Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Oman

Muscat vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Muscat is 3.0 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 78.1% more in Muscat
Groceries: pay 69.4% more in Muscat
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Muscat
Housing: pay 5.2 times more in Muscat
Childcare: pay 10.9 times more in Muscat
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8 times more in Muscat
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Muscat

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

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Muscat vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 78.1% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Muscat
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$5.20 OMR1.990	+101.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$7.80 OMR2.980	+58.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.88 OMR0.340	+75.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.28 OMR0.110	+55.7%
Average			+78.1%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - Cost of restaurants

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pay 69.4% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Muscat
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$1.21 OMR0.460	+13.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$3.66 OMR1.400	+94.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$8.79 OMR3.360	+189.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$2.98 OMR1.140	+58.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$3.17 OMR1.210	+76.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$1.63 OMR0.620	+42.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.90 OMR0.340	+29.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$1.08 OMR0.410	+48.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.58 OMR0.220	+74.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.54 OMR0.210	+110.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.57 OMR0.220	+84.1%
Average			+69.4%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	Muscat
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$2.35 OMR0.900	-15.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$78.03 OMR29.840	+1409.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$25,485.84 OMR9,746.120	+53.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$24.06 OMR9.200	+82.5%
Average			+124.4%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.2 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Muscat
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$70.55 OMR26.980	+191.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$680.91 OMR260.390	+436.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$453.13 OMR173.280	+426.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$136.85 OMR52.330	+430.3%
Average			+415.6%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - Cost of housing

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pay 10.9 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Muscat
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$287.32 OMR109.880	+538.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$10,536.61 OMR4,029.340	+1752.8%
Average			+987.9%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Muscat
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$13.00 OMR4.970	+403.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$5.07 OMR1.940	+297.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$6.50 OMR2.480	+67.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$62.02 OMR23.720	+33.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$10.40 OMR3.980	+235.4%
Average			+178.8%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Thimphu	Muscat
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$56.51 OMR21.610	+13.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$43.24 OMR16.540	+73.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$89.59 OMR34.260	+33.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$87.56 OMR33.480	+527.3%
Average			+101.1%

Thimphu vs. Muscat - 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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