Cost of living comparison

Beijing, China

compared to

Kathmandu vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 30.7% cheaper than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 22.1% less in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 31.0% less in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 35.1% more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 54.4% less in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 86.4% less in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.7% less in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 43.2% less in Kathmandu

Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports are lower in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kathmandu instead of Beijing, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 22.1% less for restaurants

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.22	$1.47 NPR204.70	-64.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.57 CN¥40.29	$7.36 NPR1,022.45	+32.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 CN¥3.59	$0.46 NPR63.38	-8.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.24	$0.16 NPR22.47	-47.7%
Average			-22.1%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.0% less for groceries

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 CN¥10.38	$0.57 NPR78.64	-60.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.31 CN¥52.89	$4.70 NPR652.53	-35.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.17 CN¥51.90	$3.17 NPR440.89	-55.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.58	$1.62 NPR225.75	-6.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥11.08	$1.48 NPR205.42	-3.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.64	$1.09 NPR151.11	+18.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥5.15	$0.47 NPR65.40	-33.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 CN¥6.42	$0.52 NPR72.58	-41.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥4.22	$0.33 NPR45.51	-43.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 CN¥2.67	$0.22 NPR30.21	-41.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.41	$0.29 NPR40.70	-37.8%
Average			-31.0%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.1% more for transportation

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 CN¥31.56	$4.85 NPR674.41	+11.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.40 CN¥241.74	$9.94 NPR1,381.70	-70.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,872.18 CN¥151,087.44	$33,138.99 NPR4,605,650.29	+58.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.59 CN¥33.24	$11.05 NPR1,535.22	+140.6%
Average			+35.1%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.4% less for housing

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.28 CN¥96.16	$10.42 NPR1,448.61	-21.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$929.88 CN¥6,731.11	$191.60 NPR26,629.19	-79.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.44 CN¥3,564.64	$102.03 NPR14,179.43	-79.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.04 CN¥304.32	$26.40 NPR3,668.72	-37.2%
Average			-54.4%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

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pay 86.4% less for childcare

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.49 CN¥5,526.70	$91.89 NPR12,770.21	-88.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,913.01 CN¥165,860.43	$3,479.59 NPR483,593.28	-84.8%
Average			-86.4%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 CN¥8.06	$2.58 NPR358.22	+131.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥26.08	$1.66 NPR230.68	-53.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.18	$2.95 NPR409.39	-15.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.46 CN¥473.82	$22.71 NPR3,155.72	-65.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥60.43	$3.31 NPR460.57	-60.3%
Average			-12.7%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.2% less for clothing

	Beijing	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.65 CN¥453.54	$24.02 NPR3,338.11	-61.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.69 CN¥251.09	$31.19 NPR4,334.73	-10.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.45 CN¥604.09	$53.29 NPR7,406.75	-36.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.64 CN¥779.15	$37.76 NPR5,247.65	-64.9%
Average			-43.2%

Beijing vs. Kathmandu - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025

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