Bengaluru rent report: 6,700 renters, society by society

Bengaluru is India's most data-rich rental market, and its most exhausting. The same city that offers a ₹17,000 1BHK near BTM also has a ₹98,500 3BHK stretch in Adarsh Palm Retreat off Sarjapur Road. Between those poles sit hundreds of micro-markets, each with its own logic of commute and builder brand.

This report unpacks all of it using 6,700+ first-hand anonymous rent reports from the city. The weighted median is ₹34,000, but that single number is the least interesting thing in this article. The spread is where your money gets made or saved.

The headline: ₹34,000, and what sits around it

Half of all reported rents in Bengaluru fall below ₹34,000; half sit above. That weighted median is built from reports spread across every major locality, weighted so that a 796-report area like HSR Layout counts for far more than a single stray entry. It is a fair picture of what the city as a whole pays — but nobody lives in "the city as a whole". You live in one of these:

Read it both ways. Vertically: ₹21,500 in Malleshwaram versus ₹54,000 in Bellandur is a ₹39,000 swing within one city. Horizontally: every locality has a middle-50% spread of 2x or more — the "going rate" you were quoted is almost never the only rate.

Three markets pretending to be one city

The IT corridor premium: east and southeast

Bellandur (₹54,000, n=394), Sarjapur Road (₹44,000, n=444) and HSR Layout (₹38,000, n=796) form the expensive southeast cluster. What drives it isn't construction quality — it's commute gravity to the ORR tech parks and gated-community density. Bellandur's 75th percentile touches ₹72,000, and its 25th percentile (₹38,000) alone exceeds the median of ten other localities on this list. If your office is on the ORR, you are paying for the privilege of not driving.

The value belt: the ₹25,000–₹35,000 mid-market

Marathahalli, Whitefield and KR Puram all land on exactly ₹35,000 medians with three of the largest sample sizes in the city (670, 387 and 401 reports). This is Bengaluru's workhorse market — older buildings mixed with new towers, everything negotiable. CV Raman Nagar (₹31,000), Kammanahalli and Frazer Town (both ₹30,000) offer similar value closer in — Frazer Town's ₹17,000–₹55,000 spread rewards patient hunters.

The old-city bargains: south and west

Malleshwaram (₹21,500), Basavanagudi (₹22,000), Hebbal (₹24,750), BTM (₹25,000) and Jayanagar (₹25,000) prove Bengaluru hasn't priced everyone out. Basavanagudi's 25th percentile of ₹12,250 is the lowest entry point among major localities in the city. The trade-off is building age and amenities rather than liveability — these are among Bengaluru's most loved neighbourhoods.

What societies actually charge

Locality medians blend ₹15,000 independent houses with ₹80,000 towers. Society-level data is where comparisons get surgical. Among the most-reported societies in our dataset:

Two observations. First, society medians routinely sit 60–150% above their locality median — Prestige Shantiniketan at ₹80,000 in a ₹35,000-median Whitefield, Diamond District at ₹70,000 in Domlur. The brand tax is real and quantifiable. Second, tight spreads are a signal. Sobha Dream Acres has a middle-50% band of barely ₹6,000 because 20 of its 24 reports are 2BHKs in a uniform tower cluster — that ₹45,500 median is close to a fixed price. Adarsh Palm Retreat's ₹79,000–₹98,500 band around ₹85,000 tells you large-format villas and penthouses dominate its mix. Wide bands mean negotiation room; tight bands mean the number is the number.

Negotiation angles the data hands you

Anchor on the 25th percentile, not the median. In HSR, that's ₹25,000 against a ₹38,000 median. Quoting the neighbourhood's own lower quartile forces the owner to justify their premium — building age, floor, furnishing — instead of gesturing at "market rate".

Use configuration to explain your offer. A 3BHK report set dominated by family tenants (Brigade Metropolis: 8 of 14 reports are 3BHK, median ₹59,500) won't price like a 2BHK-dominated one (Sobha Dream Acres, ₹45,500). If you're a single professional taking a 3BHK, you're a rarer, more attractive tenant — price that.

Weaponise freshness. Every society shows its most recent report date. A landlord quoting above a fresh, high-count median is quoting above today's market — with the page open on your phone, you can say so politely.

Negotiate the deposit with the rent. Norms run 2–3 months but premium societies push further — a ₹5,00,000 deposit on an ₹80,000 rent is documented at Prestige Shantiniketan. Offering a slightly higher rent for a lower deposit (or vice versa) is a trade owners understand. Our deposit calculator runs these scenarios in seconds.

How to use this

• Open the Bengaluru rent map and filter to your shortlisted localities to compare medians, spreads and report counts side by side.
• Before visiting any society, check its page — for instance Green View Residency in Electronic City — for building-level medians, configuration mix and last-reported dates.
• Set your target band as "25th percentile to median" of your locality. That's the statistically fair zone for a well-prepared tenant.
• After you move in, generate rent receipts each month for HRA proof and deposit documentation.
• Report your own rent — anonymously, thirty seconds — and sharpen the picture for the next renter.

FAQ

What is a good rent in Bengaluru in 2026? Against a citywide median of ₹34,000, anything at or below your locality's 25th percentile is excellent: ₹17,000 in Marathahalli, ₹24,000 in Whitefield, ₹25,000 in HSR Layout. Half of all reports in the city fall below ₹34,000.

Which areas in Bengaluru are most expensive? By median, Bellandur (₹54,000, n=394), Sarjapur Road (₹44,000), Indiranagar (₹39,000) and HSR Layout (₹38,000) lead. By society, Adarsh Palm Retreat (₹85,000) and Prestige Shantiniketan (₹80,000) top the most-reported list.

