Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 69.7% cheaper than Male.

Restaurants: pay 54.4% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 54.0% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 54.4% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 84.9% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 78.5% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.6% less in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 39.9% less in Thimphu

Expenses including housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, and groceries are lower in Thimphu.

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Thimphu vs. Male Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.4% less for restaurants

	Male	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$2.58 BTN245.01	-56.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$4.91 BTN465.51	-49.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$0.50 BTN47.37	-69.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.18 BTN17.15	-39.1%
Average			-54.4%

Male vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.0% less for groceries

	Male	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$1.07 BTN101.68	-35.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$1.88 BTN178.04	-64.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$3.03 BTN287.51	-60.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$1.88 BTN178.37	-2.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$1.79 BTN170.03	-35.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$1.15 BTN108.91	-36.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.69 BTN65.57	-50.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$0.73 BTN68.90	-60.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$0.33 BTN31.67	-72.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$0.26 BTN24.45	-72.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$0.31 BTN29.45	-63.9%
Average			-54.0%

Male vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 54.4% less for transportation

	Male	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$2.79 BTN264.07	-26.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$5.17 BTN490.01	-83.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-48.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$13.18 BTN1,249.54	-24.8%
Average			-54.4%

Male vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 84.9% less for housing

	Male	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$24.17 BTN2,291.23	-66.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$127.00 BTN12,037.68	-86.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$86.02 BTN8,153.18	-87.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$25.81 BTN2,445.97	-71.6%
Average			-84.9%

Male vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 78.5% less for childcare

	Male	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$44.98 BTN4,263.06	-75.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$568.68 BTN53,901.57	-81.1%
Average			-78.5%

Male vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$2.58 BTN245.01	-46.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$1.28 BTN120.87	-64.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	$3.88 BTN367.51	-74.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$46.53 BTN4,410.13	-34.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$3.10 BTN294.01	-68.1%
Average			-57.6%

Male vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.9% less for clothing

	Male	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$49.97 BTN4,736.73	+26.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$24.99 BTN2,368.37	-49.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$67.21 BTN6,370.19	-22.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$13.96 BTN1,323.04	-73.4%
Average			-39.9%

Male 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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