Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rwanda and India

Name: India
Address: IN

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $399 a month against $811 in Rwanda, rent and utilities included – about $4,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Rwanda
Learn more

Rwanda Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in India
Learn more

India Living Index

Jump to prices

🇷🇼 Rwanda

$811

/mo nomad

🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Rwanda 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 Rwanda and in India actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $811 in Rwanda versus $399 in India.

Rwanda $811
India $399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,311 in Rwanda versus $639 in India.

Rwanda $1,311
India $639

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,810 in Rwanda versus $879 in India.

Rwanda $1,810
India $879

Rwanda ($369–$881) and India ($230–$813) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Rwanda is roughly 103% more expensive than in India on average.

Both countries sit below the global median: Rwanda 40% lower, India 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.02 RWF 4,448

$2.14 ₹204

41.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.94 RWF 36.7K

$10.46 ₹996

138.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.87 RWF 10.1K

$3.80 ₹362

80.79%

Cappuccino

$2.27 RWF 3,336

$1.68 ₹160

35.12%

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

$0.80 RWF 1,176

$0.38 ₹36.05

110.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 RWF 793

$0.15 ₹14.63

260.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.98 RWF 1,445

$1.87 ₹178

-47.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.06 RWF 3,030

$3.18 ₹303

-35.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.85 RWF 1,247

$0.62 ₹59.3

37.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.03 RWF 1,512

$0.50 ₹47.84

106.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.24 RWF 1,831

$0.63 ₹60.4

96.83%

Eggs

$1.59 RWF 2,333

$0.96 ₹91.4

65.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.02 RWF 5,914

$4.85 ₹462

-17.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.35 RWF 6,407

$2.84 ₹271

53.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.15 RWF 6,111

Apples (1kg)

$2.76 RWF 4,065

$2.00 ₹191

38.00%

Banana (1kg)

$0.84 RWF 1,229

$0.65 ₹61.5

29.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.56 RWF 2,288

$0.97 ₹92.4

60.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.98 RWF 1,446

$0.47 ₹44.37

108.51%

Potato (1kg)

$0.47 RWF 686

$0.34 ₹31.92

38.24%

Onion (1kg)

$0.80 RWF 1,178

$0.42 ₹39.79

90.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.49 RWF 727

$0.47 ₹44.46

4.26%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.80 RWF 1,179

$0.31 ₹29.72

158.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.00 RWF 2,944

$5.08 ₹484

-60.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.95 RWF 14.6K

$7.31 ₹696

36.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.11 RWF 1,640

$1.63 ₹155

-31.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.52 RWF 2,243

$2.76 ₹263

-44.93%

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

$5.11 ₹487

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.36 RWF 524

$0.26 ₹24.89

38.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.57 RWF 39.1K

$8.58 ₹817

209.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.79 RWF 4,106

$1.00 ₹94.8

179.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.98 RWF 2,911

$0.27 ₹25.78

633.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.44 RWF 5,067

$1.54 ₹146

123.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 RWF 2,648

$1.07 ₹102

68.22%

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

$26.2K RWF 38.5M

$11.2K ₹1.1M

133.44%

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

$23.2K RWF 34.2M

$20.1K ₹1.9M

15.84%

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

$83.3 RWF 122.5K

$37.08 ₹3,532

124.62%

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

$7.62 RWF 11.2K

$3.58 ₹341

112.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.87 RWF 30.7K

$7.15 ₹681

191.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.13 RWF 45.8K

$15.00 ₹1,429

107.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.13 RWF 6,079

$7.17 ₹683

-42.40%

Cinema Ticket

$3.31 RWF 4,875

$3.20 ₹304

3.44%

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

$133 RWF 195.2K

$58.8 ₹5,601

125.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,517 RWF 14.0M

$1,667 ₹158.7K

471.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$20.58 RWF 30.3K

$23.03 ₹2,194

-10.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.16 RWF 25.2K

$24.17 ₹2,302

-29.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$27.09 RWF 39.9K

$41.20 ₹3,924

-34.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.62 RWF 52.4K

$29.62 ₹2,821

20.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$601 RWF 883.9K

$146 ₹14.0K

310.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$340 RWF 500.0K

$96.4 ₹9,178

252.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,290 RWF 1.9M

$343 ₹32.7K

276.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$802 RWF 1.2M

$234 ₹22.3K

243.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,440 RWF 5.1M

$1,177 ₹112.1K

192.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,986 RWF 4.4M

$633 ₹60.3K

371.49%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$290 RWF 426.8K

$409 ₹38.9K

-29.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.2

8.93

81.41%

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

Last update for Rwanda: October 25, 2026

Last update for India: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rwanda

$340 41.9%

India

$96 24.1% 71.6% $244

Groceries & Markets

Rwanda

$149 18.4%

India

$102 25.6% 31.6% $47

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rwanda

$112 13.8%

India

$48 12% 57.2% $64

Eating Out

Rwanda

$86 10.7%

India

$67 16.7% 23% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Rwanda

$45 5.6%

India

$53 13.3% 17.5% $7.9

Getting Around

Rwanda

$41 5%

India

$12 3% 70.6% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Rwanda

$38 4.7%

India

$21 5.4% 43.4% $16

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $354 in Rwanda, $120 in India. Capital cities: $672 in Kigali vs $277 in Delhi.

National salary averages: $232 in Rwanda, $412 in India. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 195% higher in Rwanda.

Dining out costs 118% more in Rwanda.

Public transport is 250% more expensive in Rwanda.

Salaries are 78% higher in India, and purchasing power comes out stronger in India.

Good to know

🇷🇼 Rwanda

🇮🇳 India

🕒 Local time

14:01 2:01 PM

17:31 5:31 PM

3 h 30 min ahead of Rwanda

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

13,246,394

1,326,093,247

💱 Currency

Rwandan Franc RWF Fr

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD

10,000 RWF = 6.09 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.5 USD

1,000 INR = 9.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to RWF – Rwandan Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇼 Rwandan Franc (Fr)

Rwandan Franc exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 1,471 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.8 USD). 1 EUR = 1,642 RWF (10,000 RWF = 6.09 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 95.25 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.41 EUR).

USD to RWF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Rwanda India 6,070 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Rwanda
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

Rwanda vs India: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $399 per month in India and $811 in Rwanda, India comes out about 51% 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.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $354 in Rwanda and $120 in India. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

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