Cost of living comparison

 Kathmandu, Nepal
compared to
 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Dushanbe vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Dushanbe is 55.2% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants
pay 2.0 times more in Dushanbe
Groceries
pay 23.9% more in Dushanbe
Transportation
pay 49.5% less in Dushanbe
Housing
pay 2.1 times more in Dushanbe
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in Dushanbe
Entertainment and Sports
pay 13.1% more in Dushanbe
Clothing
pay 29.8% more in Dushanbe

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in Dushanbe are more expensive than in Kathmandu. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Dushanbe.

Dushanbe vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $1.47
NPR202.46
$5.61
TJS60.86
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.36
NPR1,011.30
$9.16
TJS99.34
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.46
NPR62.69
$0.62
TJS6.76

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pay 23.9% more for groceries

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Bread
1 loaf
$0.57
NPR77.78
$0.57
TJS6.19
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.70
NPR645.41
$4.28
TJS46.38
Milk (1 gallon) $3.17
NPR436.08
$3.05
TJS33.02

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pay 49.5% less for transportation

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.85
NPR667.05
$3.19
TJS34.56
Monthly public transit pass $9.94
NPR1,366.62
$4.68
TJS50.72
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $33,138.99
NPR4,555,390.07
$20,113.17
TJS218,074.88

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$10.42
NPR1,432.81
$23.95
TJS259.66
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $191.60
NPR26,338.59
$413.18
TJS4,479.83
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $102.03
NPR14,024.70
$210.49
TJS2,282.18

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $91.89
NPR12,630.85
$106.65
TJS1,156.30
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $3,479.59
NPR478,315.96
$13,658.24
TJS148,088.06

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pay 13.1% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.58
NPR354.31
$1.12
TJS12.17
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.66
NPR228.16
$2.29
TJS24.85
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.95
NPR404.92
$2.34
TJS25.36

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pay 29.8% more for clothing

 
Kathmandu
Dushanbe
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$24.02
NPR3,301.68
$28.06
TJS304.29
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$31.19
NPR4,287.43
$36.11
TJS391.52
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$53.29
NPR7,325.92
$76.71
TJS831.73

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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: April 2025
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See the cost of living in Nepal vs. Tajikistan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Nepal and Tajikistan.

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