Cheapest City In The World To Date In Is In India
New Delhi : A 'cheap date' in Delhi cost $103 (around Rs 9,920), compared with $475 (around Rs 45,750) in Geneva, the most expensive city on the Mapping The World's Prices 2026 index.
Delhi is the world's cheapest major city for a romantic date. It's also relatively cheaper to buy a property. But the salary a Dilliwallah receives is also among the lowest, according to a report tracking cost of living and quality of life.
The report also found that Delhi offered the most inexpensive broadband Internet globally, with a monthly connection costing $7.3 (around Rs 703), the lowest in the 69-city sample.
Deutsche Bank's Mapping The World's Prices 2026 report, which compares cities on parameters of prices, salaries and quality of life, said a 'cheap date' in Delhi cost $103 (around Rs 9,920), compared with $475 (around Rs 45,750) in Geneva, the most expensive city on the index.
Delhi did not feature among the top 50 cities in the report's quality-of-life rankings, which consider purchasing power, safety, healthcare, cost of living, housing affordability, commute times, pollution and climate.
The 'cheap date' index factors in the cost of a bottle of wine, a pair of jeans, a dress, two coffees, a meal for two, two cinema tickets, two one-way transport tickets and a 5-km taxi ride.
According to the report, property rates in the city centre remains low when compared to international markets, costing an average of $2,465 per square metre (around Rs 237,000) and ranking Delhi 65th globally.
In comparison with other major cities, the report suggested that property prices in Delhi have declined 9.8 per cent in dollar terms over the last decade but recovered 15.7 per cent since 2019.
Further, the report ranked Delhi 66th out of 69 cities in 2026, with a net monthly salary of $538 (around Rs 51,800) -- equivalent to 10 per cent of New York's level.
Historical monthly salary figures for Delhi were $33 in 2012, $653 in 2016, $556 in 2019, $607 in 2025 and $538 in 2026.
In comparison, Zurich topped the salary rankings with a monthly net pay of $8,363 (around Rs 805,200), the report said.
Delhi's salaries have fallen 17.7 per cent in dollar terms over the past decade and 3.3 per cent since 2019, according to the report.
Authored by Jim Reid and Galina Pozdnyakova of Deutsche Bank's Research Institute, it draws primarily on crowdsourced data from Numbeo, which was crosschecked and cleaned by the bank's research team.
For coffee aficionados, Delhi remains among the cheapest cities tracked, with a regular cappuccino costing $2.40 (around Rs 231), placing it among the 10 cheapest cities in the index.
A three-bedroom apartment in the city centre rented for about $685 (around Rs 65,970) a month, the report said.
Delhi ranked 52nd among the 69 cities on its Oasis index, named after the famed British rock and roll music band, which measures the cost of five beers and two packs of cigarettes.
The index cost $18.8 (around Rs 1,800) in the national capital, about 35 per cent of the price in New York.
Delhi's position on the Oasis index improved seven places from 2025 but slipped one place from 2016.
The cost of the index rose 36 per cent in dollar terms over the past decade and 13.1 per cent since 2019.
The report also found that petrol prices in Delhi were nearly on par with New York in dollar terms, at $1.05 a litre compared with $1.08.
At the same time, several everyday expenses in the city have fallen sharply in dollar terms over the past decade.
The cost of a monthly gym membership declined 38.3 per cent, a pair of jeans 36.9 per cent and a summer dress in a chain store 26.5 per cent, it said.
According to the report, the city also recorded some of the world's cheapest prices for basic utilities, mid-range restaurant dining and consumer clothing such as branded jeans.
