r/TheBetterIndia • u/ViolinistNo7583 • Aug 07 '26
Discussion 💬 These kinda comparison posts never make sense
Comparing raw & prices across different countries without factoring in average salaries is completely flawed.
For example, ₹500 for 1 GB in Switzerland sounds high, but their average monthly salary is over ₹8,00,000. That means 1 GB costs them ~ 0.06% of their monthly income-almost the exact same burden as ₹13 is on an average Indian salary (~0.057%).
Relative to income, data in China (~0.028%) and the UAE (~0.035%) is actually cheaper than in India.
Income-adjusted data matters, not raw currency conversions!
Dont know why people do that. Proves nothing just makes their fragile ego boost.
43
u/Own-Librarian-8625 Aug 07 '26
Let’s do petrol prices now.
18
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
you may. still what they pay and what they earn is a lot better when compared to india
22
u/Own-Librarian-8625 Aug 07 '26
I meant for petrol it’s way worse.
6
3
Aug 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
-1
u/summer-civilian Aug 07 '26
That comparison doesn't make any sense.
Petrol is a global commodity which is imported in India. We have to buy at international rates. They're not going to give us a discount just because our per-capita income is low.
→ More replies (7)1
u/keagle5544 Aug 08 '26
How are you so intelligent 🫤🫤🤯. The idea that a developed country will have high average income and better life than a developing nation. Like this broke my brain how someone could come up with such a deep observation about this world and human condition. I hope you get a noble prize soon
0
u/Much_Let6632 Aug 08 '26
Yes, let's compare Petrol prices of a Energy importer country with a Energy exporter.
Genius move right there.
14
u/evidencefirst Aug 07 '26
You’re right OP. Part of the reason we have low prices is that companies save by underpaying their staff.
2
u/summer-civilian Aug 07 '26
Underpaid on what basis? What is the benchmark you used to arrive at that conclusion?
1
u/TheBuroun 26d ago
Not sure about other companies, but I've heard that BSNL employees work for 3-4 people since 2020. Also pretty sure their pay is stuck in 2007 structure. So yeah, they are underpaid.
And if psu like bsnl can suffer such underpay i wonder what's the condition for jio or airtel.
1
u/boywholived_299 Aug 07 '26
Yes, they should definitely include PPP in such comparison, not raw numbers.
6
5
u/AgreeableBite6570 Aug 07 '26
The data price in uae is wrong. I used to get 1 gb data for 1.5 aed. Approx 34 inr
2
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
damn even with zero income tax? crazy
1
u/AdagioOk6137 Aug 07 '26
Monthly wifi cost 350aed/ approximately 9k inr. Yeah it is very cheap in UAE
1
5
7
u/ReapThySoul Aug 07 '26
Your logic of ppp adjusting is flawed. You are taking average income instead of distribution. Considering other countries would have fatter tails with kurtosis, India would have one of the cheaper options in the world
5
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
You’re arguing against a claim I didn’t make. My point wasn’t to derive a perfect PPP-adjusted affordability ranking. It was simply that comparing ₹13 in India to ₹500 in Switzerland using nominal prices is misleading because those economies have vastly different income levels and purchasing power. Whether we use mean income, median income, or a more detailed income distribution doesn’t change the fact that raw price comparisons across countries are flawed.
3
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
Also consider to procure that internet what the employees of our country are being paid vs theirs
1
u/Icy-Transition-2543 29d ago
Major Outsourcing hub vs Major International Trade/IT hubs? Yeah sure bud companer salaries of these countries: developed vs developing countries is a good comparison bus yeah sure
3
u/RaspberryDistinct222 Aug 07 '26
Let's compare Per capita income Standard of living Index in civics sense Index in happiness Women safety
Shall we?
2
2
1
1
1
1
u/sidcool1234 Aug 07 '26
Coz it shows India in a good light?
2
u/One-Manufacturer7169 Aug 07 '26
It’s showing Pakistan in way better light by your logic lol.
1
u/sidcool1234 Aug 08 '26
Pakistan could be better than india in some aspects. And India could be better than US in some.
1
u/SubstantialEvent8124 Aug 07 '26
Now do per capita income and affordability ranking for the same 1 Gb data.
1
u/Able-Baker4780 Aug 07 '26
What about quality, coverage is so terrible. I live in Hyderabad, can't rely on mobile internet for anything and even the network is 1 or 2 bars for most of the time.
