Cost of living comparison

Lesotho

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Maseru Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 20.8% cheaper than Maseru.

Restaurants: pay 62.5% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 34.0% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 47.0% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 38.3% more in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 35.5% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.9% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 58.6% less in Thimphu

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

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Thimphu vs. Maseru Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 62.5% less for restaurants

	Maseru	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.01 LSL148.38	$2.58 BTN245.70	-71.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.41 LSL138.49	$4.91 BTN466.83	-41.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 LSL17.56	$0.50 BTN47.50	-53.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 LSL13.85	$0.18 BTN17.20	-78.5%
Average			-62.5%

Maseru vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.0% less for groceries

	Maseru	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.83 LSL13.60	$1.07 BTN101.96	+29.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.30 LSL54.39	$1.88 BTN178.54	-43.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.38 LSL72.07	$3.03 BTN288.32	-30.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.54 LSL25.32	$1.88 BTN178.87	+22.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.79 LSL45.98	$1.79 BTN170.51	-35.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.85 LSL14.02	$1.15 BTN109.22	+34.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.02 LSL16.71	$0.69 BTN65.75	-31.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.23 LSL20.19	$0.73 BTN69.10	-40.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 LSL17.95	$0.33 BTN31.76	-69.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 LSL11.66	$0.26 BTN24.52	-63.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.73 LSL12.00	$0.31 BTN29.53	-57.4%
Average			-34.0%

Maseru vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.0% less for transportation

	Maseru	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.98 LSL81.93	$2.79 BTN264.82	-44.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.04 LSL494.60	$5.17 BTN491.40	-82.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,030.86 LSL346K	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-21.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.01 LSL98.92	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	+119.4%
Average			-47.0%

Maseru vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.3% more for housing

	Maseru	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.30 LSL630.53	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	-36.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$93.14 LSL1,533.25	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	+36.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$55.58 LSL915.01	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	+54.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$25.81 BTN2,452.87
Average			+38.3%

Maseru vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 35.5% less for childcare

	Maseru	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$52.06 LSL857.06	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	-13.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,181.73 LSL19,454.17	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	-51.9%
Average			-35.5%

Maseru vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Maseru	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.80 LSL29.68	$2.58 BTN245.70	+43.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 LSL32.97	$1.28 BTN121.21	-36.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.11 LSL84.08	$3.88 BTN368.55	-24.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$23.03 LSL379.19	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	+102.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$3.10 BTN294.84
Average			+18.9%

Maseru vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 58.6% less for clothing

	Maseru	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.07 LSL758.38	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	+8.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.58 LSL915.01	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	-55.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.15 LSL1,714.61	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	-35.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.22 LSL2,472.99	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	-90.7%
Average			-58.6%

Maseru 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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