Cost of living comparison

compared to

Thimphu vs. Freetown Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 18.2% cheaper than Freetown.

Restaurants: pay 50.0% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 25.1% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 18.1% more in Thimphu
Housing: pay 85.6% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.2% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 12.1% more in Thimphu

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

Thimphu vs. Freetown Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 50.0% less for restaurants

	Freetown	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.00 SLL62,908	$2.82 BTN254.54	-6.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.00 SLL209,695	$3.38 BTN305.45	-66.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 SLL21,591	$0.53 BTN47.85	-48.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 SLL18,596	$0.18 BTN16.55	-79.3%
Average			-50.0%

Freetown vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 25.1% less for groceries

	Freetown	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.67 SLL13,980	$0.89 BTN80.44	+33.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.54 SLL74,319	$1.61 BTN145.09	-54.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.15 SLL191,910	$3.03 BTN273.65	-66.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.01 SLL42,124	$1.96 BTN176.75	-2.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.40 SLL71,337	$1.70 BTN153.33	-50.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.81 SLL38,046	$1.09 BTN98.52	-39.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 SLL19,023	$0.65 BTN59.11	-27.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.32 SLL6,742	$0.83 BTN74.66	+157.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.27 SLL47,558	$0.33 BTN29.63	-85.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 SLL19,023	$0.23 BTN20.40	-75.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.74 SLL15,488	$0.26 BTN23.48	-64.8%
Average			-25.1%

Freetown vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.1% more for transportation

	Freetown	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.02 SLL105,180	$3.03 BTN273.80	-39.5%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$4.01 BTN361.63
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$12,000.00 SLL251,634,000	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.75 SLL225,422	$18.89 BTN1,705.43	+75.7%
Average			+18.1%

Freetown vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 85.6% less for housing

	Freetown	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$100.00 SLL2,096,950	$26.44 BTN2,387.33	-73.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,321.25 SLL27,705,952	$122.58 BTN11,067.47	-90.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,261.67 SLL26,456,519	$71.54 BTN6,459.40	-94.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$110.40 SLL2,314,990	$17.80 BTN1,607.38	-83.9%
Average			-85.6%

Freetown vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Freetown	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$235.40 BTN21,254.22
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$648.40 BTN58,544.57

Freetown vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Freetown	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.50 SLL31,454	$2.82 BTN254.54	+87.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.74 SLL36,435	$1.40 BTN126.25	-19.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.00 SLL62,908	$3.66 BTN330.90	+22.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.00 SLL1,048,475	$46.99 BTN4,242.36	-6.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$3.38 BTN305.45
Average			+21.2%

Freetown vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.1% more for clothing

	Freetown	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$10.00 SLL209,695	$9.02 BTN814.53	-9.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$8.00 SLL167,756	$11.28 BTN1,018.17	+41.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.00 SLL419,390	$31.01 BTN2,799.96	+55.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$50.00 SLL1,048,475	$31.01 BTN2,799.96	-38.0%
Average			+12.1%

Freetown 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: December 2025

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