Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lesotho and India

Name: India
Address: IN

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $399 a month against $874 in Lesotho, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Lesotho
Learn more

Lesotho Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in India
Learn more

India Living Index

Jump to prices

🇱🇸 Lesotho

$874

/mo nomad

🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lesotho and in India

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $874 in Lesotho versus $399 in India.

Lesotho $874
India $399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,328 in Lesotho versus $639 in India.

Lesotho $1,328
India $639

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,783 in Lesotho versus $879 in India.

Lesotho $1,783
India $879

Internal cost variation is higher in India: monthly costs span $230 to $813, compared to $665–$725 in Lesotho. City choice carries more weight in India.

Living in Lesotho is roughly 119% more expensive than in India on average.

Both countries sit below the global median: Lesotho 36% lower, India 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.64 LSL 127

$2.14 ₹204

257.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.49 LSL 408

$10.46 ₹996

134.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.11 LSL 102

$3.80 ₹362

60.79%

Cappuccino

$2.00 LSL 33.34

$1.68 ₹160

19.05%

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

$1.01 LSL 16.85

$0.38 ₹36.03

165.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 LSL 12.99

$0.15 ₹14.62

420.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.83 LSL 30.46

$1.87 ₹178

-2.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 LSL 37.02

$3.18 ₹303

-30.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 LSL 18.31

$0.62 ₹59.3

77.42%

White Bread (500g)

$0.78 LSL 13.00

$0.50 ₹47.82

56.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 LSL 31.58

$0.63 ₹60.4

201.59%

Eggs

$1.51 LSL 25.19

$0.96 ₹91.4

57.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.48 LSL 108

$4.85 ₹462

33.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.04 LSL 101

$2.84 ₹271

112.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.60 LSL 93.2

Apples (1kg)

$1.85 LSL 30.76

$2.00 ₹191

-7.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 LSL 31.74

$0.65 ₹61.5

193.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.38 LSL 39.57

$0.97 ₹92.4

145.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.33 LSL 38.83

$0.47 ₹44.35

395.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 LSL 25.54

$0.34 ₹31.91

350.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.25 LSL 20.75

$0.42 ₹39.78

197.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.48 LSL 24.61

$0.47 ₹44.45

214.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 LSL 13.40

$0.31 ₹29.71

158.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$5.10 LSL 84.9

$5.08 ₹483

0.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.83 LSL 80.5

$7.31 ₹696

-33.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 LSL 23.10

$1.63 ₹155

-14.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 LSL 27.87

$2.76 ₹263

-39.49%

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

$5.11 ₹487

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.74 LSL 12.36

$0.26 ₹24.89

184.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.54 LSL 508

$8.58 ₹817

255.94%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 LSL 12.64

$1.00 ₹94.8

-24.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 LSL 12.26

$0.27 ₹25.77

174.07%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.72 LSL 61.9

$1.54 ₹146

141.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.29 LSL 21.48

$1.07 ₹102

20.56%

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

$21.4K LSL 356.1K

$11.2K ₹1.1M

90.73%

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

$16.2K LSL 269.8K

$20.1K ₹1.9M

-19.19%

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

$214 LSL 3,567

$37.08 ₹3,531

477.75%

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

$20.63 LSL 343

$3.58 ₹341

476.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.45 LSL 624

$7.15 ₹681

423.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.21 LSL 603

$15.00 ₹1,428

141.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.17 ₹683

Cinema Ticket

$3.20 ₹304

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

$70.2 LSL 1,169

$58.8 ₹5,599

19.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,445 LSL 24.1K

$1,667 ₹158.7K

-13.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.4 LSL 939

$23.03 ₹2,193

144.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.8 LSL 912

$24.17 ₹2,302

126.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$122 LSL 2,031

$41.20 ₹3,923

196.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 LSL 2,365

$29.62 ₹2,820

379.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$81.9 LSL 1,364

$146 ₹13.9K

-44.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$50.9 LSL 848

$96.4 ₹9,176

-47.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$431 LSL 7,168

$343 ₹32.7K

25.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$170 LSL 2,834

$234 ₹22.3K

-27.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$385 LSL 6,404

$1,177 ₹112.1K

-67.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$519 LSL 8,643

$633 ₹60.3K

-18.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$762 LSL 12.7K

$409 ₹38.9K

86.38%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

8.93

-4.82%

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

Last update for Lesotho: October 24, 2026

Last update for India: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lesotho

$272 31.2%

India

$48 12% 82.4% $225

Groceries & Markets

Lesotho

$183 21%

India

$102 25.6% 44.3% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Lesotho

$169 19.3%

India

$53 13.3% 68.5% $116

Eating Out

Lesotho

$124 14.2%

India

$67 16.7% 46.5% $58

Accommodation & Living

Lesotho

$51 5.8%

India

$96 24.1% 89.2% $45

Getting Around

Lesotho

$38 4.3%

India

$12 3% 68.4% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Lesotho

$36 * 4.1%

India

$21 5.4% 40.9% $15

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $77 in Lesotho, $120 in India. Capital cities: $94 in Maseru vs $277 in Delhi.

National salary averages: $464 in Lesotho, $412 in India. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 56% higher in India.

Dining out costs 64% more in Lesotho.

Public transport is 275% more expensive in Lesotho.

Salaries are 13% higher in Lesotho, and purchasing power comes out stronger in India.

Good to know

🇱🇸 Lesotho

🇮🇳 India

🕒 Local time

21:58 9:58 PM

01:28 1:28 AM

3 h 30 min ahead of Lesotho

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,007,201

1,326,093,247

💱 Currency

Lesotho Loti LSL L

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 LSL = 6.01 USD

100 LSL = 5.4 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to LSL – Lesotho Loti Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇱🇸 Lesotho Loti (L)

Lesotho Loti exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.65 LSL (100 LSL = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.53 LSL (100 LSL = 5.4 EUR).

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 = 9.43 EUR).

USD to LSL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Lesotho India 8,330 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Lesotho
India

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

Lesotho vs India: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $399 per month in India and $874 in Lesotho, India comes out about 54% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in India: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

It depends on what you’re after: India wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.