Cost of Living in India - Updated Prices & Insights

Solo nomad: Estimated monthly costs are $294 (excluding rent), and $452 including rent.
Family of 3: Estimated monthly costs are $687 (excluding rent), and $984 including rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cost
Range
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.57 ₹237
$1.17 ₹107
$5.84 ₹537
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$13.94 ₹1,282
$8.13 ₹748
$34.83 ₹3,205
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.18 ₹384
$3.57 ₹329
$5.96 ₹549
Cappuccino
$1.89 ₹174
$0.59 ₹54.2
$4.13 ₹380
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.41 ₹37.61
$0.22 ₹20.60
$0.56 ₹51.9
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.16 ₹14.91
$0.11 ₹10.53
$0.22 ₹20.18
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.95 ₹179
$1.14 ₹105
$4.01 ₹369
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.41 ₹314
$2.28 ₹209
$5.68 ₹522
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cost
Range
Milk (1 liter)
$0.72 ₹66.0
$0.53 ₹49.05
$0.90 ₹83.0
White Bread (500g)
$0.48 ₹44.13
$0.28 ₹25.60
$0.78 ₹71.5
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.69 ₹63.3
$0.46 ₹42.51
$1.14 ₹105
Eggs
$0.94 ₹86.3
$0.68 ₹62.9
$1.37 ₹126
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.44 ₹501
$2.63 ₹242
$11.97 ₹1,101
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.07 ₹282
$1.71 ₹157
$5.03 ₹463
Apples (1kg)
$2.10 ₹193
$0.91 ₹83.6
$3.41 ₹314
Banana (1kg)
$0.76 ₹69.9
$0.49 ₹45.03
$1.46 ₹134
Oranges (1kg)
$1.09 ₹100
$0.48 ₹43.96
$2.37 ₹218
Tomato (1kg)
$0.57 ₹52.4
$0.24 ₹21.90
$0.96 ₹88.6
Potato (1kg)
$0.39 ₹36.32
$0.22 ₹20.37
$0.56 ₹51.4
Onion (1kg)
$0.46 ₹41.96
$0.22 ₹20.53
$0.74 ₹67.9
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.51 ₹46.98
$0.22 ₹20.39
$1.12 ₹103
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.36 ₹32.73
$0.24 ₹22.14
$0.43 ₹39.47
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.04 ₹371
$2.89 ₹266
$4.61 ₹424
Wine (Bottle)
$7.49 ₹690
$3.21 ₹296
$16.07 ₹1,478
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.91 ₹176
$1.19 ₹110
$2.99 ₹275
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.90 ₹267
$1.70 ₹156
$4.54 ₹418
Buffalo Round (or Equivalent Back Leg Red Meat) (1kg)
$5.92 ₹544
$2.39 ₹220
$10.16 ₹935
🚌 Getting Around
Cost
Range
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.33 ₹30.68
$0.16 ₹14.90
$0.67 ₹61.4
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$9.76 ₹898
$2.87 ₹264
$22.96 ₹2,113
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.90 ₹82.4
$0.34 ₹31.00
$1.67 ₹154
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.28 ₹25.48
$0.16 ₹14.94
$0.54 ₹50.1
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$1.72 ₹158
$1.15 ₹105
$2.41 ₹222
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.19 ₹109
$1.11 ₹102
$1.27 ₹117
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$14.1K ₹1.3M
$11.7K ₹1.1M
$19.9K ₹1.8M
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.5K ₹2.1M
$18.5K ₹1.7M
$28.9K ₹2.7M
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cost
Range
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$40.74 ₹3,748
$23.49 ₹2,162
$88.5 ₹8,144
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$3.88 ₹357
$2.37 ₹218
$7.09 ₹652
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$7.85 ₹722
$5.76 ₹530
$11.53 ₹1,061
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cost
Range
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$16.37 ₹1,507
$5.87 ₹540
$35.22 ₹3,241
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$7.84 ₹721
$3.56 ₹327
$12.26 ₹1,128
Cinema Ticket
$3.50 ₹322
$2.34 ₹215
$5.83 ₹536
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cost
Range
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$69.0 ₹6,350
$28.90 ₹2,659
$173 ₹16.0K
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$1,790 ₹164.7K
$823 ₹75.8K
$4,996 ₹459.7K
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cost
Range
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$24.98 ₹2,299
$11.43 ₹1,052
$45.77 ₹4,211
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$26.74 ₹2,460
$11.65 ₹1,072
$46.60 ₹4,288
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$46.21 ₹4,251
$23.58 ₹2,170
$82.6 ₹7,595
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$32.65 ₹3,004
$17.17 ₹1,579
$57.2 ₹5,266
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cost
Range
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$179 ₹16.5K
$94.8 ₹8,724
$712 ₹65.5K
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$112 ₹10.3K
$57.8 ₹5,314
$552 ₹50.8K
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$411 ₹37.8K
$211 ₹19.4K
$1,828 ₹168.2K
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$260 ₹24.0K
$140 ₹12.9K
$841 ₹77.4K
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,267 ₹116.5K
$650 ₹59.8K
$6,749 ₹621.0K
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$667 ₹61.3K
$408 ₹37.6K
$2,570 ₹236.5K
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cost
Range
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$450 ₹41.4K
-
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
9.02
7
12

