Cost of Living in Chennai, 🇮🇳 India - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

AI estimate Updated Mar 22, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing $481 $299 $481 $128 $37

Utilities — $48 $91 $16 —

Internet & Mobile $37 $13 $27 $6 $2

Groceries $43 $160 $374 $85 $4

Transportation $85 $107 $267 $16 $13

Dining Out $374 $192 $267 $32 $27

Leisure Activities $235 $107 $160 $11 $11

Health Insurance $69 $37 $85 $4 $2

Visa & Legal Fees $48 $21 $43 — $1

Total $1,372 $984 $1,795 $298 $97

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) $197.59 per month

Coworking Space $90.78 per month

Airbnb (1 month) $694.22 per month

Coliving Space $170.88 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee $1.71 per cup

Beer $2.99 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) $2.67 per meal

Fast Food Combo $4.81 per meal

Apples $2.35 per kg

Bread $0.48 per loaf

Milk $0.75 per liter

Rice $0.69 per kg

Chicken Fillets $4.06 per kg

Beef $4.49 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) $11.75 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) $19.22 per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) $0.32 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start $1.07 per trip

Taxi per km $0.23 per km

Monthly Transport Pass $12.82 per month

Gasoline $1.15 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) $1.92 per trip

Scooter Rental $5.34 per month

Services

Mobile Plan $4.81 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) $9.08 per month

Gym Membership $26.70 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) $6.41 per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) $6.41 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket $3.20 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans $29.90 per pair

Summer Dress $19.22 per dress

Running Shoes $58.74 per pair

Personal Care

Haircut $5.34 per visit

Laundry $0.53 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) $7.48 per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) $1.60 per purchase

About these costs

Method: AI estimate
Last updated: Mar 22, 2026
Generated by: Model not recorded
Last changed: None yet
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 93.6304 INR

Generated by an AI model without cited sources and not yet checked by research. A research pass replaces these values with sourced ones, compared with similar cities.

Chennai cost of living