Chennai vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Chennai	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$430	$538
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1055	$1303
🏠 One person rent	$151	$233
🏘️ Family rent	$259	$392
🍽️ Food expenses	$165	$226
🚐 Transport expenses	$65.7	$22.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$320	$164
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	16 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	79	1
😀 Quality of life	66	28
🏙️ Population	6.6M	63.4K

The cost of living in Chennai is 20% less expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 8922nd and 8474th ($430 vs $538) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 16th and 2nd in India and Kiribati, respectively. Check India vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.7 months in Chennai compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Chennai ranked 4th best city to live in India vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 5162nd and 8872nd among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Chennai vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Chennai and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Chennai	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.2	$4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$12.9	$22.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.45	$5.15
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.73	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$1.85	$1.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.48	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$166	$226
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$105	$151
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$304	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$188	$274
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$26.1	$41
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$40.2	$63.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$7.84	$26.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	9.84%	12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1789	$1374
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$726	$845
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.33	$0.41
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$11.1	$15.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$4.16	$7.47
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.13	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.59	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.5	$0.76
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.71	$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12	$0.85	$1.73
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.24	$7.22
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.5	$4.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.39	$7.22
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.94	$2.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.91	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.44	$1.67
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.49	$1.16
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.48	$1.04
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.43	$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.22	$0.39
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.06	$1.24
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.74	$8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.78	$1.46
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.77	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$0.79	$3.96
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.35	$3.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.99	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.78	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$15.2	$24.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$2.78	$4.49
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$30.9	$19.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$2.65	$4.22
👖 Brand Jeans	$26.8	$31.4
👟 Brand Sneakers	$44.5	$65.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$75	$131
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$1717	$4200

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Chennai

Distance	City	Cost of living
111 km or 69 mi	Tirupati	$322
124 km or 77 mi	Vellore	$236
125 km or 78 mi	Chittoor	$300
138 km or 85 mi	Pondicherry	$327
153 km or 95 mi	Nellore	$533
159 km or 99 mi	Cuddalore	$306
198 km or 123 mi	Madanapalle	$334
219 km or 136 mi	Kadapa	$367
260 km or 162 mi	Proddatur	$359
269 km or 167 mi	Ongole	$334
279 km or 173 mi	Salem	$297
282 km or 175 mi	Thanjavur	$285
290 km or 180 mi	Bangalore	$523
304 km or 189 mi	Chirala	$306
305 km or 189 mi	Tiruchirappalli	$303
312 km or 194 mi	Hindupur	$347
328 km or 204 mi	Nandyal	$341
338 km or 210 mi	Anantapur	$346
339 km or 211 mi	Erode	$285
344 km or 214 mi	Tumkur	$332
353 km or 219 mi	Tenali	$287
354 km or 220 mi	Machilipatnam	$315
357 km or 222 mi	Guntur	$276
361 km or 224 mi	Tiruppur	$344
383 km or 238 mi	Vijayawada	$346
388 km or 241 mi	Kurnool	$338
396 km or 246 mi	Dindigul	$299
402 km or 250 mi	Mysore	$349
411 km or 256 mi	Eluru	$292
423 km or 263 mi	Madurai	$348
428 km or 266 mi	Coimbatore	$331
428 km or 266 mi	Adoni	$376
453 km or 282 mi	Nalgonda	$266
462 km or 287 mi	Rajahmundry	$295
463 km or 288 mi	Khammam	$264
474 km or 294 mi	Mahbubnagar	$343
476 km or 296 mi	Kakinada	$291
482 km or 300 mi	Hospet	$262
494 km or 307 mi	Davanagere	$282
509 km or 317 mi	Malappuram	$271

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1507
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1510
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$783
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$718
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1422
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1422
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2062
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$633
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1039
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2068
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$857
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$879
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$791
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1865
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1865
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1928
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1035
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$558
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$572
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$539
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1415
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2401
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3009
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1695
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$506
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1640
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1839
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1727
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1864
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1635
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2821
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1835
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1864
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1988
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2700
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2269
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2610