Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the United Kingdom and India

Name: India
Address: IN

For one person, living is cheaper in India: $399 a month against $2,462 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $24,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

119

Cost of Living Index in the United Kingdom
Learn more

United Kingdom Living Index
19

Cost of Living Index in India
Learn more

India Living Index

Jump to prices

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,462

/mo nomad

🇮🇳 India

$399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,462 in the United Kingdom versus $399 in India.

United Kingdom $2,462
India $399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,600 in the United Kingdom versus $639 in India.

United Kingdom $3,600
India $639

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,738 in the United Kingdom versus $879 in India.

United Kingdom $4,738
India $879

Internal cost variation is higher in the United Kingdom: monthly costs span $1,126 to $4,646, compared to $230–$813 in India. City choice carries more weight in the United Kingdom.

Living in the United Kingdom is roughly 516% more expensive than in India on average.

The United Kingdom (81% above) and India (71% below) straddle the global median.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.48 £16.13

$2.14 ₹204

903.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$85.7 £64.4

$10.46 ₹995

719.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.61 £7.97

$3.80 ₹361

179.21%

Cappuccino

$4.91 £3.69

$1.68 ₹160

192.26%

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

$2.66 £2.00

$0.38 ₹36.00

600.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 £1.40

$0.15 ₹14.61

1146.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.63 £4.97

$1.87 ₹178

254.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.84 £5.14

$3.18 ₹303

115.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$0.62 ₹59.2

170.97%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$0.50 ₹47.77

244.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 £1.63

$0.63 ₹60.3

244.44%

Eggs

$4.00 £3.00

$0.96 ₹91.3

316.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.42 £7.07

$4.85 ₹461

94.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.19 £6.90

$2.84 ₹271

223.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.77 £11.09

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$2.00 ₹190

48.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.62 £1.22

$0.65 ₹61.4

149.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$0.97 ₹92.3

193.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.52 £2.64

$0.47 ₹44.31

648.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.83 £1.37

$0.34 ₹31.88

438.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$0.42 ₹39.73

283.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.94

$0.47 ₹44.40

165.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 £1.24

$0.31 ₹29.68

435.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.65 £17.76

$5.08 ₹483

365.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.50 £7.88

$7.31 ₹695

43.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$1.63 ₹155

82.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 £2.64

$2.76 ₹262

27.17%

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

$5.11 ₹486

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.98 £2.99

$0.26 ₹24.86

1430.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.7

$8.58 ₹816

1151.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.18 £3.89

$1.00 ₹94.7

418.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.35 £1.76

$0.27 ₹25.74

770.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.84 £20.15

$1.54 ₹146

1642.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.07 ₹102

85.98%

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

$39.4K £29.6K

$11.2K ₹1.1M

251.77%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$20.1K ₹1.9M

101.91%

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

$327 £246

$37.08 ₹3,527

782.36%

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

$18.21 £13.67

$3.58 ₹341

408.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.60 £32.73

$7.15 ₹680

509.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.36 £31.80

$15.00 ₹1,427

182.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.22 £13.68

$7.17 ₹682

154.11%

Cinema Ticket

$13.85 £10.40

$3.20 ₹304

332.81%

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

$1,868 £1,402

$58.8 ₹5,593

3076.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.6K £17.0K

$1,667 ₹158.5K

1257.85%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$92.9 £69.8

$23.03 ₹2,191

303.52%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.92 £34.47

$24.17 ₹2,299

89.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.3

$41.20 ₹3,919

146.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 £76.8

$29.62 ₹2,817

245.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,342 £1,008

$146 ₹13.9K

816.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,073 £806

$96.4 ₹9,166

1013.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,231 £1,675

$343 ₹32.6K

550.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,742 £1,308

$234 ₹22.2K

644.98%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,601 £4,205

$1,177 ₹111.9K

375.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,265 £3,202

$633 ₹60.2K

573.52%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,349 £2,515

$409 ₹38.9K

719.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.32

8.93

-40.43%

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

Last update for the United Kingdom: 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

United Kingdom

$1.1K 43.6%

India

$96 24.1% 91% $977

Monthly Utilities & Internet

United Kingdom

$389 15.8%

India

$48 12% 87.7% $341

Eating Out

United Kingdom

$328 13.3%

India

$67 16.7% 79.7% $261

Groceries & Markets

United Kingdom

$307 12.5%

India

$102 25.6% 66.7% $205

Clothing & Footwear

United Kingdom

$154 6.3%

India

$53 13.3% 65.6% $101

Getting Around

United Kingdom

$140 5.7%

India

$12 3% 91.5% $128

Sport & Entertainment

United Kingdom

$70 2.9%

India

$21 5.4% 69.5% $49

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $1,287 in the United Kingdom, $120 in India. Capital cities: $2,811 in London vs $277 in Delhi.

National salary averages: $3,251 in the United Kingdom, $412 in India. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 973% higher in the United Kingdom.

Dining out costs 655% more in the United Kingdom.

Public transport is 1163% more expensive in the United Kingdom.

Salaries are about 7.9 times higher in the United Kingdom, and purchasing power comes out stronger in the United Kingdom.

Good to know

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🇮🇳 India

🕒 Local time

22:41 10:41 PM

04:11 4:11 AM

5 h 30 min ahead of the United Kingdom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

67,326,569

1,326,093,247

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.51 USD

1,000 INR = 9.43 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 27, 2026: 1 USD = 0.751 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.837 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

Indian Rupee exchange rates as of October 27, 2026: 1 USD = 95.12 INR (100 INR = 1.05 USD). 1 EUR = 106 INR (1,000 INR = 9.43 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

United Kingdom India 6,710 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

United Kingdom
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

United Kingdom vs India: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $399 per month in India and $2,462 in the United Kingdom, there’s a 516% gap. 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 $1,287 in the United Kingdom 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; the United Kingdom may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.