Cost of living comparison

Wellington, New Zealand

compared to

Thimphu, Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Wellington Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 66.5% cheaper than Wellington.

Restaurants: pay 79.3% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 58.2% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 47.8% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 78.9% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 83.2% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.5% less in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 78.5% less in Thimphu

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, clothing, groceries, and transportation are lower in Thimphu.

Thimphu vs. Wellington Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 79.3% less for restaurants

	Wellington	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.93 NZ$25.62	$2.95 BTN253.16	-80.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.37	$2.95 BTN253.16	-67.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.57 NZ$4.42	$0.55 BTN47.59	-78.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.15 NZ$3.70	$0.19 BTN16.03	-91.3%
Average			-79.3%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.2% less for groceries

	Wellington	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.96 NZ$3.37	$0.94 BTN81.01	-52.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.15 NZ$7.12	$1.68 BTN144.30	-59.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.98 NZ$11.98	$3.17 BTN272.16	-54.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.84 NZ$11.74	$2.20 BTN189.36	-67.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.06 NZ$8.68	$1.74 BTN149.28	-65.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.40	$1.07 BTN91.87	-23.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 NZ$1.87	$0.65 BTN56.27	-40.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.48 NZ$2.53	$0.82 BTN70.74	-44.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.61 NZ$4.48	$0.37 BTN31.69	-85.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.01 NZ$1.74	$0.23 BTN19.75	-77.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 NZ$1.44	$0.26 BTN22.05	-69.4%
Average			-58.2%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.8% less for transportation

	Wellington	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.42 NZ$11.02	$3.93 BTN337.29	-38.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$127.57 NZ$218.92	$3.97 BTN340.78	-96.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,339.84 NZ$58,932.31	$21,215.98 BTN1,822,757.32	-38.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.22 NZ$31.26	$15.09 BTN1,296.18	-17.2%
Average			-47.8%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 78.9% less for housing

	Wellington	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.27 NZ$93.13	$31.25 BTN2,684.44	-42.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,487.35 NZ$2,552.51	$124.45 BTN10,692.15	-91.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,335.17 NZ$2,291.36	$79.38 BTN6,820.07	-94.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$134.11 NZ$230.15	$16.69 BTN1,433.67	-87.6%
Average			-78.9%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 83.2% less for childcare

	Wellington	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$871.44 NZ$1,495.51	$246.05 BTN21,138.92	-71.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,649.75 NZ$21,708.87	$677.73 BTN58,226.97	-94.6%
Average			-83.2%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Wellington	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.17 NZ$12.30	$6.43 BTN552.56	-10.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.41 NZ$5.86	$1.53 BTN131.64	-55.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$24.46 NZ$41.97	$3.83 BTN329.11	-84.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.85 NZ$68.38	$49.11 BTN4,219.35	+23.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.24 NZ$21.01	$3.54 BTN303.79	-71.1%
Average			-39.5%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 78.5% less for clothing

	Wellington	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.78 NZ$130.05	$9.43 BTN810.11	-87.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.09 NZ$94.55	$11.79 BTN1,012.64	-78.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.44 NZ$204.98	$32.41 BTN2,784.77	-72.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$129.60 NZ$222.41	$32.41 BTN2,784.77	-75.0%
Average			-78.5%

Wellington vs. Thimphu - 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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