Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Zimbabwe

Harare vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Harare is 2.4 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 2.3 times more in Harare
Groceries: pay 62.2% more in Harare
Transportation: pay 2.9 times more in Harare
Housing: pay 3.0 times more in Harare
Childcare: pay 12.0 times more in Harare
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.6% more in Harare
Clothing: pay 10.1% less in Harare

The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Harare are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Harare.

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Harare vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Harare
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+286.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	+17.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.96 ZWL308.58	+91.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.47 ZWL151.05	+159.2%
Average			+128.0%

Thimphu vs. Harare - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.2% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Harare
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$1.00 ZWL322.00	-6.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	+205.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	+88.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.93 ZWL622.53	+2.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$2.46 ZWL791.38	+37.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$1.37 ZWL439.66	+18.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.76 ZWL243.55	+9.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.92 ZWL296.54	+26.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.70 ZWL226.23	+110.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.78 ZWL251.62	+202.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.80 ZWL257.47	+157.3%
Average			+62.2%

Thimphu vs. Harare - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.9 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	Harare
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	+147.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	+1060.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	+32.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	+51.7%
Average			+187.8%

Thimphu vs. Harare - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.0 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Harare
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	+185.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$390.00 ZWL126K	+207.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$316.60 ZWL102K	+268.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	+52.2%
Average			+196.1%

Thimphu vs. Harare - Cost of housing

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pay 12.0 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Harare
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$433.79 ZWL140K	+864.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	+1404.4%
Average			+1104.6%

Thimphu vs. Harare - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Harare
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$1.25 ZWL402.50	-51.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$3.00 ZWL966.00	+135.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$2.00 ZWL644.00	-48.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	+3.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+222.4%
Average			+29.6%

Thimphu vs. Harare - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.1% less for clothing

	Thimphu	Harare
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	-53.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	-15.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	-42.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	+189.2%
Average			-10.1%

Thimphu vs. Harare - 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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