 7.6% $3.7

Getting Around

Kabul

$26 5.2%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$6 1.4% 77% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Kabul

$16 3.1%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$23 5.3% 45.1% $7

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $123 in Kabul and $152 in Kolkata (Calcutta). Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kolkata (Calcutta) pays 15% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $8.00 in Kabul vs $15.00 in Kolkata (Calcutta) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $101 vs $118 per month, with Kabul cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇦🇫 Kabul

🇮🇳 Kolkata (Calcutta)

🕒 Local time

10:53 10:53 AM

11:53 11:53 AM

1 h ahead of Kabul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,289,000 Capital

4,486,679

💱 Currency

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.37 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.53 USD

1,000 INR = 9.35 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to AFN – Afghanistan Afghani Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇦🇫 Afghanistan Afghani (؋)

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 64.83 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 73 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 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 = 9.35 EUR).

USD to AFN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kabul Kolkata (Calcutta) 2,290 km ≈ 3 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Kabul
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

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

Kabul and Kolkata (Calcutta) differ by about 17% in total monthly costs ($500 vs $428 including rent). Kolkata (Calcutta) is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 15% lower in Kolkata (Calcutta). 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: $123 in Kabul versus $152 in Kolkata (Calcutta). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kolkata (Calcutta) runs roughly 571% less than in Kabul. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $19.99 in Kabul versus $47.35 in Kolkata (Calcutta). 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 Kolkata (Calcutta) 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.

Expats usually find Kolkata (Calcutta) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 17% less than in Kabul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.