Cost of living comparison

Kabul, Afghanistan

compared to

Kathmandu, Nepal

Kathmandu vs. Kabul Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 75.6% more expensive than Kabul.

Restaurants: pay 6.4% less in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 78.8% more in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 14.0% less in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 3.2 times more in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.1% more in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 2.0 times more in Kathmandu

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

Kathmandu vs. Kabul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.4% less for restaurants

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.63 AFN184	$1.47 NPR200.95	-44.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.31 AFN512	$7.36 NPR1,003.75	+0.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 AFN26	$0.46 NPR62.22	+21.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.17 AFN12	$0.16 NPR22.06	-3.3%
Average			-6.4%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 78.8% more for groceries

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.25 AFN17	$0.57 NPR77.20	+127.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.96 AFN137	$4.70 NPR640.60	+139.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.05 AFN213	$3.17 NPR432.83	+4.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.48 AFN104	$1.62 NPR221.62	+9.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.54 AFN108	$1.48 NPR201.67	-4.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.25 AFN17	$1.09 NPR148.35	+337.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.36 AFN26	$0.47 NPR64.20	+29.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.37 AFN26	$0.52 NPR71.25	+40.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 AFN16	$0.33 NPR44.68	+44.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.15 AFN10	$0.22 NPR29.66	+45.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.15 AFN11	$0.29 NPR39.95	+93.3%
Average			+78.8%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.96 AFN277	$4.85 NPR662.08	+22.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.93 AFN625	$9.94 NPR1,356.42	+11.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,079.28 AFN495,290	$33,138.99 NPR4,521,394.47	+368.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.07 AFN634	$11.05 NPR1,507.13	+21.8%
Average			+106.0%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.0% less for housing

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$130.18 AFN9,108	$10.42 NPR1,422.11	-92.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$103.61 AFN7,249	$191.60 NPR26,142.03	+84.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$89.85 AFN6,286	$102.03 NPR13,920.03	+13.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$70.84 AFN4,956	$26.40 NPR3,601.60	-62.7%
Average			-14.0%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2 times more for childcare

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$23.40 AFN1,637	$91.89 NPR12,536.59	+292.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,462.66 AFN102,333	$3,479.59 NPR474,746.42	+137.9%
Average			+215.2%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.93 AFN205	$2.58 NPR351.66	-11.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.27 AFN89	$1.66 NPR226.46	+30.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.63 AFN184	$2.95 NPR401.90	+11.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$8.78 AFN614	$22.71 NPR3,097.99	+158.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$2.19 AFN154	$3.31 NPR452.14	+51.0%
Average			+48.1%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.0 times more for clothing

	Kabul	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$10.97 AFN767	$24.02 NPR3,277.04	+118.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.03 AFN1,122	$31.19 NPR4,255.43	+94.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$23.77 AFN1,663	$53.29 NPR7,271.25	+124.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$22.38 AFN1,566	$37.76 NPR5,151.65	+68.7%
Average			+101.6%

Kabul vs. Kathmandu - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: May 2025

More cost comparisons

Kabul vs.

Lima

Kabul vs.

Reykjavik

Kabul vs.

Madrid

Kabul vs.

Washington

Kabul vs.

Quito

Kabul vs.

Paris

Kabul vs.

Phnom Penh

Kabul vs.

Warsaw

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Afghanistan vs. Nepal. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Afghanistan and Nepal.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Kabul

Add prices for Kathmandu

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kathmandu or Kabul. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.