Interior Designer Salary in India (2026): Average Salary, Top Recruiting Companies and Institutes
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Interior Design is all about creating safe, functional, and aesthetically charming spaces. It is not just bound to choosing colors of walls and furniture. It's more than that in today’s world. There is a rapid demand for interior designers, as in past decades we have seen a tremendous increase in cafes, bakeries, skyscrapers, high-rise buildings, and work stations, etc. So Interior Designer is a very lucrative job in India. But how much do Interior Designers earn is the actual question? Let’s explore with this article. This article will provide you with the salary, pay scale, top colleges, etc.
Interior Designer Salary
- Who is an Interior Designer?
- Average Salary of an Interior Designer in 2026 based on City
- Average Salary of an Interior Designer in 2026 based on the Experience Level
- Top Companies Hiring Interior Designers in India (2026)
- Top Interior Design Colleges in India in 2026
- Factors Affecting Interior Designer Salary in India
- Interior Designer Job Roles
- Interior Design Colleges and Eligibility
Who is an Interior Designer?
An Interior Designer is a person who plans, designs and furnishes commercial, residential and public places. The main focus is on creating a structure that is pleasing, functional and safe for people. They also consider factors like space, lighting, materials, customer preferences, etc. The common role of an Interior Designer is conceptualization, 3D visualization, sustainability, etc.
Commonly asked questions
IIT Bombay will release the exam cities for CEED 2026. The list can be found in the CEED 2026 Information Brochure. In the previous edition, the design entrance exam was held in 27 cities.
Note that exam officials have the authority to drop a city in some cases.
Check out this information given in the CEED information brochure:
“If a sufficient number of candidates are unavailable in a city, that city may be dropped from the final list, and candidates will be allotted to a city of their second or third choice.”
UCEED 2027 Entrance Exam will be on January 17, 2027 on Sunday. The exam is for B.Des programmes at IITs conducted by IIT Bombay.
The NIFT Situation Test is a hands-on test that B. Des candidates need to appear in after qualifying the written exam. During the Situation Test the candidate has to make a model. Note that the material for making the model will be provided to the candidate inside the exam hall; no other material expect that provided to the candidate is allowed. So, candidates appearing in the Situation Test must not bring any additional materials for the Situation Test. The Situation Test will be evaluated on the spot. It is mandatory for the candidate to draft a write-up explaining the model.
The reporting time for NID DAT will be mentioned in the Admit card, along with gate closing time, and exam timings and date.
The candidate needs to report for the DAT Prelims exam at 8 am. The gates of the exam center will close at 9:30 AM (or 30 minutes before the commencement of the exam). After that no candidate will be allowed inside the exam hall.
NID DAT Exam timings:
- B.Des - 10 am - 1 pm
- M.Des - 10 am - 12.30 pm
Average Salary of an Interior Designer in 2026 based on City
The salary of an interior designer differs from one city to another. It depends on the cost of living in a city. For instance, the cost of living in Mumbai and Bangalore is higher compared to Noida and Delhi, so the average salary of a person working in Mumbai or Bangalore will be higher as compared to that one living in Delhi and Noida.
Salaries are also higher in metro cities because there are more clients, large scale projects and high demand, high rate of infrastructural growth, etc.
| City |
Monthly Salary |
|---|---|
| Mumbai |
Rs. 30,000 - 1,50,000 |
| Delhi NCR |
Rs. 25,000 - 1,20,000 |
| Bangalore |
Rs. 25,0000 - 1,00,000 |
| Hyderabad |
Rs. 20,000 - 80,000 |
| Tier 2 Cities |
Rs. 15,000 - 50,000 |
Also Read: Accessory Designer Salary in India: Average Salary based on Experience, Location and Job Roles
Average Salary of an Interior Designer in 2026 based on the Experience Level
Salary of an interior designer is also dependent on the experience level of a person. If a person is experienced, he is likely to be paid more and demanded more in the market than a person with less experience.
| Experience Level |
Experience years |
Average Monthly Salary (INR) |
|---|---|---|
| Fresher |
0 - 2 years |
15,000 - 30,000 |
| Mid-Level |
2 - 5 years |
35,000 - 60,000 |
| Senior |
5+ years |
70,000 - 1,20,000 |
| Freelance |
- |
1,00,000 - 3,00,000 |
Commonly asked questions
The NID DAT 2027 (Prelims) exam will be conducted in the following 22 cities:
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Dehradun, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayawada.
The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) will release the seat allotment of NIFT 2026 for Round I around the 3rd week of June 2026.
The seat allotment will be based on the merit rank of candidates and the academic option picked at the time of counseling registration. Note that NIFT 2026 counseling will be conducted in four regular and one spot rounds. The admission fee amount for regular seats at all campuses is INR 1,83,000..