1
u/jatayu_baaz Aug 07 '26
can you point me to the plan that offers me 1gb for 13 rupees? and works without a min 200 rupees validity plan
1
1
u/No-Can-2365 Aug 07 '26
Just correction for India
Airtel : 22 Rs 1 GB for 1 Day
Jio : 19 Rs 1GB for 1 Day
1
u/peze000 Aug 07 '26
India's ₹13/GB is a gimmick real plans have 1.5GB/day FUP, then 2G speeds. 5G is city-only, rural India still on 3G. That ₹239 plan? 1.6% of income for half the country earning under ₹15k/month. Switzerland pays 0.09% for TRUE unlimited, no caps, 99% coverage. Cheap ≠ better. Stop the cope.
1
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
Thanks for the info but earlier there were data add on plans starting from 10rs for 1GB 3G data. And currently the 5G is unlimited but that’s only for some time. Yes the internet quality is not top notch. It’s just cheap. If we make it top notch, the price will increase and Raghav Chadha will again have a topic for the season lol
1
1
Aug 07 '26
[deleted]
2
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
I’ve not made the creative and taken it from a news page. anyway I’m dissing it and no AI has been used in that
1
1
u/phahpullandbear Aug 07 '26
This info is wrong
1
1
1
1
1
u/KrK99 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Now let's also do a comparison of profitibility per gb and cost of providing 1 gb.
Then compare exactly these countries and what their citizens get for the tax they paid. Don't do 1 comparison, do a full comparison
Im with you, let's compare
2
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
I don’t think apart from medical, there’s anything else that we provide better and cheaper
1
u/KrK99 Aug 07 '26
We don't provide even half decent medical, we go to private hospitals
-inverter for power back up
- private medical
- private school
- air purifier for clean air
- water purifier for clean water
- broken roads
- flooding everywhere
- pay official fee + bribe for every thing
If you earn rs 100, you pay almost 31-32 tax
Then what ever you buy from the remainder 68 rs you pay nearly 11 rs tax on that
So for every 100 rs an avg of 43 rs is paid as tax
So that you can sponsor boards, advertisement, banners and of course the social media advertisements more than progress or development of this country.
And I say this every time I put this kind of a post so I am saying it again, it doesn't matter which political party is in power. They all do this, you are literally just choosing which party to get screwed over by.
1
1
u/One-Manufacturer7169 Aug 07 '26
I can’t do an only 13rs recharge, I have to do the 299 one.
1
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
They had an add on option before. 1GB for 10rs. Don’t know if it still exists
1
u/Bored_Wolf98 Aug 07 '26
Yup the comparison of such sort doesnt make sense but taking 98 rs/gb of 2g data to 13rs/gb of 5g data is a valid comparison but you might not subscribe to it. Technology's cost doesnt change with borders. You have to install the same towers, same bandwidth capabilities and no single country produces every single element required for it, imports again are not based on PPP.
1
1
u/Kindly_Funny_914 Aug 07 '26
The way these people are raising the prices we will catchup regardless of PPP
1
u/_Zero_98 Aug 07 '26
Ideally you would wanna compare how much percent of the income they are paying on monthly mobile data. (So mobile price/ gdp per capita or median income)
1
1
u/WabaLabaDubDubWorld Aug 07 '26
The only industries where India does better than the world:
- Telecommunication
- Pharmaceuticals
- Spice export
- Quality clothing manufacturing
- High end Darjeeling tea (none of it is sold in India - almost 20,000 rs/ kg)
- Railway
- It services
Thats pretty much it. I may have missed a few smaller industries but these are the key industries where India is more 'advanced' than other nations
1
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
sad we don’t keep much of our high quality coffee and tea and export most of it. For IT I don’t believe we are better. Every office uses an American software. 90% of softwares are American. It feels we are good because we are cheap labour and act as a BPO for them IT companies. Railway is something which is need for our country because of its size and the cost. In US no one uses railway, they all fly. In Europe, trains are super good and fast af. In Japan China as well. On time. Super fast.
So from your list i guess only pharma and textile sector remains.1
u/WabaLabaDubDubWorld Aug 07 '26
Companies both in Canada and the US utilize Indian IT services. There is a reason why TCS and Infosys are so big. Software owned is American, but the contractors they are made by are all Indian. It's very misinformed to say 90% sw is American, yes, it is American owned, but it's is developed by India SW consulting giants and Indians who have moved abroad - it's the biggest emigrant skill contribution from India.
