Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kota and Quetta

For one person, living is cheaper in Kota: $338 a month against $415 in Quetta, rent and utilities included – about $920 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Kota, India
Quetta, Pakistan
Kota
🇮🇳 India
$338
/mo nomad
Quetta
🇵🇰 Pakistan
$415
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Kota and in Quetta

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $338 in Kota versus $415 in Quetta.

  • Kota $338
  • Quetta $415

Estimated couple costs with rent: $539 in Kota versus $620 in Quetta.

  • Kota $539
  • Quetta $620

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $739 in Kota versus $826 in Quetta.

  • Kota $739
  • Quetta $826

Living in Kota costs roughly 18% less than in Quetta, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Kota 75% lower, Quetta 70% lower.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.05 ₹195
$3.51 PKR 971
-41.60%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$7.94 ₹754
$10.77 PKR 2,980
-26.28%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$2.69 ₹255
$4.59 PKR 1,270
-41.39%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$1.86 PKR 515
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$5.17 PKR 1,431
-
Cappuccino
$0.70 ₹66.6
$1.65 PKR 456
-57.58%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.36 ₹33.93
$0.41 PKR 114
-12.20%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.19 ₹17.71
$0.17 PKR 48.34
11.76%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.61 ₹153
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.23 ₹307
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.61 ₹57.5
$0.75 PKR 206
-18.67%
White Bread (500g)
$0.44 ₹42.20
$0.55 PKR 153
-20.00%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.68 ₹64.8
$1.28 PKR 353
-46.88%
Eggs
$0.83 ₹78.9
$1.18 PKR 327
-29.66%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$4.41 ₹418
$5.02 PKR 1,388
-12.15%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$2.66 ₹253
$2.95 PKR 816
-9.83%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
-
$5.18 PKR 1,434
-
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 ₹147
$0.99 PKR 275
56.57%
Banana (1kg)
$0.49 ₹46.13
$0.56 PKR 155
-12.50%
Oranges (1kg)
$0.67 ₹63.9
$0.69 PKR 190
-2.90%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.41 ₹38.58
$0.55 PKR 152
-25.45%
Potato (1kg)
$0.35 ₹33.55
$0.32 PKR 88.7
9.37%
Onion (1kg)
$0.40 ₹38.24
$0.52 PKR 143
-23.08%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.31 ₹29.06
$0.42 PKR 117
-26.19%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.28 ₹26.29
$0.40 PKR 110
-30.00%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
-
$1.83 PKR 507
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.20 PKR 332
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.41 PKR 667
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.21 ₹399
$2.04 PKR 563
106.37%
Wine (Bottle)
$7.66 ₹728
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.54 ₹146
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.86 ₹177
-
-
Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)
$4.82 ₹458
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Kota
Quetta
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.51 ₹48.25
$0.14 PKR 37.88
264.29%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$25.77 ₹2,447
$9.01 PKR 2,493
186.02%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.33 ₹31.39
$1.04 PKR 289
-68.27%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.22 ₹20.92
$0.47 PKR 129
-53.19%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.06 ₹101
$1.53 PKR 424
-30.72%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.12 ₹106
$1.15 PKR 317
-2.61%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$11.3K ₹1.1M
$19.9K PKR 5.5M
-43.25%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$17.2K ₹1.6M
$23.5K PKR 6.5M
-26.76%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$13.27 ₹1,260
$100 PKR 27.7K
-86.76%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$2.58 ₹245
$7.95 PKR 2,200
-67.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$6.15 ₹584
$16.48 PKR 4,561
-62.68%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$10.33 ₹981
$5.81 PKR 1,608
77.80%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$4.26 ₹404
$7.46 PKR 2,063
-42.90%
Cinema Ticket
$3.18 ₹302
$3.23 PKR 894
-1.55%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$34.18 ₹3,246
$35.14 PKR 9,724
-2.73%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$655 ₹62.2K
$1,039 PKR 287.4K
-36.92%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$22.28 ₹2,116
$8.05 PKR 2,228
176.77%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.09 ₹3,142
$22.10 PKR 6,114
49.73%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$34.97 ₹3,320
$68.8 PKR 19.0K
-49.18%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$20.80 ₹1,975
$33.98 PKR 9,402
-38.79%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Kota
Quetta
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$135 ₹12.8K
$71.3 PKR 19.7K
89.40%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$79.1 ₹7,507
$50.7 PKR 14.0K
55.97%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$248 ₹23.6K
$164 PKR 45.4K
51.39%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$175 ₹16.6K
$101 PKR 27.8K
74.00%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$558 ₹52.9K
$386 PKR 106.9K
44.37%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$344 ₹32.7K
$222 PKR 61.5K
54.78%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Kota
Quetta
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$422 ₹40.1K
$274 PKR 75.8K
53.98%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
7.5
13
-42.31%

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

Last update for Kota: October 26, 2026

Last update for Quetta: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Kota
$92
Quetta
$90 1.3% $1.1
Accommodation & Living
Kota
$79
Quetta
$51 35.9% $28
Clothing & Footwear
Kota
$50
Quetta
$60 19.6% $9.8
Eating Out
Kota
$50
Quetta
$64 29% $14
Getting Around
Kota
$29
Quetta
$13 55.8% $16
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Kota
$22
Quetta
$125 467% $103
Sport & Entertainment
Kota
$17
Quetta
$12 26.5% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $135 in Kota and $71 in Quetta. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Kota pays 54% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $8 in Kota vs $11 in Quetta. Groceries flip the comparison at $92 vs $90, with Quetta cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know
🇮🇳 Kota
🇵🇰 Quetta
🕒 Local time
22:21 10:21 PM
21:51 9:51 PM
30 min behind Kota
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
1,001,400
1,001,205
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, USD, EUR to INR – Indian Rupee Converter

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 94.95 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of November 1, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 309 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.24 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Kota Quetta 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight
From you
  • Kota
  • Quetta

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
Kota vs Quetta: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost difference between living in Kota and in Quetta?
Total monthly costs including rent come to $338 in Kota and $415 in Quetta, so Kota is about 18% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.
Which city pays better: Kota or Quetta?
Average pay runs 54% higher in Kota, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.
How do apartment prices compare in Kota and in Quetta?
Rent for a central apartment: $135 in Kota versus $71 in Quetta. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.
How do commuting costs compare in Kota and in Quetta?
A monthly transit pass in Quetta runs roughly 65% less than in Kota. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.
Which city is more expensive overall: Kota or Quetta?
All in, you’ll spend $338 per month in Kota versus $415 in Quetta – Kota is about 18% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.
How far does $1,200 go in Kota compared to Quetta?
Either city works on $1,200 a month, though Kota gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.
How does quality of life compare between Kota and Quetta?
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.

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