Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Kolkata (Calcutta)

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.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
21

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

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Kolkata (Calcutta)

🇮🇳 India

$417

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

London $4,086
Kolkata (Calcutta) $417

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

London $5,816
Kolkata (Calcutta) $669

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

London $7,546
Kolkata (Calcutta) $922

Living in London is roughly 879% more expensive than in Kolkata (Calcutta), and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$2.04 ₹198

1204.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$14.78 ₹1,430

627.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$4.26 ₹412

143.90%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$1.64 ₹159

253.05%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$0.48 ₹46.58

527.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.12 ₹11.89

1691.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$1.90 ₹184

392.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$3.13 ₹303

150.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.72 ₹69.3

148.61%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$0.46 ₹44.25

347.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$0.68 ₹65.5

239.71%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$1.03 ₹99.3

390.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$5.31 ₹514

136.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$3.04 ₹295

250.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.38 ₹230

27.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.79 ₹76.7

78.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.39 ₹134

119.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$0.61 ₹59.2

454.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$0.30 ₹29.22

456.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$0.40 ₹38.88

332.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$0.35 ₹33.52

302.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.26 ₹24.88

588.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$4.92 ₹476

371.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$10.34 ₹1,001

25.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.74 ₹168

82.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.70 ₹261

63.33%

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

$6.34 ₹614

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$0.14 ₹13.90

2664.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$3.19 ₹309

7738.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$0.76 ₹73.5

651.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.32 ₹31.19

940.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$1.52 ₹147

3709.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.08 ₹105

88.89%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$15.8K ₹1.5M

137.56%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$22.7K ₹2.2M

80.20%

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

$376 £284

$52.5 ₹5,076

617.04%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$5.10 ₹494

250.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$7.13 ₹690

461.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$15.73 ₹1,523

288.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$10.52 ₹1,018

100.29%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$3.33 ₹322

439.04%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$45.81 ₹4,433

6154.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$2,090 ₹202.2K

1591.35%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$26.12 ₹2,528

344.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$25.89 ₹2,506

108.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$35.62 ₹3,448

255.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$27.81 ₹2,691

472.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$151 ₹14.6K

1792.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$95.4 ₹9,229

2313.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$399 ₹38.6K

1204.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$204 ₹19.8K

1721.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$1,119 ₹108.3K

1598.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$590 ₹57.1K

1234.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$382 ₹36.9K

1162.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

9.04

-48.56%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

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

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$95 22.5% 95.9% $2.2K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$65 15.3% 85.1% $369

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$67 15.8% 83.1% $330

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$116 27.4% 66.8% $233

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$6.1 1.5% 97.9% $282

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$52 12.3% 74.7% $153

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

Kolkata (Calcutta)

$22 5.3% 76.9% $75

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $2,853 in London and $151 in Kolkata (Calcutta). 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: $108 in London vs $15.00 in Kolkata (Calcutta) for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $349 vs $116 per month, with Kolkata (Calcutta) cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇮🇳 Kolkata (Calcutta)

🕒 Local time

13:13 1:13 PM

17:43 5:43 PM

4 h 30 min ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

4,486,679

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

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).

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).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

London
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

London vs Kolkata (Calcutta): 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.

Average pay runs 1162% higher in London, 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: $2,853 in London versus $151 in Kolkata (Calcutta). Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $4,086 per month in London versus $417 in Kolkata (Calcutta) – 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.