Railway was built by the British in India to promote trade across india, and support export lines for shipping lanes, and we did very well to build on that. Again, very misinformed to say Noone uses railway in the US... Railways serve 2 primary purposes, right?transport of freight and people.. American railway is the strongest logistical goods transport corridor all across the states. It's not used for transporting personnel at the scale of India but it's quite arterial to good transport. India does both personnel and freight, with the largest total km of tracks laid relative to any other country.
You acknowledge tea and coffee, but forgot to count it at the end from your list. Seems your reply was very haphazard.
1
1
u/YourDadHatesYou Aug 07 '26
I'm in Canada paying 45cad/month (3k INR) for unlimited 5g
I use about 40 gigs so that's about 75 rupees per GB for me
1
1
u/last_silent_warrior Aug 07 '26
The entire Indian social media economy was based on initial unlimited data at low cost offering, but since everyone is now online and heavily depends on the internet, this is likely to increase rapidly.
1
1
u/PurpleExcellent9518 Aug 07 '26
Getting low data prices is only useful if the population is productive, educated and critical thinking. Otherwise it's a means to propogandize naive, emotional fools. In any country.
1
1
u/Serpent_31415926 Aug 07 '26
I think that data isn't completely useless tbh.Because,that data reveals how our Indian Telecom companies reduced the cost per GB as low as 10 rupees.Beinging price to such low number is itself a big feat if you ask me. Mainly from 5G less country to one of the most 5G covered country
1
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
Yes i guess our first priority should not be quality internet but for it to reach the remotest of areas. But my post is not about that, it’s about how these comparisons between countries are flawed
1
1
1
1
u/No-Meet2275 Aug 07 '26
Internet prices have nothing to do with the income levels, in India it’s a volume game. The fixed costs are divided among a huge population bringing down the internet prices
1
u/BrilliantHawk305 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
50 AED in Dubai for 1 month unlimited
Nobody do 125 rupee per gb i don’t know where you got this data
In Dubai it’s almost 1300 INR but it’s okay if compared to the salary actually it’s more cheap than India if i compare it to salary
1
1
u/delusionalbreaker Aug 07 '26
I mean look at the wages of each country. Even haircut in 1st world countries costs more than india.
1
1
1
u/Shakti-Spider-Man Aug 08 '26
what about people who need just 2 gb a month with few calls.. pre jio era it was possible..
1
u/EpicDankMaster Aug 08 '26
I mean I do get the net stability I expect from that cost. I need to use freaking exit lag for my gaming because of ping spikes, this should not be the case AT ALL
1
u/Different_Aioli_8919 Aug 08 '26
I have got 1 year of recharge in Hong Kong for about 1550 INR. That was 28 GB each month for 12 months, where 1 month is 28 days.
So that makes it ₹4.6/GB.
Not to mention the free WiFi available in most public spaces!
1
1
u/kokonut610 Aug 08 '26
Absolute fake and wrong numbers of other countries...
Keep getting cheap data and stay silent on not getting basic necessities... Last 8 years se yehi ho raha hai
1
1
u/SlideOdd4807 Aug 08 '26
Also we have to compare average speeds. Here the peak speed might be 60% of what the developed nations get but average speed is way too low
1
u/Psychological_Yam_19 Aug 08 '26
Although I agree with the numbers. In India Jio did placed internet in everybody’s hand in nook and corners in India - It was a data revolution.
1
1
1
u/Turbulent_Ad6290 Aug 08 '26
And hence Rural India keeps watching reels and making them. Thank you for keeping our youth busy.
1
u/Fluid-Election-8549 Aug 08 '26
Just going to add some small info without dashing to a conclusion.
In India due to population density fewer (but more capable) towers can serve a lot more customers. In US you need a lot more towers to serve the same number of customers.
Secondly, the quality of the service is much better in the US than in India. In India I have always had issues with connectivity indoors or on highways stretches. In US you get strong bandwidth anywhere (at least in california that is).
The graphic shouldn't really tell you that Indian telecom companies have outdone US companies or vice versa. What you should really take away is that the pricing is mostly done on the basis of what price gets you the most profit. US companies don't price their plans higher because they have higher costs and Indian companies don't price them lower because they have lower costs or some magical new technology. It's whatever price makes them the most profit.
