Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kolkata (Calcutta) and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Kolkata (Calcutta): $417 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $44,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

21

Cost of Living Index in Kolkata (Calcutta)
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Kolkata (Calcutta) Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Kolkata (Calcutta)

🇮🇳 India

$417

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $417 in Kolkata (Calcutta) versus $4,086 in London.

Kolkata (Calcutta) $417
London $4,086

Estimated couple costs with rent: $669 in Kolkata (Calcutta) versus $5,816 in London.

Kolkata (Calcutta) $669
London $5,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $922 in Kolkata (Calcutta) versus $7,546 in London.

Kolkata (Calcutta) $922
London $7,546

Living in Kolkata (Calcutta) costs roughly 90% less than in London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Kolkata (Calcutta) is 69% below, London is 205% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.04 ₹198

$26.62 £20.11

-92.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.78 ₹1,430

$108 £81.3

-86.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.26 ₹412

$10.39 £7.85

-59.00%

Cappuccino

$1.64 ₹159

$5.79 £4.38

-71.68%

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

$0.48 ₹46.58

$3.01 £2.27

-84.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.12 ₹11.89

$2.15 £1.63

-94.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.90 ₹184

$9.35 £7.06

-79.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 ₹303

$7.84 £5.93

-60.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.72 ₹69.3

$1.79 £1.35

-59.78%

White Bread (500g)

$0.46 ₹44.25

$2.06 £1.56

-77.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.68 ₹65.5

$2.31 £1.74

-70.56%

Eggs

$1.03 ₹99.3

$5.05 £3.82

-79.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.31 ₹514

$12.57 £9.50

-57.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.04 ₹295

$10.66 £8.05

-71.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

Apples (1kg)

$2.38 ₹230

$3.03 £2.29

-21.45%

Banana (1kg)

$0.79 ₹76.7

$1.41 £1.07

-43.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.39 ₹134

$3.05 £2.31

-54.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.61 ₹59.2

$3.38 £2.56

-81.95%

Potato (1kg)

$0.30 ₹29.22

$1.67 £1.26

-82.04%

Onion (1kg)

$0.40 ₹38.88

$1.73 £1.31

-76.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.35 ₹33.52

$1.41 £1.07

-75.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.26 ₹24.88

$1.79 £1.35

-85.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.92 ₹476

$23.22 £17.55

-78.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.34 ₹1,001

$12.99 £9.82

-20.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.74 ₹168

$3.18 £2.40

-45.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.70 ₹261

$4.41 £3.33

-38.78%

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

$6.34 ₹614

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.14 ₹13.90

$3.87 £2.93

-96.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$3.19 ₹309

$250 £189

-98.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 ₹73.5

$5.71 £4.31

-86.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ₹31.19

$3.33 £2.51

-90.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.52 ₹147

$57.9 £43.76

-97.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.08 ₹105

$2.04 £1.54

-47.06%

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

$15.8K ₹1.5M

$37.5K £28.4K

-57.91%

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

$22.7K ₹2.2M

$40.9K £30.9K

-44.51%

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

$52.5 ₹5,076

$376 £284

-86.05%

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

$5.10 ₹494

$17.88 £13.51

-71.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.13 ₹690

$40.01 £30.24

-82.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.73 ₹1,523

$61.2 £46.22

-74.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.52 ₹1,018

$21.07 £15.93

-50.07%

Cinema Ticket

$3.33 ₹322

$17.95 £13.57

-81.45%

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

$45.81 ₹4,433

$2,865 £2,165

-98.40%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,090 ₹202.2K

$35.3K £26.7K

-94.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$26.12 ₹2,528

$116 £87.7

-77.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$25.89 ₹2,506

$54.1 £40.87

-52.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$35.62 ₹3,448

$127 £95.7

-71.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$27.81 ₹2,691

$159 £120

-82.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$151 ₹14.6K

$2,853 £2,156

-94.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$95.4 ₹9,229

$2,301 £1,739

-95.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$399 ₹38.6K

$5,201 £3,931

-92.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$204 ₹19.8K

$3,723 £2,813

-94.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,119 ₹108.3K

$19.0K £14.4K

-94.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$590 ₹57.1K

$7,881 £5,955

-92.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$382 ₹36.9K

$4,818 £3,641

-92.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

9.04

4.65

94.41%

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

Last update for Kolkata (Calcutta): October 6, 2026

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$116 27.4%

London

$349 8.6% 202% $233

Accommodation & Living

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$95 22.5%

London

$2.3K 56.5% 2313% $2.2K

Eating Out

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$67 15.8%

London

$397 9.7% 492% $330

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$65 15.3%

London

$434 10.7% 571% $369

Clothing & Footwear

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$52 12.3%

London

$205 5% 295% $153

Sport & Entertainment

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$22 5.3%

London

$97 2.4% 334% $75

Getting Around

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$6.1 1.5%

London

$288 7.1% 4589% $282

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $151 in Kolkata (Calcutta) and $2,853 in London. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

London pays 1162% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $15.00 in Kolkata (Calcutta) vs $108 in London for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $116 vs $349 per month, with Kolkata (Calcutta) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇳 Kolkata (Calcutta)

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

19:17 7:17 PM

14:47 2:47 PM

4 h 30 min behind Kolkata (Calcutta)

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,486,679

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

Indian Rupee INR ₹

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.22 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇳 Indian Rupee (₹)

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.78 INR (100 INR = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 108 INR (1,000 INR = 9.22 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to INR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kolkata (Calcutta) London 7,960 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Kolkata (Calcutta)
London

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

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

Kolkata (Calcutta) wins on cost – living expenses run 879% lower than in London. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Kolkata (Calcutta) the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 1162% lower in London. 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: $151 in Kolkata (Calcutta) versus $2,853 in London. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $417 per month in Kolkata (Calcutta) versus $4,086 in London – a 879% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Kolkata (Calcutta) runs roughly 7739% less than in London. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $417 in Kolkata (Calcutta) versus $4,086 in London, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Kolkata (Calcutta) but tight or insufficient in London. The gap between the two cities makes Kolkata (Calcutta) the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Kolkata (Calcutta) delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $417 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Kolkata (Calcutta) hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Kolkata (Calcutta) gentler on the wallet – expenses run 879% less than in London. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.