Cost of living comparison
compared to
Thimphu vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary
Thimphu is 21.5% cheaper than P'yongyang.
Thimphu vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Thimphu instead of P'yongyang, you would:
pay 67.9% less for restaurants
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
$2.58
BTN245.70
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
$4.91
BTN466.83
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
$0.50
BTN47.50
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
$0.18
BTN17.20
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.9% less for groceries
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
$1.07
BTN101.96
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$1.88
BTN178.54
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
$3.03
BTN288.32
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
$1.88
BTN178.87
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.79
BTN170.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.15
BTN109.22
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.69
BTN65.75
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.73
BTN69.10
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.33
BTN31.76
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.26
BTN24.52
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.31
BTN29.53
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$2.79
BTN264.82
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$5.17
BTN491.40
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$16,591.53
BTN2M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$13.18
BTN1,253.06
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation
pay 16.7% more for housing
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$24.17
BTN2,297.69
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$127.00
BTN12,071.65
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$86.02
BTN8,176.19
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$25.81
BTN2,452.87
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$44.98
BTN4,275.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$568.68
BTN54,053.67
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare
pay 47.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
$2.58
BTN245.70
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
$1.28
BTN121.21
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$3.88
BTN368.55
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
$46.53
BTN4,422.57
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.10
BTN294.84
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
P'yongyang
|
Thimphu
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$49.97
BTN4,750.10
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$24.99
BTN2,375.05
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$67.21
BTN6,388.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$13.96
BTN1,326.77
|
P'yongyang vs. Thimphu - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: P'yongyang vs. Thimphu
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See the
cost of living in North Korea vs. Bhutan.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within North Korea and Bhutan.
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