No, National Institute of Design may not make any arrangements for a baggage counter. So, candidates must bear this in mind when packing for NID DAT Prelims exam.
It is recommended that candidate only pack bare essentials and not bring unnecessary stuff to exam centre. Also, expensive items like smartphones, jewellery, gadgets, etc., should be better left at home.
NIFT exam is among the most competitive and the toughest. So, it is recommended that candidate start their exam preparation in advance, around 1 year before.
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Top Companies Hiring Interior Designers in India (2026)
Some of the companies that recruit in the interior designing industry in India are.
- Livspace
- Pepperfry
- Ikea
- Urban Ladder
- Asian Paints
- Studio Lotus
- Homelane
Top Interior Design Colleges in India in 2026
Some of the top interior design colleges in India are.
- National Institute of Design
- Pearl Academy – Delhi and Mumbai
- Shrishti Manipal Institute, Bangalore
- Arch College of Design and Business, Jaipur
- Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai
- Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad
Commonly asked questions
The National Institute of Design (NID) will conduct the DAT Prelims exam in the third week of December 2026. B.Des exam will be held around 10 am - 1 pm. The candidates will be required to report for the exam at 8 am. Gates' closing time will be 9.30 am. DAT Prelims for the B.Des programme will be conducted in a paper-and-pencil/pen mode.
Factors Affecting Interior Designer Salary in India
Factors that play a major role in deciding salary of an Interior Designer are here.
- If a person has experience of 2 to 5 years, he is likely to earn an average salary of 35,000 to 60,000. A person with more experience has higher chances of earning compared to someone with less experience.
- The location of a job also matters. Interior designers based in metro cities have chances of earning more as compared to tier 2 cities because there are more projects and demand.
- An interior designer should have skills like good communication, sketching, problem-solving, Sustainability awareness, etc. He should know latest software, like AutoCAD, SketchUp, etc. A person with skills will have more pay and demand in market.
- If an interior designer has gained education from a reputed college with an appropriate specialization, he/she is likely to earn more salary. A B.Des specialization or M.Des specialisation is required to have a good job with good pay.
- A person with a strong portfolio is likely to get a higher salary. A good portfolio should shows all projects and skills clearly and gain clients' trust.
- If a person has specialization in luxury interiors, sustainability or commercial spaces, they will receive more pay.
- Freelancers and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to earn more than full-time interior designers. But, job of freelancers and entrepreneurs is risky and fluctuates a lot.
Interior Designer Job Roles
Check out some of the job roles trending in the market for Interior Designers.
- Residential Interior Designer
- Commercial Interior Designer
- Corporate Office Designer
- Retail Space Designer
- Hospitality Interior Designer
- Healthcare Interior Designer
- Kitchen and Bath Designer
- Sustainable Interior Designer
- Lighting Designer
- Furniture Designer
- Exhibition and Exhibit Designer
- Production / Set Designer
- Visual Merchandiser
- CAD Technician / Draftsperson
- 3D Visualizer / Rendering Artist
- Color Consultant
- Space Planner
- Interior Stylist
- Design Project Manager
Explore more Design exams with upcoming dates
25 Mar '26 - 14 Aug '26
22 Aug '26
1 Sep '25 - 31 Aug '26
8 Sep '25 - 31 Aug '26
1 Nov '25 - 31 Aug '26
1 Oct '26
11 Sep '26 - 1 Dec '26
6 Aug '26 - 31 Dec '26
8 Dec '26 - 16 Jan '27
Interior Design Colleges and Eligibility
Eligibility criteria for some of the top Interior Design colleges in India -
| Interior Design Course Levels | Top Colleges | Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| BDes in Interior Design | Lovely Professional University |
|
| Amity University Noida |
|
|
| Pearl Academy |
|
|
| IMS Design and Innovation Academy |
|
|
| World University of Design |
|
|
| MDes in Interior Design | Amity University Noida |
|
| Pearl Academy |
|
|
| World University of Design |
|
|
| KIIT School of Architecture and Planning |
|
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| JECRC University |
|
|
| Diploma in Interior Design | JD Institute of Fashion Technology |
|
| IMS Design and Innovation Academy |
|
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| Fergusson College |
|
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| INSD Pune |
|
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| Netaji Subhas Open University |
|
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| Certificate in Interior Design | NIFT Delhi |
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| Pearl Academy |
|
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| IMS Design and Innovation Academy |
|
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| BBK DAV College for Women |
|
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| Parul University |
|
Interior Design is overall a rewarding job in India and is growing rapidly due to urbanization and real estate development. People are more aware of environment and want aesthetically soothing interiors with eco friendly and other modern designs. With right blend of knowledge and skill, this job can give financial and job satisfaction to people.
Also Read:
| Graphic Designer Salary in India 2026 | Design Sketching | Interior Design Admission |
Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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