PG vs Apartment: Which Property Type Gives Better Returns in Bangalore?

The headline numbers

Across Whitefield, Electronic City, and Indiranagar in 2025-26, PG hostels typically deliver gross yields of 7-10%, while residential apartments deliver 3-5%. But yield is only half the story — PGs carry much higher operating costs and management effort.

Gross yield vs net yield

The gap narrows once you subtract costs. For a PG:

• Gross rent: ₹9,000-14,000 per bed per month (with food) in Whitefield.
• Food, housekeeping, maintenance: usually 30-40% of PG revenue.
• Net yield after costs: often 4-6% — closer to apartments than the gross numbers suggest.

Why apartments keep more of the gross

For an apartment, the only real recurring cost is maintenance (₹2,000-5,000/month) and occasional repairs, so the gap between gross and net is small. That is why net yields for apartments and PGs end up much closer than the headline gross numbers imply.

Vacancy risk behaves differently

Apartments carry long vacancy risk — a flat can sit empty for 2-3 months between tenants. PGs have near-zero vacancy because demand is high and beds fill quickly, but they have per-bed turnover: one bed empty for two weeks still costs you that bed's rent.

Management overhead is the hidden cost

Apartments are "set and forget": one tenant, one lease, one payment a month. PGs are a business: daily meals, housekeeping, new check-ins, deposits for each occupant, and multi-bed rent collection. If you are an NRI or a busy professional, the apartment wins on effort alone.

Which one should you choose?

Choose a PG if you live near the property, enjoy running it, and want higher cash flow with higher effort. Choose an apartment if you want passive income and are willing to accept lower yield for lower risk. Many landlords do both — an apartment for stability and a PG for cash flow.

How TenantsFlo handles both

TenantsFlo supports both models in one account: apartment-style unit tracking and bed-level PG tracking with per-bed rent and food options. The same dashboard reports on both, so you can compare your portfolio's actual returns in one place.