Cost of living comparison

Kathmandu, Nepal

compared to

Thimphu, Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 14.2% more expensive than Kathmandu.

Restaurants: pay 19.3% more in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 14.3% more in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 19.6% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 26.5% more in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 43.7% more in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.0% more in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 44.1% less in Thimphu

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

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.3% more for restaurants

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.47 NPR201.60	$2.95 BTN252.09	+100.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.36 NPR1,007.01	$2.95 BTN252.09	-59.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 NPR62.42	$0.55 BTN47.39	+21.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.16 NPR22.13	$0.19 BTN15.97	+15.4%
Average			+19.3%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.3% more for groceries

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.57 NPR77.45	$0.94 BTN80.67	+66.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.70 NPR642.68	$1.68 BTN143.69	-64.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 NPR434.23	$3.17 BTN271.01	-0.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.62 NPR222.34	$2.20 BTN188.56	+35.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 NPR202.32	$1.74 BTN148.65	+17.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 NPR148.83	$1.07 BTN91.48	-1.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 NPR64.41	$0.65 BTN56.03	+39.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.52 NPR71.49	$0.82 BTN70.44	+57.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 NPR44.82	$0.37 BTN31.56	+12.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 NPR29.76	$0.23 BTN19.67	+5.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 NPR40.08	$0.26 BTN21.95	-12.4%
Average			+14.3%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.6% less for transportation

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.85 NPR664.22	$3.93 BTN335.86	-19.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$9.94 NPR1,360.82	$3.97 BTN339.34	-60.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,138.99 NPR4,536,069.77	$21,215.98 BTN1,815,033.45	-36.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.05 NPR1,512.02	$15.09 BTN1,290.69	+36.6%
Average			-19.6%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.5% more for housing

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.42 NPR1,426.73	$31.25 BTN2,673.07	+199.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$191.60 NPR26,226.88	$124.45 BTN10,646.84	-35.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$102.03 NPR13,965.21	$79.38 BTN6,791.17	-22.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$26.40 NPR3,613.29	$16.69 BTN1,427.59	-36.8%
Average			+26.5%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.7% more for childcare

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$91.89 NPR12,577.28	$246.05 BTN21,049.35	+167.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,479.59 NPR476,287.33	$677.73 BTN57,980.24	-80.5%
Average			+43.7%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 NPR352.81	$6.43 BTN550.21	+149.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 NPR227.19	$1.53 BTN131.09	-7.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 NPR403.21	$3.83 BTN327.71	+30.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$22.71 NPR3,108.05	$49.11 BTN4,201.47	+116.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.31 NPR453.61	$3.54 BTN302.51	+6.7%
Average			+59.0%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.1% less for clothing

	Kathmandu	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.02 NPR3,287.68	$9.43 BTN806.68	-60.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.19 NPR4,269.24	$11.79 BTN1,008.35	-62.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$53.29 NPR7,294.85	$32.41 BTN2,772.97	-39.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.76 NPR5,168.37	$32.41 BTN2,772.97	-14.2%
Average			-44.1%

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu - 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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Kathmandu vs.

Mexico City

Kathmandu vs.

Vienna

Kathmandu vs.

Ankara

Kathmandu vs.

Manila

Kathmandu vs.

Nairobi

Kathmandu vs.

Warsaw

Kathmandu vs.

Lima

Kathmandu vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Kathmandu

Add prices for Thimphu

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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