Cost of living comparison

compared to

Thimphu vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 23.9% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 23.5% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 25.3% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 64.3% more in Thimphu
Housing: pay 30.7% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 82.1% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 71.8% less in Thimphu

The cost of transportation and entertainment and sports in Thimphu are more expensive than in Beijing. Expenses including childcare, clothing, housing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in Thimphu.

Thimphu vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Thimphu instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 23.5% less for restaurants

	Beijing	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.21 CN¥29.18	$2.82 BTN254.61	-33.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 CN¥34.05	$3.38 BTN305.54	-31.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 CN¥3.33	$0.53 BTN47.87	+10.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.13	$0.18 BTN16.55	-40.3%
Average			-23.5%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.3% less for groceries

	Beijing	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.71 CN¥11.84	$0.89 BTN80.46	-47.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.47 CN¥51.82	$1.61 BTN145.13	-78.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.64 CN¥46.09	$3.03 BTN273.73	-54.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.78 CN¥12.33	$1.96 BTN176.80	+10.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥10.63	$1.70 BTN153.37	+10.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 CN¥6.82	$1.09 BTN98.55	+11.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.34	$0.65 BTN59.13	-14.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 CN¥5.55	$0.83 BTN74.68	+3.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 CN¥4.18	$0.33 BTN29.64	-45.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 CN¥2.42	$0.23 BTN20.40	-35.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.41 CN¥2.86	$0.26 BTN23.48	-37.0%
Average			-25.3%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 64.3% more for transportation

	Beijing	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.21 CN¥29.22	$3.03 BTN273.88	-28.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$31.54 CN¥218.89	$4.01 BTN361.73	-87.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,225.66 CN¥126K	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.63 CN¥32.10	$18.89 BTN1,705.92	+308.3%
Average			+64.3%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.7% less for housing

	Beijing	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.93 CN¥89.73	$26.44 BTN2,388.01	+104.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$935.23 CN¥6,489.54	$122.58 BTN11,070.65	-86.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$504.41 CN¥3,500.05	$71.54 BTN6,461.26	-85.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.27 CN¥272.46	$17.80 BTN1,607.85	-54.7%
Average			-30.7%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 82.1% less for childcare

	Beijing	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$710.76 CN¥4,931.96	$235.40 BTN21,260.34	-66.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$23,242.73 CN¥161K	$648.40 BTN58,561.41	-97.2%
Average			-82.1%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 1.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.12 CN¥7.78	$2.82 BTN254.61	+151.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.90 CN¥20.14	$1.40 BTN126.29	-51.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.21 CN¥29.18	$3.66 BTN331.00	-12.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.84 CN¥401.32	$46.99 BTN4,243.58	-18.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.41 CN¥58.37	$3.38 BTN305.54	-59.8%
Average			+1.6%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.8% less for clothing

	Beijing	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.30 CN¥432.29	$9.02 BTN814.77	-85.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.37 CN¥252.39	$11.28 BTN1,018.46	-69.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$81.74 CN¥567.19	$31.01 BTN2,800.76	-62.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.53 CN¥732.27	$31.01 BTN2,800.76	-70.6%
Average			-71.8%

Beijing vs. Thimphu - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: February 2026

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