Cost of living comparison

Thimphu, Bhutan

compared to

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Kathmandu is 48.3% more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 17.1% more in Kathmandu
Groceries: pay 3.0% more in Kathmandu
Transportation: pay 50.9% more in Kathmandu
Housing: pay 18.5% more in Kathmandu
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Kathmandu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.0% less in Kathmandu
Clothing: pay 100.0% more in Kathmandu

The cost of childcare, clothing, transportation, housing, restaurants, and groceries in Kathmandu are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.1% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.95 BTN252.57	$1.47 NPR201.98	-50.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$2.95 BTN252.57	$7.36 NPR1,008.87	+149.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BTN47.48	$0.46 NPR62.53	-17.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 BTN16.00	$0.16 NPR22.17	-13.4%
Average			+17.1%

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.0% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Bread 1 loaf	$0.94 BTN80.82	$0.57 NPR77.59	-40.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.68 BTN143.96	$4.70 NPR643.86	+179.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.17 BTN271.53	$3.17 NPR435.04	+0.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.20 BTN188.92	$1.62 NPR222.75	-26.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.74 BTN148.93	$1.48 NPR202.69	-14.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 BTN91.65	$1.09 NPR149.10	+1.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN56.14	$0.47 NPR64.53	-28.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 BTN70.57	$0.52 NPR71.62	-36.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 BTN31.62	$0.33 NPR44.91	-11.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN19.70	$0.22 NPR29.81	-5.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN22.00	$0.29 NPR40.16	+14.1%
Average			+3.0%

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu - Cost of groceries

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pay 50.9% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.93 BTN336.50	$4.85 NPR665.45	+23.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$3.97 BTN339.98	$9.94 NPR1,363.34	+150.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,215.98 BTN1,818,496.64	$33,138.99 NPR4,544,461.83	+56.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.09 BTN1,293.15	$11.05 NPR1,514.82	-26.8%
Average			+50.9%

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.5% more for housing

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$31.25 BTN2,678.17	$10.42 NPR1,429.37	-66.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$124.45 BTN10,667.16	$191.60 NPR26,275.41	+54.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.38 BTN6,804.13	$102.03 NPR13,991.05	+28.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$16.69 BTN1,430.32	$26.40 NPR3,619.98	+58.2%
Average			+18.5%

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$246.05 BTN21,089.51	$91.89 NPR12,600.55	-62.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$677.73 BTN58,090.87	$3,479.59 NPR477,168.49	+413.4%
Average			+175.3%

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.43 BTN551.26	$2.58 NPR353.46	-59.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 BTN131.34	$1.66 NPR227.61	+8.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 BTN328.34	$2.95 NPR403.95	-23.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.11 BTN4,209.48	$22.71 NPR3,113.80	-53.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.54 BTN303.08	$3.31 NPR454.45	-6.3%
Average			-27.0%

Thimphu vs. Kathmandu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 100.0% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Kathmandu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.43 BTN808.22	$24.02 NPR3,293.76	+154.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.79 BTN1,010.28	$31.19 NPR4,277.14	+164.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$32.41 BTN2,778.26	$53.29 NPR7,308.35	+64.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.41 BTN2,778.26	$37.76 NPR5,177.93	+16.5%
Average			+100.0%

Thimphu 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: June 2025

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