Cost of living comparison
compared to
India vs. Chennai Cost of Living Summary
India is 12.5% cheaper than Chennai.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.3% less in India
- Groceries
-
pay 12.9% less in India
- Transportation
-
pay 13.6% less in India
- Housing
-
pay 26.9% less in India
- Childcare
-
pay 15.7% less in India
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.1% less in India
- Clothing
-
pay 7.1% less in India
Expenses including housing, childcare, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and clothing are lower in India.
India vs. Chennai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in India instead of Chennai, you would:
pay 7.3% less for restaurants
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.25
₹202.85
|
$2.31
₹207.62
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.95
₹354.99
|
$3.75
₹337.79
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.47
₹42.22
|
$0.39
₹35.41
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.18
₹16.17
|
$0.16
₹14.45
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of restaurants
pay 12.9% less for groceries
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.49
₹43.99
|
$0.46
₹41.27
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.32
₹299.10
|
$2.49
₹224.05
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.21
₹198.61
|
$2.50
₹224.93
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$0.87
₹78.01
|
$0.92
₹82.85
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.61
₹144.46
|
$1.32
₹118.34
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.36
₹122.24
|
$0.88
₹78.84
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.40
₹35.69
|
$0.32
₹28.42
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.62
₹55.44
|
$0.46
₹40.93
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.20
₹18.10
|
$0.22
₹19.84
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.23
₹20.46
|
$0.17
₹15.01
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.22
₹20.13
|
$0.19
₹17.51
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of groceries
pay 13.6% less for transportation
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.35
₹391.07
|
$4.38
₹394.03
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$11.27
₹1,014.26
|
$9.48
₹852.94
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$16,912.06
₹1,521,383.47
|
$13,332.05
₹1,199,331.13
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.61
₹324.56
|
$2.95
₹265.75
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of transportation
pay 26.9% less for housing
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$8.99
₹808.75
|
$7.18
₹645.93
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$193.40
₹17,398.39
|
$129.45
₹11,645.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$121.20
₹10,903.25
|
$85.74
₹7,712.98
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$37.31
₹3,356.79
|
$27.98
₹2,517.29
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of housing
pay 15.7% less for childcare
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$71.36
₹6,419.39
|
$54.51
₹4,903.51
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,725.52
₹155,225.21
|
$1,593.07
₹143,310.38
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of childcare
pay 4.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.97
₹177.49
|
$1.84
₹165.15
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.98
₹178.25
|
$1.58
₹141.98
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.61
₹324.56
|
$3.49
₹313.83
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$15.97
₹1,436.86
|
$15.59
₹1,402.11
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$2.82
₹253.56
|
$3.17
₹285.10
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 7.1% less for clothing
|
Chennai
|
India
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$24.75
₹2,226.54
|
$22.98
₹2,067.16
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$20.94
₹1,883.62
|
$23.83
₹2,144.05
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$50.07
₹4,504.66
|
$40.59
₹3,651.76
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$35.41
₹3,185.51
|
$29.72
₹2,673.25
|
|
Chennai vs. India - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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