Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 5.9% cheaper than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 1.2% less in Kabul
Groceries: pay 33.3% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 22.8% more in Kabul
Housing: pay 20.4% more in Kabul
Childcare: pay 9.0% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.4% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 32.3% less in Kabul

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

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Kabul vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 1.2% less for restaurants

	Thimphu	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$2.77 AFN180	+7.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$4.62 AFN300	-6.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.47 AFN31	-5.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.15 AFN10	-15.0%
Average			-1.2%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.3% less for groceries

	Thimphu	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$0.24 AFN16	-77.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$2.19 AFN142	+16.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$3.21 AFN208	+5.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.55 AFN101	-17.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$1.81 AFN118	+1.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$0.32 AFN21	-72.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.40 AFN26	-42.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.42 AFN27	-42.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.24 AFN16	-28.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.28 AFN18	+8.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.22 AFN15	-28.1%
Average			-33.3%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.8% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$4.19 AFN272	+50.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$20.77 AFN1,350	+301.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$8,461.54 AFN550K	-49.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$5.77 AFN375	-56.2%
Average			+22.8%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.4% more for housing

	Thimphu	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$96.92 AFN6,300	+300.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$123.08 AFN8,000	-3.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$108.80 AFN7,072	+26.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$32.46 AFN2,110	+25.8%
Average			+20.4%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 9.0% less for childcare

	Thimphu	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$20.26 AFN1,317	-55.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$1,046.15 AFN68,000	+84.0%
Average			-9.0%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$2.31 AFN150	-10.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$1.10 AFN71	-13.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$2.38 AFN155	-38.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$11.08 AFN720	-76.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$2.31 AFN150	-25.6%
Average			-41.4%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.3% less for clothing

	Thimphu	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$10.64 AFN692	-78.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$16.00 AFN1,040	-36.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$57.69 AFN3,750	-14.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$25.08 AFN1,630	+79.7%
Average			-32.3%

Thimphu vs. Kabul - 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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