Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and India

Name: India
Address: IN

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $399 a month against $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

58

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in India
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India Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,206

/mo nomad

🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe versus $399 in India.

Sao Tome and Principe $1,206
India $399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,890 in Sao Tome and Principe versus $639 in India.

Sao Tome and Principe $1,890
India $639

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,575 in Sao Tome and Principe versus $879 in India.

Sao Tome and Principe $2,575
India $879

Internal cost variation is higher in Sao Tome and Principe: monthly costs span $199 to $1,211, compared to $230–$813 in India. City choice carries more weight in Sao Tome and Principe.

Living in Sao Tome and Principe is roughly 202% more expensive than in India on average.

Both countries sit below the global median: Sao Tome and Principe 11% lower, India 71% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.86 STN 195

$2.14 ₹204

314.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.95 STN 967

$10.46 ₹995

320.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.60 STN 189

$3.80 ₹361

126.32%

Cappuccino

$2.40 STN 52.7

$1.68 ₹160

42.86%

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

$1.81 STN 39.89

$0.38 ₹35.99

376.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.13 STN 24.76

$0.15 ₹14.60

653.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.74 STN 38.32

$1.87 ₹178

-6.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.88 STN 41.45

$3.18 ₹303

-40.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.53 STN 33.69

$0.62 ₹59.2

146.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.52 STN 33.44

$0.50 ₹47.76

204.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 STN 41.10

$0.63 ₹60.3

196.83%

Eggs

$4.40 STN 96.7

$0.96 ₹91.3

358.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.33 STN 425

$4.85 ₹461

298.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.32 STN 425

$2.84 ₹271

580.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.09 STN 464

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 STN 83.6

$2.00 ₹190

90.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.65

$0.65 ₹61.4

170.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.8

$0.97 ₹92.3

269.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.54 STN 78.0

$0.47 ₹44.30

653.19%

Potato (1kg)

$2.87 STN 63.2

$0.34 ₹31.87

744.12%

Onion (1kg)

$2.38 STN 52.4

$0.42 ₹39.73

466.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 STN 11.68

$0.47 ₹44.39

12.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 STN 45.40

$0.31 ₹29.67

564.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.19 STN 48.09

$5.08 ₹483

-56.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.98 STN 176

$7.31 ₹695

9.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 STN 32.25

$1.63 ₹155

-9.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 STN 36.91

$2.76 ₹262

-39.13%

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

$5.11 ₹486

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.34 STN 29.52

$0.26 ₹24.86

415.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.58 ₹816

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 STN 36.10

$1.00 ₹94.7

64.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.66 STN 58.6

$0.27 ₹25.74

885.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.81 STN 304

$1.54 ₹146

796.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.74 STN 38.37

$1.07 ₹102

62.62%

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

$24.4K STN 535.9K

$11.2K ₹1.1M

117.20%

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

$31.6K STN 694.4K

$20.1K ₹1.9M

57.41%

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

$224 STN 4,934

$37.08 ₹3,527

504.77%

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

$30.91 STN 680

$3.58 ₹340

763.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.8 STN 1,447

$7.15 ₹680

819.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.11 STN 750

$15.00 ₹1,427

127.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.43 STN 560

$7.17 ₹682

254.67%

Cinema Ticket

$20.50 STN 451

$3.20 ₹304

540.63%

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

$228 STN 5,021

$58.8 ₹5,592

288.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,158 STN 47.5K

$1,667 ₹158.5K

29.47%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$23.03 ₹2,191

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.2 STN 1,653

$24.17 ₹2,299

210.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$41.20 ₹3,918

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.67 STN 411

$29.62 ₹2,817

-36.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$288 STN 6,339

$146 ₹13.9K

96.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,300

$96.4 ₹9,165

102.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$920 STN 20.2K

$343 ₹32.6K

168.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$437 STN 9,606

$234 ₹22.2K

86.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,861 STN 40.9K

$1,177 ₹111.9K

58.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,125 STN 24.8K

$633 ₹60.2K

77.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$441 STN 9,709

$409 ₹38.9K

7.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

8.93

-17.36%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 26, 2026

Last update for India: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

India

$102 25.6% 74.6% $300

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$321 26.6%

India

$48 12% 85.1% $273

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.2%

India

$96 24.1% 50.7% $99

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$150 12.4%

India

$67 16.7% 55.6% $83

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$75 6.2%

India

$21 5.4% 71.5% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

India

$53 13.3% 25.8% $11

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$20 * 1.7%

India

$12 3% 41% $8.3

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $288 in Sao Tome and Principe, $120 in India. Capital cities: $288 in Sao Tome vs $277 in Delhi.

National salary averages: $259 in Sao Tome and Principe, $412 in India. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 140% higher in Sao Tome and Principe.

Dining out costs 282% more in Sao Tome and Principe.

Salaries are 59% higher in India, and purchasing power comes out stronger in India.

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇮🇳 India

🕒 Local time

09:30 9:30 AM

15:00 3:00 PM

5 h 30 min ahead of Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

1,326,093,247

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.55 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.51 USD

1,000 INR = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 22 STN (100 STN = 4.55 USD). 1 EUR = 24.49 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 95.1 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.45 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Sao Tome and Principe India 8,090 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Tome and Principe
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

Sao Tome and Principe vs India: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $399 per month in India and $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe, there’s a 202% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $288 in Sao Tome and Principe and $120 in India. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.

In India, $1,000 covers most cities easily; in Sao Tome and Principe it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.

It depends on what you’re after: India wins on affordability; Sao Tome and Principe may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.