Cost of living comparison

Nepal

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 15.8% cheaper than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 1.1% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 19.4% more in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 40.6% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 19.9% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 73.1% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.3% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 0.1% less in Thimphu

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

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Thimphu vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.1% less for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.94 NPR294.83	$2.58 BTN245.70	+33.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.75 NPR1,179.32	$4.91 BTN466.83	-36.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 NPR78.70	$0.50 BTN47.50	-3.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.14 NPR21.97	$0.18 BTN17.20	+25.2%
Average			-1.1%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.4% more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.59 NPR90.29	$1.07 BTN101.96	+80.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 NPR553.63	$1.88 BTN178.54	-48.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.79 NPR423.66	$3.03 BTN288.32	+8.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 NPR256.26	$1.88 BTN178.87	+11.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.40 NPR213.38	$1.79 BTN170.51	+27.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.91 NPR137.93	$1.15 BTN109.22	+26.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.53 NPR80.24	$0.69 BTN65.75	+31.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.63 NPR96.40	$0.73 BTN69.10	+14.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 NPR38.45	$0.33 BTN31.76	+32.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.18 NPR27.16	$0.26 BTN24.52	+44.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.23 NPR35.38	$0.31 BTN29.53	+33.5%
Average			+19.4%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.6% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.12 NPR778.50	$2.79 BTN264.82	-45.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.69 NPR1,474.16	$5.17 BTN491.40	-46.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,079.65 NPR4M	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-42.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.08 NPR1,685.45	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	+19.0%
Average			-40.6%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.9% less for housing

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.95 NPR1,360.76	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	+170.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$219.17 NPR33,332.28	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	-42.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$101.02 NPR15,363.97	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	-14.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$23.92 NPR3,638.09	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	+7.9%
Average			-19.9%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 73.1% less for childcare

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$65.27 NPR9,925.98	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	-31.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,431.44 NPR826K	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	-89.5%
Average			-73.1%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.09 NPR469.27	$2.58 BTN245.70	-16.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.51 NPR230.34	$1.28 BTN121.21	-15.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.46 NPR373.45	$3.88 BTN368.55	+57.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$21.54 NPR3,275.90	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	+116.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.91 NPR442.25	$3.10 BTN294.84	+6.7%
Average			+20.3%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 0.1% less for clothing

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.97 NPR3,797.07	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	+100.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$26.44 NPR4,020.42	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	-5.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$62.68 NPR9,532.87	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	+7.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$28.43 NPR4,324.19	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	-50.9%
Average			-0.1%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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