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

Last update: March 8, 2026

By City in India
Lowest
Highest
Rank
City
Population
Living Index
Solo costs (no rent) / month
Solo costs (with rent) / month
Family of 3 costs (no rent) / month
Family of 3 costs (with rent) / month
Mobile download speed (Mbps)
Internet download speed (Mbps)
1
145238
19 $239 $385 $635 $830
97.9
41.4
2
184625
22 $376 $455 $858 $1,018
101.38
37.79
3
400000
19 $294 $390 $659 $823
131.41
37.41
4
1500000
20 $282 $407 $674 $813
101.23
53.34
5
6352254
26 $346 $523 $799 $1,085
122.16
64.37
6
350859
22 $313 $424 $671 $890
33.36
47.51
7
291822
18 $274 $363 $715 $861
29.66
59.73
8
542600
17 $237 $338 $574 $712
30.38
61.65
9
425800
18 $285 $364 $580 $744
110.49
38.22
10
177000
17 $266 $333 $546 $753
75.43
44.31
11
872575
19 $297 $378 $548 $755
164.24
39
12
5959798
17 $201 $341 $605 $735
229.32
58.74
13
260000
19 $222 $368 $484 $773
263.8
59.83
14
196000
20 $314 $408 $600 $884
18.28
60.52
15
647000
18 $230 $347 $681 $765
166.06
41.56
16
1132761
19 $297 $383 $666 $810
110.38
58.01
17
198200
17 $287 $344 $605 $743
140.02
42.47
18
267161
18 $264 $350 $651 $747
14.54
53.22
19
-
20 $260 $386 $602 $836
42.55
45.24
20
-
17 $213 $335 $523 $704
180.82
34.68
21
60600
18 $250 $368 $572 $768
499.63
39.07
22
500000
19 $251 $380 $632 $865
51.93
50.34
23
1175116
19 $268 $393 $610 $839
266.87
57.36
24
111000
18 $239 $363 $483 $779
45.18
35.02
25
-
19 $300 $380 $641 $848
51.53
33
26
-
19 $304 $382 $645 $831
23.43
52.25
27
-
24 $366 $474 $875 $1,047
23.25
29.3
28
-
29 $349 $574 $810 $1,352
24.12
125.22
29
137400
19 $308 $370 $560 $776
305.5
38.09
30
58053
19 $301 $393 $630 $824
181.59
29.78
31
103700
19 $235 $379 $682 $850
140.79
61.6
32
898167
19 $268 $373 $516 $760
23.67
39.91
33
285813
19 $291 $386 $654 $833
50.99
69.72
34
250000
14 $220 $284 $599 $734
101.89
35.8
35
600000
18 $274 $365 $522 $848
315.06
40.39
36
475000
22 $300 $439 $712 $988
115
51.29
37
-
18 $245 $370 $610 $746
171.76
37.05
38
410000
16 $229 $307 $624 $707
135.45
40.1
39
169000
25 $231 $484 $550 $860
104.02
50.67
40
593768
18 $250 $354 $532 $756
154.53
39.51
41
-
15 $209 $303 $564 $696
114.48
51.68
42
142184
19 $242 $382 $684 $836
138.9
37.63
43
104900
17 $284 $339 $602 $849
129.6
77.61
44
1800000
20 $285 $393 $652 $849
109.25
47.45
45
100000
20 $285 $405 $643 $890
152.64
71.84
46
143200
18 $275 $356 $613 $888
67.91
40.83
47
-
19 $289 $383 $665 $841
346.15
41.25
48
330000
18 $258 $360 $606 $819
119.32
27.76
49
647804
16 $278 $326 $536 $743
148.72
51.65
50
115000
19 $279 $371 $556 $822
18.74
36.72
India Median Internet Speeds (Updated January 2026)

Mobile

Download
Mbps
Upload
Mbps
Latency
ms

Fixed Broadband

Download
Mbps
Upload
Mbps
Latency
ms
The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
Cost of Living in India - Frequently Asked Questions
How does India compare in terms of overall affordability for travelers, expats, and digital nomads, and who tends to get good value?
India offers a broad price spectrum, so travelers, expats, and digital nomads can find solid value by choosing city and lifestyle carefully. Cost of Living in India is notably lower in many smaller cities and towns, while major metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, or Chennai can feel pricier, especially for premium housing or imported goods. You’ll win value by leaning into local markets, shared or long-stay housing, and seasonal travel between regions to tame swings. Transport is often economical when you favor trains, buses, and affordable metro options; food stays affordable when you cook at home or opt for street meals with common-sense hygiene. Tip: map your needs to a couple of neighborhoods and test stay durations before committing.
What does daily life look like for housing, food, transport, and errands for a nomad in India?
Daily life centers on choosing a home base that fits your work rhythm and budget. Housing options range from serviced apartments to coworking-friendly flats; in metro areas you may find shorter lease terms that suit travel plans. Food options span neighborhood markets, home cooking, and diverse street bites, with costs varying by district. For transport, trains and metros cover long distances affordably, while ride-hailing and bikes offer flexibility in busy corridors; errands are streamlined in well-connected neighborhoods. India living cost fluctuates with location and season, so you benefit from consolidating tasks to nearby amenities and negotiating longer stays. Tip: start with a one-month stay in a few neighborhoods to feel out routines before committing long-term.
How can you assess quality of life and budget effectively, with seasonality and neighborhood fit in mind?
Quality of life in India varies by city, season, and community. Create a simple budgeting framework: base rent, utilities, transportation, and flexible costs for activities; keep a buffer for seasonal travel and monsoon-related adjustments. Seasonality can shift prices in tourist hubs and festival periods, so plan ahead. For neighborhood fit, prioritize access to transit hubs, safe streets, coworking spaces, and expat networks; test different areas during workdays and weekends. Consider long-tail cost-saving tactics such as shared housing, local SIM plans, and kitchen-friendly accommodations. Tip: use a city-by-city checklist to compare neighborhoods on commute, safety, and amenities before settling in.

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