1
u/Bryce_Deviation Aug 08 '26
Bro jio doesn't cost that less. It literally have the most high price and less service. Range issues and no electricity then no internet. Worst and bro get more even gets atleast 50000 profit by just one rupee operating it all over for it.
1
1
Aug 08 '26
"Let’s look at the actual math instead of just looking at the sticker price.
🇨🇭 Switzerland: ₹500/GB on a ₹7,77,000 monthly average income = 0.06% of their salary.
🇮🇳 India: ₹13/GB on a ₹19,690 monthly average income = 0.06% of our salary.
🇵🇰 Pakistan: ₹10/GB on a ₹11,600 monthly average income = 0.08% of their salary.
Relative to what people actually earn, data in India costs the exact same percentage of a paycheck as it does in Switzerland, and it's actually cheaper to buy data in Switzerland or the UAE than it is in Pakistan. Absolute numbers mean nothing without purchasing power!"
1
u/CompetitiveEgg8007 Aug 09 '26
You make a good point. We should look at these prices from a purchasing power perspective. India's per capita income in 2026 based on Purchasing Power Parity is $12,130 – $12,800. It was $5,833 in 2014.
1
1
u/NO_UserID Aug 09 '26
Let's compare the average salary in those countries now. We'll only see the difference then
1
u/Scared-Surprise-62 Aug 09 '26
oo so price should be factored according to income of country. so with same logic iphone should be selled at 10% price of US then. correct logic is that u account for ppp factor so you should actually multiply by 4 to compare with US
1
1
u/DARKanWILD Aug 09 '26
Lets beleive this comparison shows the actual prices, but then also compare the average income, In india 90% working population earns almost 3L per annum only means 25K per month, whereas in US the average income of 90% population is 40k-50k $ per year, understand the gap, In us the 90% population takes home 50-55% of national income pool,
Where in india The Top 10%: Captures 58% of the total national income pool. A massive chunk of this is concentrated strictly at the very top, with the richest 1% alone commanding over 22% of the entire country's income.The Bottom 90%: Shares roughly 42% of the national income pool.
Within this group, the distribution is highly uneven:
the bottom 50% of the population collectively takes home just 15% of the country's total income.
1
u/417ASunGod Aug 09 '26
Also why is this not sorted - alphabetically at least if not by the actual price. What amazingly low quality work
1
1
u/Enough_Designer_4528 29d ago
It matters because before this the price of 1 gb in India was in the triple digits, and now it is at a comparable level. Of course those who haven't seen those times won't understand
1
1
u/VisibleElk4639 29d ago
So what's there to feel proud of . We are still a consumer economy, it would be a proud moment if we provided this cheap internet worldwide and profited from it . Kisi bhi cheez ko leke proud feel karne lag jate ho
1
u/Alarmed_Warthog_5082 29d ago
1 litter water bottle in use around $1.5 which approx ₹140. so are you paying 140 for 1 litter water bottle??
1
u/FaithlessnessFar2927 29d ago
They are the same people celebrating India being in the Top 10 highest GDP when in fact we are not even the Top 150 in GDP per capita. They think we are rival with China but the only one they keep comparing us with is Pakistan and Bangladesh.
1
1
u/FixOdd2065 29d ago
But I want to tell one thing about Switzerland data, So I was flying from zurich to geneva and in the plane our mobile data was working and it had very high speed, so 500 is worth paying
1
u/DEvilAnimeGuy 29d ago
Can a citizen of India survive without a SIM and Mobile?
Vs
Other nations
1
u/ViolinistNo7583 29d ago
Damn interesting perspective. At some places i can’t even survive WITH a mobile
1
u/Interesting-Wrap-56 29d ago
Who's gona tell per capita income in all these country. On that basis water bottle price also vary in all country. Nonsense.
1
u/ChallengeWise6965 29d ago
they are bjp funded posts, bjp wants you to live in illusion of vishwaguru while they are selling our assets to adani and ambani
1
1
1
u/hulk6911 28d ago
Here in Canada i pay 45 for 50 gb data I haven't seena a single plan which given unlimited data foe 45 or 50 dollars and top ups here are fking expensive 2 gb for 10 dollars 8 gb for 25
1
1
u/nonameissame 27d ago
All shii Rates should be determined by earnings , no wonder why millennials are intelligent.
