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About this tool
Compare the true monthly cost of a hostel against a PG — rent, food, utilities, travel and one-time charges over your stay.
This comparator computes the true total cost of a college hostel versus a paying-guest (PG) stay over your planned duration: monthly rent, food, utilities and commute multiplied by the months, plus non-refundable one-time charges like admission fees and brokerage. Refundable security deposits are reported separately as locked-up cash rather than cost, so students and parents can see both which option is cheaper and how much money each needs on day one.
Open Hostel Vs PG Cost Comparator on AltFTool — it loads instantly in your browser.
Enter the values you already know.
Fine-tune the options to match your scenario.
Read the result and use it in your planning or reporting.
Adds food, utilities and commute to rent so the cheaper-looking option cannot hide costs.
Refundable deposits count as locked-up cash, not spending — one-time non-refundables do count.
One-time charges are spread over your stay so both options compare on a per-month basis.
Usually yes on recurring cost, because hostel fees bundle mess and utilities and involve shared infrastructure, while PGs price rent, food and electricity separately and often add brokerage. But the gap depends heavily on city and room type — a triple-sharing PG can undercut a premium hostel — which is why this tool compares your actual numbers over the full stay.
Per month: rent or hostel fee, mess/food, electricity-wifi-laundry, and the commute cost each location causes. One-time: hostel admission or caution charges, PG brokerage and any joining fee. Keep the refundable security deposit separate — it is cash you must arrange but should get back at move-out.
In most cities PGs take one to two months' rent as a refundable security deposit, returned at move-out minus deductions for damage or unpaid bills. Because deductions are common, get the deposit terms in writing; this calculator assumes full refund, so any expected deduction should be added to the PG's one-time charges instead.
Typically the first month's rent plus the security deposit (often one to two months' rent) plus brokerage where an agent is involved — easily three to four months' rent in total. The comparator shows this as 'upfront cash needed' for both options so the day-one outlay is visible alongside the monthly cost.
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