Which areas are cheapest near the IT corridor? Electronic City (₹26,000 median, n=260) and Hebbal (₹24,750) offer the lowest medians within reach of tech employment, followed by BTM Layout (₹25,000) and JP Nagar (₹26,670).

How much security deposit is normal in Bengaluru? Typically 2–3 months' rent across our reports, with premium gated societies asking more — up to ₹5,00,000 on an ₹80,000 rent in one documented case at Prestige Shantiniketan.

Is Koramangala or HSR Layout cheaper? Both sit at ₹35,000–₹38,000 medians with similar entry points (₹22,000–₹25,000). Koramangala's 75th percentile (₹60,250) runs higher at the luxury end.

Keep exploring

• What India Actually Pays in Rent, August 2026 — every city median in one table
• How to Find a Flat in Bengaluru Without a Broker — the practical playbook built on these numbers
• Security Deposits: What Societies Actually Ask — norms, ranges and recovery tactics
• How to Read a Rent Map — make the percentiles work for you

The evidence table, twelve areas deep

The report's headlines deserve their receipts. These are the deepest-sampled areas on the map at the time of this edition's re-cut — every row a live page you can inspect, report by report:

Three reads worth making. Bellandur's ₹54,000 tops the deep table — lake-adjacent stock on the ORR pulls a ₹19,000 premium over its southern neighbour BTM (₹25,000), which is the sharpest near-neighbour spread in the city. KR Puram at ₹35,000 sits level with Marathahalli despite being a different market entirely in most renters' minds — evidence counts can correct reputations. Electronic City at ₹26,000 (n=260) remains the value floor among major employment corridors, which is exactly why its residents tolerate the commute.

The configuration ladder, and its expensive tail

Bengaluru's ladder at this edition: 1BHK ₹16,000 (n=1,919), 2BHK ₹33,000 (n=3,076), 3BHK ₹58,000 (n=1,818). Above the family sizes, the tail thins and prices leap: 4BHK ₹89,986 (n=126) and 5BHK+ ₹1,04,000 (n=34). The tail matters for one practical reason — the 3BHK-to-4BHK step is a ₹32,000 jump, nearly double the 2BHK-to-3BHK step, because it crosses from "big flat in a gated tower" into "floor of a villa building" stock. Families stretching one rung should model that step honestly before shortlisting.

Deposits in Bengaluru: the honest data gap

Deposits deserve their own honesty note. Bengaluru renters disclose deposits on only a handful of reports so far — the disclosed ones average about 3.6 months of rent, which matches Karnataka's customary 3-to-5-month ask, but the sample is far too thin to call a median. Compare Pune, where 166 deposit disclosures put the norm at 2.1 months, and Mumbai at 3.2 months from 24. The pattern fits reputation: Bengaluru asks Pune-plus-one, Mumbai asks everyone-plus-one. If you are renting here now, the Karnataka deposit deep-dive covers what the law says about your ask, and the deposit calculator benchmarks a specific demand.

From August to September: what held

The September re-cut is the reason this report ages well rather than badly: the configuration ladder held at ₹16,000 / ₹33,000 / ₹58,000, and the city median held at ₹30,000 on a larger base. Flat medians across editions are the anti-headline finding — Bengaluru's rent level is sticky; what moves is velocity and mix, not the number on the board. The full re-cut lives in the September report; the block-level cut for Koramangala and the sub-₹20,000 belt map go deeper than any single edition can.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average rent in Bengaluru in 2026?

The median across all configurations is ₹30,000 per month from 6,000+ first-hand reports. By configuration: 1BHK ₹16,000, 2BHK ₹33,000, 3BHK ₹58,000. Medians from actual paid rents sit well below portal asking prices — that gap is the negotiation room.

Which area in Bengaluru has the highest rent?

Among deeply-sampled areas, Bellandur leads at ₹54,000 (n=394), with Sarjapur Road at ₹44,000 (n=444). Among the very priciest pockets, evidence is thinner — the city's premium towers are individually documented on their society pages.

Where is the cheapest rent in Bengaluru?

Electronic City (₹26,000, n=260) is the value floor among major job corridors, and BTM Layout (₹25,000, n=338) the value pick in the south-central belt. The full sub-₹20,000 belt — mostly further-out localities — is mapped in the cheapest-areas guide.

Are Bengaluru rents rising in 2026?

Levels have been remarkably flat edition over edition — the configuration ladder has held at ₹16K/₹33K/₹58K across months. What changes is velocity (how fast pins land) and mix, not the median. Measured stability, not the usual surge narrative, is the story.

How reliable are these numbers?

Each area median carries its report count — HSR's ₹38,000 rests on 796 first-hand reports, which is near-census confidence for that area. Thinner areas show smaller counts on the same page, and nothing enters Google below our evidence thresholds.

Methodology, sources, and how to cite

All figures are medians over anonymous first-hand rent reports in a rolling 180-day window, published with their report counts; deposit months are measured per report as the deposit divided by that home's monthly rent, and only reports disclosing both are counted. Coordinates are blurred to ~110 m, flagged outliers sit out of medians, and pages without sufficient evidence are held out of search. This article's cuts were taken in October 2026; the live map is the always-current edition.

Related reading

• Bengaluru Rent Report — September 2026 — the next edition, on a larger base
• Koramangala, block by block — the finest-grained cut we publish
• The cheapest areas in Bengaluru — every belt under ₹20,000, priced
• Security deposits in Karnataka — the legal companion
• HSR Layout honest math — the deepest area study