Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sierra Leone and India

Name: India
Address: IN

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $399 a month against $1,821 in Sierra Leone, rent and utilities included – about $17,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Sierra Leone
Learn more

Sierra Leone Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in India
Learn more

India Living Index

Jump to prices

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

$1,821

/mo nomad

🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,821 in Sierra Leone versus $399 in India.

Sierra Leone $1,821
India $399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,538 in Sierra Leone versus $639 in India.

Sierra Leone $1,538
India $639

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,256 in Sierra Leone versus $879 in India.

Sierra Leone $1,256
India $879

Internal cost variation is higher in India: monthly costs span $230 to $813, compared to $1,778–$1,778 in Sierra Leone. City choice carries more weight in India.

Living in Sierra Leone is roughly 356% more expensive than in India on average.

Sierra Leone (34% above) and India (71% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.01 SLL 46.0K

$2.14 ₹204

-6.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.44 SLL 923.1K

$10.46 ₹995

286.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.82 SLL 247.0K

$3.80 ₹361

184.74%

Cappuccino

$2.58 SLL 59.0K

$1.68 ₹160

53.57%

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

$1.64 SLL 37.5K

$0.38 ₹35.99

331.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 SLL 18.9K

$0.15 ₹14.60

453.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 SLL 46.8K

$1.87 ₹178

9.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.52 SLL 80.3K

$3.18 ₹303

10.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.44 SLL 55.8K

$0.62 ₹59.2

293.55%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 SLL 15.5K

$0.50 ₹47.76

36.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.28 SLL 29.3K

$0.63 ₹60.3

103.17%

Eggs

$1.83 SLL 41.7K

$0.96 ₹91.3

90.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.28 SLL 166.2K

$4.85 ₹461

50.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.85 SLL 224.9K

$2.84 ₹271

246.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.20 SLL 118.7K

Apples (1kg)

$7.17 SLL 163.7K

$2.00 ₹190

258.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.93 SLL 66.8K

$0.65 ₹61.4

350.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.74 SLL 16.9K

$0.97 ₹92.3

-23.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.08 SLL 116.0K

$0.47 ₹44.30

980.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.98 SLL 45.2K

$0.34 ₹31.87

482.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 SLL 36.9K

$0.42 ₹39.73

285.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.47 ₹44.39

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 SLL 25.7K

$0.31 ₹29.67

261.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.06 SLL 69.7K

$5.08 ₹483

-39.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.90 SLL 180.2K

$7.31 ₹695

8.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 SLL 34.6K

$1.63 ₹155

-6.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 SLL 44.4K

$2.76 ₹262

-29.35%

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

$5.11 ₹486

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.45 SLL 10.2K

$0.26 ₹24.86

73.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$8.58 ₹816

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.49 SLL 11.1K

$1.00 ₹94.7

-51.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 SLL 11.9K

$0.27 ₹25.74

92.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.54 ₹146

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 SLL 31.0K

$1.07 ₹102

27.10%

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

$12.2K SLL 277.8M

$11.2K ₹1.1M

8.53%

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

$25.2K SLL 574.9M

$20.1K ₹1.9M

25.60%

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

$60.6 SLL 1.4M

$37.08 ₹3,527

63.32%

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

$17.71 SLL 404.4K

$3.58 ₹340

394.69%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$52.3 SLL 1.2M

$7.15 ₹680

631.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.00 ₹1,427

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.17 ₹682

Cinema Ticket

$3.20 ₹304

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

$58.8 ₹5,592

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,667 ₹158.5K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.02 SLL 228.8K

$23.03 ₹2,191

-56.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.17 ₹2,299

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.12 SLL 459.3K

$41.20 ₹3,918

-51.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.1 SLL 1.1M

$29.62 ₹2,817

69.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$918 SLL 21.0M

$146 ₹13.9K

526.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,281 SLL 29.2M

$96.4 ₹9,165

1229.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,505 SLL 80.0M

$343 ₹32.6K

922.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$234 ₹22.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,099 SLL 25.1M

$1,177 ₹111.9K

-6.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,092 SLL 24.9M

$633 ₹60.2K

72.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,317 SLL 30.1M

$409 ₹38.9K

222.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.93

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

Last update for Sierra Leone: October 26, 2026

Last update for India: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sierra Leone

$1.3K 70.3%

India

$96 24.1% 92.5% $1.2K

Groceries & Markets

Sierra Leone

$262 * 14.4%

India

$102 25.6% 61% $160

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sierra Leone

$131 7.2%

India

$48 12% 63.4% $83

Eating Out

Sierra Leone

$107 5.9%

India

$67 16.7% 37.7% $40

Clothing & Footwear

Sierra Leone

$36 * 2%

India

$53 13.3% 47.1% $17

Getting Around

Sierra Leone

$4.9 * 0.3%

India

$12 3% 145% $7.1

Sport & Entertainment

Sierra Leone

- * 0%

India

$21 5.4%

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

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $942 in Sierra Leone, $120 in India. Capital cities: $942 in Freetown vs $277 in Delhi.

National salary averages: $1,332 in Sierra Leone, $412 in India. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 685% higher in Sierra Leone.

Dining out costs 264% more in Sierra Leone.

Salaries are about 3.2 times higher in Sierra Leone, and purchasing power comes out stronger in India.

Good to know

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

🇮🇳 India

🕒 Local time

16:23 4:23 PM

21:53 9:53 PM

5 h 30 min ahead of Sierra Leone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,557,212

1,326,093,247

💱 Currency

Sierra Leonean Leone SLL Le

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD

100,000 SLL = 3.94 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.51 USD

1,000 INR = 9.45 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to SLL – Sierra Leonean Leone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇱 Sierra Leonean Leone (Le)

Sierra Leonean Leone exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 22,828 SLL (100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD). 1 EUR = 25,407 SLL (100,000 SLL = 3.94 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 SLL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sierra Leone India 9,600 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Sierra Leone
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

Sierra Leone vs India: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $399 per month in India and $1,821 in Sierra Leone, there’s a 356% 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 $942 in Sierra Leone 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; Sierra Leone may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.