Cost of living comparison

Iran

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Tehran Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 18.4% cheaper than Tehran.

Restaurants: pay 27.5% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 23.5% more in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 72.5% more in Thimphu
Housing: pay 50.3% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 69.7% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 75.4% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 39.6% less in Thimphu

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

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Thimphu vs. Tehran Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 27.5% less for restaurants

	Tehran	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.75 IRR5M	$2.58 BTN245.01	-31.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.00 IRR5M	$4.91 BTN465.51	+22.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.51 IRR706K	$0.50 BTN47.37	-2.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.69 IRR2M	$0.18 BTN17.15	-89.3%
Average			-27.5%

Tehran vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.5% more for groceries

	Tehran	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.59 IRR816K	$1.07 BTN101.68	+80.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.21 IRR3M	$1.88 BTN178.04	-15.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.57 IRR4M	$3.03 BTN287.51	+18.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.25 IRR2M	$1.88 BTN178.37	+50.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 IRR2M	$1.79 BTN170.03	+17.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.62 IRR848K	$1.15 BTN108.91	+86.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 IRR1M	$0.69 BTN65.57	-19.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.53 IRR726K	$0.73 BTN68.90	+37.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IRR414K	$0.33 BTN31.67	+10.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 IRR357K	$0.26 BTN24.45	-0.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.22 IRR304K	$0.31 BTN29.45	+40.5%
Average			+23.5%

Tehran vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 72.5% more for transportation

	Tehran	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$0.34 IRR462K	$2.79 BTN264.07	+728.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.50 IRR8M	$5.17 BTN490.01	-6.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,000.00 IRR69B	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-66.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.90 IRR4M	$13.18 BTN1,249.54	+354.6%
Average			+72.5%

Tehran vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.3% less for housing

	Tehran	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$3.70 IRR5M	$24.17 BTN2,291.23	+553.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$425.52 IRR585M	$127.00 BTN12,037.68	-70.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$266.92 IRR367M	$86.02 BTN8,153.18	-67.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$9.95 IRR14M	$25.81 BTN2,445.97	+159.3%
Average			-50.3%

Tehran vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 69.7% less for childcare

	Tehran	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$107.76 IRR148M	$44.98 BTN4,263.06	-58.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,581.80 IRR4B	$568.68 BTN53,901.57	-78.0%
Average			-69.7%

Tehran vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 75.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Tehran	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.70 IRR962K	$2.58 BTN245.01	+269.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.36 IRR2M	$1.28 BTN120.87	-5.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.50 IRR3M	$3.88 BTN367.51	+55.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.59 IRR34M	$46.53 BTN4,410.13	+89.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.00 IRR3M	$3.10 BTN294.01	+55.1%
Average			+75.4%

Tehran vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.6% less for clothing

	Tehran	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.60 IRR37M	$49.97 BTN4,736.73	+87.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.78 IRR52M	$24.99 BTN2,368.37	-33.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.55 IRR160M	$67.21 BTN6,370.19	-42.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$75.17 IRR103M	$13.96 BTN1,323.04	-81.4%
Average			-39.6%

Tehran 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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