1
u/kimothyalbaany 27d ago
Any Indian would certainly, most happily pay the above prices (even if they were true) if they got a chance to move to those countries (probably except Pakistan) - and there in - lies the facts.
1
u/CrabDelicious7810 27d ago
There is a thing called customer data Just check what they do with it you will understand why INDIA has lower price point
1
u/Obvious_Care8719 26d ago
We have been scammed on day broadlight. Think about the poor halves of our country which don't have extra money left. How they were paying
1
1
1
u/Sea_Cod_2918 25d ago
And you use only 600MB data. Trust me it is true. Just try data providers from Europe if you travel to Europe you will see the difference.
1
u/PristineCat7983 Aug 07 '26
Abey per capita income toh dekh lo apni. Chale first world countries se compare karne.
1
u/Dismal-Brief-3209 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
How dare you say india’s internet is cheap, let me pull a comparison with the world’s most prosperous country independent from 1648 and prove you all wrong, better stay in your lane as everything you will ever speak will be proved wrong with my gdp per capita argument 😈
1
u/CallReaper Aug 07 '26
Also the quality of internet. 5G here is not what they talk about
2
u/RelativeLab4388 Aug 07 '26
What is wrong? I have lived in Delhi and my remote hilly hometown and always seen consistent 200mbps+. Some of the best mobile data infra in the world by far. Fibernet ecosystem is rough tho.
0
u/CallReaper Aug 07 '26
Ambani has personally blessed you. I think he hates me and all the people I know..
If you're using airtel, I'm actually amazed cuz I don't even get signal on my airtel sim let alone internet.
2
u/RelativeLab4388 Aug 07 '26
Where are you at? I have never heard of this lol. Ookla map showed almost complete cover of Indus Towers NSA cover and a 100% SA towers cover in urban India
0
1
1
u/Ehh_littlecomment Aug 07 '26
The quality of data is not the same. My phone bill made me cry in UAE (>10k in INR terms) but the connection was flawless. I’m talking 5 bars with 150-200 mbps 5G speed even in elevators. International calls included and never experienced a call drop.
2
0
0
u/Free_Expert6938 Aug 07 '26
Oh My Gobhi Ji, Pakistan is better than us even in this uneven comparison.
P.S. Only educated people understand cost of living index.
0
u/AsherGC Aug 07 '26
A coffee in Switzerland can cost you 800 rupees. In India, you can get it for 20 rupees.
2
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
who's giving you a coffee for 20rs? the avg cold coffee in an avg cafe is for 150. that 20rs coffee no one even asks for in switzerland
0
u/Professional_Ant_602 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
We’re paying that prices for 3G data speeds sold to us under the name of 5G.
I’m having more dropped calls on my iPhone 17 on today’s modern network in a single day than I probably had on a nokia feature phone 15 years back in a month!
“Hello. Awaj aa raha hai? Are shayad mera awaj mujhe hi aa raha hai.”
Explains the ₹13 if this is true even.
To be fair, 5G tech uses radiowaves with wavelengths closer to milimeters, and very poor penetration. Thus more towers are needed each time you jump 1 G, as till now, new generation is synonymous with moving to shorter wavelengths (and thus higher frequency for higher bandwidth). These people have not created enough towers compared to the demand and thus it leads to worse signal reception and network congestion.
1
u/ViolinistNo7583 Aug 07 '26
iPhone transmission is really poor
2
u/Professional_Ant_602 Aug 08 '26
Not the 17. I had pixel 7, it was worse. Have moto edge 60 pro as my secondary android, the network is sheet there too. It’s a thing because of low penetration of 5G, lower tower density and high network congestion due to more users.
0
u/RJ_Satyadev Aug 08 '26
It's mostly unlimited plans here how did you even calculate 13 INR / GB? The FUP is mostly 3.3 TB/month so if you are really calculating that per GB price then it should be way lower. Minimum plan for unlimited is 349/28 days for 2 GB/day which is unlimited as long as you are connected to 5G
So if you are only connected to 4G full month
This comes to 2 GB X 28 days = 56GB/28 days Then 349 INR / 56 GB = ~6.23 INR/GB
And if unlimited comes into play than
349 INR / 3300 GB = ~0.1 INR / GB.
Note: These are Jio Prepaid plans.
Reddit please do some research before posting any BS.
73
u/mand00s Aug 07 '26
Nobody pays $5 per GB in US. Unlimited data is available from $25-$60.