Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zanzibar and Bangalore

For one person, living is cheaper in Bangalore: $535 a month against $577 in Zanzibar, rent and utilities included – about $500 less a year. The total is higher in Zanzibar despite lower rent and utilities.

28

Cost of Living Index in Zanzibar
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Zanzibar Living Index
26

Cost of Living Index in Bangalore
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Bangalore Living Index

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Zanzibar

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$577

/mo nomad

Bangalore

🇮🇳 India

$535

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zanzibar and in Bangalore

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Zanzibar and in Bangalore actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $577 in Zanzibar versus $535 in Bangalore.

Zanzibar $577
Bangalore $535

Estimated couple costs with rent: $857 in Zanzibar versus $927 in Bangalore.

Zanzibar $857
Bangalore $927

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,137 in Zanzibar versus $1,318 in Bangalore.

Zanzibar $1,137
Bangalore $1,318

Living in Zanzibar is roughly 8% more expensive than in Bangalore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Zanzibar 57% lower, Bangalore 60% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.78 TZS 12.5K

$3.04 ₹294

57.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$21.74 TZS 57.0K

$17.83 ₹1,725

21.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.54 TZS 14.5K

$4.78 ₹463

15.90%

Cappuccino

$2.21 TZS 5,810

$2.24 ₹217

-1.34%

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

$0.60 TZS 1,568

$0.39 ₹37.49

53.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 TZS 874

$0.14 ₹13.64

135.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.91 TZS 4,999

$2.34 ₹226

-18.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.72 TZS 7,135

$3.91 ₹379

-30.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 TZS 5,357

$0.61 ₹58.6

234.43%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 TZS 1,902

$0.57 ₹55.2

26.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.83 TZS 2,185

$0.81 ₹77.9

2.47%

Eggs

$2.68 TZS 7,044

$1.12 ₹109

139.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.54 TZS 19.8K

$5.93 ₹574

27.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.21 TZS 5,803

$3.85 ₹373

-42.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.12 TZS 16.1K

Apples (1kg)

$2.86 TZS 7,493

$2.78 ₹269

2.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 TZS 2,918

$0.75 ₹72.2

48.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.75 TZS 1,967

$1.22 ₹118

-38.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.59 TZS 1,556

$0.40 ₹39.19

47.50%

Potato (1kg)

$0.98 TZS 2,581

$0.38 ₹36.40

157.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 TZS 3,871

$0.36 ₹34.72

311.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 TZS 1,960

$0.42 ₹40.31

78.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 TZS 1,283

$0.32 ₹31.21

53.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.06 TZS 5,403

$4.61 ₹446

-55.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.28 TZS 24.4K

$9.01 ₹872

3.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.54 TZS 4,043

$1.86 ₹180

-17.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 TZS 3,428

$2.92 ₹283

-55.14%

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

$6.35 ₹614

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 TZS 817

$0.51 ₹48.89

-39.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.71 ₹1,520

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.70 TZS 9,701

$1.01 ₹97.8

266.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 TZS 2,073

$0.30 ₹29.43

163.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.62 TZS 6,862

$2.10 ₹203

24.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.27 TZS 3,339

$1.08 ₹104

17.59%

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

$12.6K ₹1.2M

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

$48.8K TZS 128.0M

$19.1K ₹1.8M

156.06%

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

$73.3 TZS 192.4K

$30.32 ₹2,934

141.82%

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

$11.35 TZS 29.8K

$4.11 ₹398

176.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.97 TZS 131.1K

$10.23 ₹990

388.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.66 TZS 77.8K

$18.61 ₹1,801

59.38%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.95 ₹576

Cinema Ticket

$9.71 TZS 25.5K

$4.60 ₹446

111.09%

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

$104 ₹10.1K

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,176 ₹307.3K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$12.93 TZS 33.9K

$32.29 ₹3,125

-59.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.28 TZS 45.3K

$29.85 ₹2,889

-42.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$15.25 TZS 40.0K

$53.3 ₹5,160

-71.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$13.08 TZS 34.3K

$39.66 ₹3,838

-67.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$149 TZS 389.9K

$309 ₹29.9K

-51.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$99.0 TZS 259.8K

$175 ₹16.9K

-43.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$201 TZS 528.4K

$788 ₹76.3K

-74.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$150 TZS 393.4K

$481 ₹46.6K

-68.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$37.6K TZS 98.6M

$1,889 ₹182.8K

1889.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.5K TZS 30.1M

$1,067 ₹103.3K

973.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$313 TZS 820.4K

$919 ₹89.0K

-66.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.5

17.65%

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

Last update for Zanzibar: October 5, 2026

Last update for Bangalore: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Zanzibar

$164 28.2%

Bangalore

$122 22.4% 25.5% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zanzibar

$135 23.1%

Bangalore

$45 8.2% 66.8% $90

Eating Out

Zanzibar

$100 17.2%

Bangalore

$87 15.9% 12.9% $13

Accommodation & Living

Zanzibar

$99 17%

Bangalore

$175 32% 76.7% $76

Sport & Entertainment

Zanzibar

$49 8.4%

Bangalore

$28 5.1% 43.3% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Zanzibar

$26 4.5%

Bangalore

$70 12.8% 165% $43

Getting Around

Zanzibar

$8.9 * 1.5%

Bangalore

$20 3.7% 128% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $149 in Zanzibar and $309 in Bangalore. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bangalore pays 194% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $22.00 in Zanzibar vs $18.00 in Bangalore for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $164 vs $122 per month, with Bangalore cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇹🇿 Zanzibar

🇮🇳 Bangalore

🕒 Local time

17:04 5:04 PM

19:34 7:34 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Zanzibar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

709,809

8,495,492

💱 Currency

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

Indian Rupee INR ₹

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

1,000 INR = 10.33 USD

1,000 INR = 9.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

INR, USD, EUR to TZS – Tanzanian Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇿 Tanzanian Shilling (Sh)

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,940 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 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 TZS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Zanzibar Bangalore 4,750 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Zanzibar
Bangalore

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

Zanzibar vs Bangalore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bangalore wins on cost – living expenses run 8% lower than in Zanzibar. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Bangalore the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 194% lower in Bangalore. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $149 in Zanzibar versus $309 in Bangalore. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $577 per month in Zanzibar versus $535 in Bangalore – a 8% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Supermarket bills run roughly 34% higher in Zanzibar. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Either city works on $800 a month, though Bangalore gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bangalore delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $535 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bangalore hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Bangalore gentler on the wallet – expenses run 8% less than in Zanzibar. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.