Cost of living comparison

Kathmandu, Nepal

compared to

Kabul, Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 18.2% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 16.0% more in Kabul
Groceries: pay 32.9% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 31.2% less in Kabul
Housing: pay 4.1 times more in Kabul
Childcare: pay 66.2% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 23.2% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 49.8% less in Kabul

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

Kabul vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.0% more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.47 NPR202.46	$2.63 AFN191	+78.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,011.30	$7.31 AFN530	-0.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR62.69	$0.38 AFN27	-17.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.23	$0.17 AFN12	+3.4%
Average			+16.0%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.9% less for groceries

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR77.78	$0.25 AFN18	-56.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR645.41	$1.96 AFN142	-58.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR436.08	$3.05 AFN220	-4.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR223.29	$1.48 AFN107	-8.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR203.18	$1.54 AFN112	+4.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR149.46	$0.25 AFN18	-77.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR64.69	$0.36 AFN26	-22.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR71.79	$0.37 AFN27	-28.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR45.02	$0.23 AFN16	-30.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR29.88	$0.15 AFN11	-31.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.26	$0.15 AFN11	-48.3%
Average			-32.9%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.2% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR667.05	$3.96 AFN287	-18.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,366.62	$8.93 AFN647	-10.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,555,390.07	$7,079.28 AFN512,602	-78.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,518.46	$9.07 AFN657	-17.9%
Average			-31.2%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.1 times more for housing

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,432.81	$130.18 AFN9,426	+1148.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,338.59	$103.61 AFN7,502	-45.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR14,024.70	$89.85 AFN6,506	-11.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,628.68	$70.84 AFN5,129	+168.4%
Average			+314.9%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 66.2% less for childcare

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,630.85	$23.40 AFN1,695	-74.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR478,315.96	$1,462.66 AFN105,910	-58.0%
Average			-66.2%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 23.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR354.31	$2.93 AFN212	+13.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR228.16	$1.27 AFN92	-23.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR404.92	$2.63 AFN191	-10.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,121.29	$8.78 AFN635	-61.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR455.54	$2.19 AFN159	-33.8%
Average			-23.2%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.8% less for clothing

	Kathmandu	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,301.68	$10.97 AFN794	-54.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,287.43	$16.03 AFN1,161	-48.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,325.92	$23.77 AFN1,721	-55.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,190.38	$22.38 AFN1,620	-40.7%
Average			-49.8%

Kathmandu vs. Kabul - 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: April 2025

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