Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kabul and Thane

For one person, living is cheaper in Kabul: $500 a month against $548 in Thane, rent and utilities included – about $580 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Thane outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

25

Cost of Living Index in Kabul
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Kabul Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Thane
Learn more

Thane Living Index

Jump to prices

Kabul

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$500

/mo nomad

Thane

🇮🇳 India

$548

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kabul and in Thane

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $500 in Kabul versus $548 in Thane.

Kabul $500
Thane $548

Estimated couple costs with rent: $682 in Kabul versus $884 in Thane.

Kabul $682
Thane $884

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $864 in Kabul versus $1,221 in Thane.

Kabul $864
Thane $1,221

Living in Kabul costs roughly 9% less than in Thane, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kabul 63% lower, Thane 59% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.80 ؋182

$4.56 ₹433

-38.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$7.75 ؋502

$15.45 ₹1,467

-49.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.52 ؋293

$4.27 ₹405

5.85%

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 ₹155

-34.76%

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

$0.48 ؋31.36

$0.49 ₹46.34

-2.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.15 ؋9.98

$0.20 ₹19.30

-25.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.31 ₹219

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.63 ₹440

Milk (1 liter)

$0.83 ؋53.6

$0.68 ₹64.2

22.06%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 ؋16.24

$0.48 ₹45.84

-47.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 ؋117

$0.72 ₹68.6

150.00%

Eggs

$1.53 ؋99.2

$1.14 ₹108

34.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.34 ؋281

$5.42 ₹514

-19.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.07 ؋264

$3.24 ₹307

25.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.71 ؋435

Apples (1kg)

$0.70 ؋45.14

$2.85 ₹271

-75.44%

Banana (1kg)

$0.85 ؋55.1

$0.91 ₹86.2

-6.59%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.93 ؋60.6

$1.77 ₹168

-47.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.51 ؋33.12

$0.46 ₹43.69

10.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.65 ؋42.18

$0.33 ₹31.06

96.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 ؋30.60

$0.30 ₹28.36

56.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.28 ؋17.93

$0.44 ₹41.86

-36.36%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.37 ؋23.98

$0.35 ₹32.95

5.71%

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

$5.09 ₹484

-52.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.32 ₹790

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 ₹140

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 ₹259

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

$3.97 ₹377

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.16 ؋10.63

$0.23 ₹21.74

-30.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.99 ؋1,361

$5.72 ₹543

266.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 ؋139

$0.51 ₹48.02

319.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 ؋31.27

$0.30 ₹28.50

60.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.70 ؋175

$1.54 ₹147

75.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ؋70.1

$1.09 ₹103

-0.92%

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

$8,472 ؋549.2K

$10.5K ₹1.0M

-19.66%

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

$33.8K ؋2.2M

$23.7K ₹2.2M

42.72%

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

$41.65 ؋2,700

$49.29 ₹4,681

-15.50%

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

$12.84 ؋833

$4.48 ₹426

186.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$96.1 ؋6,227

$6.56 ₹623

1364.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$10.86 ؋704

$11.61 ₹1,103

-6.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.07 ؋264

$12.22 ₹1,161

-66.69%

Cinema Ticket

$2.32 ؋151

$4.10 ₹390

-43.41%

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

$19.99 ؋1,296

$70.2 ₹6,668

-71.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,035 ؋67.1K

$1,438 ₹136.5K

-27.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.80 ؋700

$19.56 ₹1,857

-44.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$15.92 ؋1,032

$17.25 ₹1,638

-7.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$57.1 ؋3,704

$39.79 ₹3,778

43.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$25.12 ؋1,629

$32.67 ₹3,103

-23.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$123 ؋7,984

$271 ₹25.8K

-54.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$107 ؋6,917

$200 ₹19.0K

-46.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$213 ؋13.8K

$618 ₹58.7K

-65.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$117 ؋7,553

$458 ₹43.5K

-74.57%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$684 ؋44.4K

$1,892 ₹179.6K

-63.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$352 ؋22.8K

$1,428 ₹135.6K

-75.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$341 ؋22.1K

$333 ₹31.6K

2.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.8

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

Last update for Kabul: October 11, 2026

Last update for Thane: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kabul

$151 30.1%

Thane

$60 11% 59.9% $90

Accommodation & Living

Kabul

$107 21.3%

Thane

$200 36.5% 87.6% $93

Groceries & Markets

Kabul

$101 20.2%

Thane

$118 21.4% 16.4% $17

Eating Out

Kabul

$51 10.3%

Thane

$93 16.9% 80.2% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Kabul

$49 9.8%

Thane

$49 9% 0.3% $0.1

Getting Around

Kabul

$26 5.2%

Thane

$8.6 1.6% 67% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Kabul

$16 3.1%

Thane

$20 3.6% 27.8% $4.3

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $123 in Kabul and $271 in Thane. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kabul pays 3% 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 Thane 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

🇮🇳 Thane

🕒 Local time

14:44 2:44 PM

15:44 3:44 PM

1 h ahead of Kabul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,289,000 Capital

1,841,488

💱 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 = 9.37 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 = 72.89 AFN (100 AFN = 1.37 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 94.96 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 107 INR (1,000 INR = 9.37 EUR).

USD to AFN in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kabul Thane 1,750 km ≈ 2 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Kabul
Thane

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 Thane: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kabul and Thane differ by about 10% in total monthly costs ($500 vs $548 including rent). Kabul is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 3% higher in Kabul, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $123 in Kabul versus $271 in Thane. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Kabul runs roughly 267% less than in Thane. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $19.99 in Kabul versus $70.2 in Thane. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Kabul 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, Kabul and Thane 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 Kabul gentler on the wallet – expenses run 10% less than in Thane. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.