A cook who makes two meals a day for a family of four should not cost ₹17,000 a month, and a live-in cook should not cost what a daily cook does. The number depends on four things: how many meals, how many people, veg or non-veg, and whether the cook lives in. Here is what each arrangement should cost in a typical Indian city, and what moves the figure up or down.
The short answer
A daily home cook in a typical Indian city costs between ₹4,500 a month for breakfast only and ₹13,000 a month for all three meals, for a family of four. Two meals, the most common arrangement, is about ₹10,000. Non-veg cooking is an add-on of around ₹1,000 a month. There is no visit charge for a cook; what you pay for is the trial day and then the month.
| Arrangement | Typical charge | Priced per |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast only | ₹4,500 | month |
| One meal a day, family of 4 | ₹6,500 | month |
| Two meals a day | ₹10,000 | month |
| Three meals a day | ₹13,000 | month |
| Non-veg cooking add-on | ₹1,000 | month |
| Live-in cook | ₹17,000 | month |
| Live-in cook + housekeeping | ₹20,000 | month |
| Special diet cook (diabetic, renal, post-surgery), one meal | ₹12,000 | month |
| Jain / sattvic cook | ₹9,000 | month |
| Home tiffin, lunch, 26 days | ₹3,500 | month |
| Cook for a party, up to 25 people | ₹1,800 | day |
| Cook for a function, 50 to 100 people | ₹3,500 | day |
| Cook's helper | ₹800 | day |
| Multi-cuisine or continental chef | ₹4,000 | day |
| Trial day | ₹700 | session |
| One-time cooking visit | ₹900 | session |
Metro cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Gurugram run about 30 percent higher. A cook who has to start tomorrow costs about 20 percent more for the first month; a flexible start date takes a little off. These are the figures the TheHire cost estimator uses, so the number you read here is the number it will quote.
How a cook's salary is actually made up
Cooks price by the meal, not by the hour, and that is the root of most disagreements. A "meal" is one cooking visit: a full lunch or dinner for the household, typically a dal or sambar, a sabzi or poriyal, rice or rotis, and a salad or curd on the side. Four things set the price.
- Meals per day. One visit a day is ₹6,500, two is ₹10,000, three is ₹13,000. Two is not double one, because the cook is already in your kitchen and the second meal shares the prep.
- Headcount. The card prices assume a family of four. A couple pays a little less; a joint family of eight pays noticeably more, and a cook who agrees to eight at the four-person rate will quietly cut corners within a month.
- Veg or non-veg. Non-veg is ₹1,000 a month on top, because it is more cleaning, separate utensils in many homes, and more skill. A cook who does not eat non-veg may still cook it; ask, do not assume.
- Live-in or daily. A live-in cook at ₹17,000 is on call for the whole day with food and a room on you. Add light housekeeping and it is ₹20,000.
Rotis are the quiet fifth factor. A family that eats rotis at both meals is asking for an extra twenty to thirty minutes of work each visit, and cooks in the North price it in; in the South a "roti at dinner" request is often an add-on. Say it when you post.
The eight arrangements most homes end up with
1. Two meals a day, ₹10,000 a month
The standard. The cook comes in the morning, around 7 to 9, cooks lunch and often breakfast at the same visit, then returns around 6 to 8 for dinner. Expect a 60 to 90 minute visit each time. Families with a tiffin to pack ask for lunch to be ready by 8:30, which pushes the morning slot earlier and is worth stating up front.
2. One meal a day, ₹6,500 a month
One visit, usually evening, cooking enough for dinner and the next day's lunch boxes. Good for couples who both work. The leftover-for-lunch plan works only if the fridge and the reheating are reliable; see the hygiene section in the essentials guide.
3. Breakfast only, ₹4,500 a month
Idli, dosa, poha, upma, paratha, before the school run. A short visit, 45 minutes, but early, which is why it is not cheap for the time. Many breakfast cooks also do the batter and the chutney for the week on one day.
4. Live-in cook, ₹17,000 a month
For joint families, elderly parents at home all day, or homes that entertain. Food and stay on you, which in practice means a room or at least a bed and a cupboard, and one more person in the grocery bill. Live-in is not 24-hour; agree the hours, the afternoon rest and the weekly off in writing.
5. Special-diet cook, ₹12,000 a month for one meal
Diabetic, renal, cardiac, post-surgery, or a dietician's chart. The premium is for following a plan exactly: measured oil, no sugar, low salt, the right grains. A diet cook should be able to read a dietician's chart and should ask about it before quoting. A Jain or sattvic cook, no onion, no garlic, no root vegetables, is ₹9,000.
6. Tiffin, ₹3,500 a month
A home kitchen delivers lunch in a dabba, 26 days. No one in your kitchen, no groceries, no leave management. The trade is choice: you eat what the kitchen makes that day. Good for single people and for a parent recovering alone at home.
7. Party and function cooking, ₹1,800 to ₹3,500 a day
Up to 25 people is ₹1,800 for the day; a function of 50 to 100 is ₹3,500 with helpers at ₹800 each. Groceries, vessels and gas are on you; a function cook will send a list and will tell you how many helpers the menu needs. A chef for continental or multi-cuisine is ₹4,000 a day.
8. The trial day and the one-off, ₹700 and ₹900
A trial day is ₹700 and is the most useful money you will spend. A one-time visit, for guests or an illness in the house, is ₹900.
One rule that saves money and trouble: pay a fair monthly rate and keep the same cook. A cook who leaves after three months costs you a trial, a week of bad food, and the risk of a worse one. The cheapest cook in the building changes homes every season.
What changes the price
Headcount. The rate card is for four. Every extra two people adds roughly a fifth, because it is more dal, more rotis and more washing.
Distance and timing. A cook who takes a bus across the city for a 7 am slot will ask more than one from the next street. Early slots, before 7, carry a premium.
Washing the vessels. Some cooks wash what they used; many do not, and it is the single most common unspoken disagreement. Agree it on the trial day.
Festival and bonus. A Diwali or Pongal bonus of between half a month's and one month's salary is customary in most cities, and the cooks who stay for years are the ones whose families treat it as part of the pay.
Leave. One weekly off, ten to fifteen paid days of leave in the year. Anything beyond that is deducted pro rata, and a cook on TheHire will expect that arrangement.
Five signs of a cook worth the rate
- They ask what you eat before they say what they cook, and they ask about allergies, diabetes and children.
- They wash their hands at the sink before touching food, without being told, and they tie their hair back.
- They taste with a separate spoon, and they do not bring their own phone to the counter while cooking.
- They tell you the grocery list for the week on one day, not by text at 6 pm for a 7 pm dinner.
- They have a reference from a family they cooked for over a year, and they are happy for you to call it.
Every cook on TheHire is ID and phone verified, and reviews after each job are public, which covers the part you cannot check in a trial day.
What to keep ready before the trial
- The list of what your family eats, including what the children will not touch.
- The stove, the gas, a working chimney or exhaust, and the pressure cooker in order.
- Oil, salt, the spices you use, and a stocked fridge; a trial on an empty kitchen tells you nothing.
- A clear statement of the two things you will judge: taste, and whether the kitchen is clean when they leave.
- The time you need the food on the table, so they can plan the visit backwards from it.