Kathmandu vs Thimphu - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Kathmandu Thimphu
🚶 Cost of living one person
$427
$420
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1087
$1031
🏠 One person rent
$127
$152
🏘️ Family rent
$214
$236
🍽️ Food expenses
$182
$174
🚐 Transport expenses
$69.9
$39.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$253
$544
😷 Air quality
Bad
Bad
✈️ Airport proximity
2 km
22 km
🎓 Higher education
28
5
😀 Quality of life
51
42
🏙️ Population
846K
115K

The cost of living in Kathmandu is 2% more expensive than in Thimphu. Cities ranked 8921st and 8940th ($427 vs $420) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Nepal and Bhutan, respectively. Check Nepal vs Bhutan comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Kathmandu compared to 1.3 months in Thimphu. Kathmandu ranked 1st best city to live in Nepal vs Thimphu ranked 1st in Bhutan, while ranked 6559th and 7547th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Kathmandu vs Thimphu infographic

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Prices in Kathmandu vs Thimphu

Prices for goods and services in Kathmandu and Thimphu are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Kathmandu Thimphu
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$1.76
$2.79
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$18.5
$17.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.36
$4.17
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.48
$2.28
☕ Cappuccino
$1.76
$1.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.54
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$158
$168
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$84.8
$101
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$284
$255
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$150
$171
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$19
$17.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$29.6
$26.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$8.19
$20.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.29%
10.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1810
$600
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1154
$947
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.21
$1.71
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$10.5
$11.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$13.4
$18.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.19
$0.77
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.82
$0.82
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.55
$0.75
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.92
$0.61
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.85
$1.85
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.96
$4.81
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.14
$4.15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.14
$4.17
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.16
$2.19
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1
$1.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.21
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.67
$0.73
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.48
$0.48
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.65
$0.58
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.17
$0.21
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.71
$1.03
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.99
$5.99
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.32
$0.67
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.81
$3.72
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.22
$1.55
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.48
$3.54
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.9
$1.2
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.69
$0.62
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$21.5
$38.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.2
$3.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$21.8
$27.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.68
$3.19
👖 Brand Jeans
$22.4
$32
👟 Brand Sneakers
$58.2
$43.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$75.8
$235
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$3066
$653

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Kathmandu

Distance City Cost of living
5 km or 3.1 mi Lalitpur
$350
47 km or 29 mi Hetauda
$293
94 km or 58 mi Birgunj
$328
124 km or 77 mi Janakpur
$293
146 km or 91 mi Pokhara
$386
183 km or 114 mi Muzaffarpur
$284
222 km or 138 mi Gorakhpur
$298
234 km or 145 mi Biratnagar
$321
235 km or 146 mi Patna
$320
238 km or 148 mi Saharsa
$281
261 km or 162 mi Damak
$316
300 km or 186 mi Purnia
$284
320 km or 199 mi Bhagalpur
$257
322 km or 200 mi Siliguri
$297
332 km or 206 mi Gaya
$297
346 km or 215 mi Jaunpur
$279
355 km or 220 mi Varanasi
$273
359 km or 223 mi Raiganj
$298
384 km or 239 mi Shigatse
$918
398 km or 247 mi Mirzapur
$276
400 km or 249 mi Paro
$450
410 km or 255 mi Malda
$297
411 km or 256 mi Saidpur
$311
421 km or 262 mi Thimphu
$420
431 km or 268 mi Allahabad
$300
438 km or 272 mi Balurghat
$297
443 km or 275 mi Rangpur
$308
447 km or 278 mi Lucknow
$339
449 km or 279 mi Dhanbad
$289
468 km or 291 mi Kulti
$289
476 km or 296 mi Asansol
$286
479 km or 298 mi Dhangadhi
$383
485 km or 301 mi Ranchi
$369
493 km or 306 mi Rajshahi
$274
495 km or 307 mi Berhampore
$294
503 km or 313 mi Durgapur
$289
510 km or 317 mi Bheemdatta
$367
510 km or 317 mi Bogra
$287
517 km or 321 mi Kanpur
$320
553 km or 344 mi Jamshedpur
$348

Cities near Thimphu

Distance City Cost of living
22 km or 14 mi Paro
$450
147 km or 91 mi Siliguri
$297
196 km or 122 mi Rangpur
$308
203 km or 126 mi Saidpur
$311
211 km or 131 mi Shigatse
$918
214 km or 133 mi Damak
$316
257 km or 159 mi Raiganj
$298
257 km or 160 mi Guwahati
$348
258 km or 160 mi Biratnagar
$321
259 km or 161 mi Dispur
$338
266 km or 166 mi Balurghat
$297
280 km or 174 mi Lhasa
$981
287 km or 178 mi Purnia
$284
294 km or 183 mi Bogra
$287
308 km or 191 mi Shillong
$354
313 km or 195 mi Malda
$297
313 km or 195 mi Mymensingh
$282
350 km or 217 mi Saharsa
$281
360 km or 224 mi Bhagalpur
$257
362 km or 225 mi Rajshahi
$274
364 km or 226 mi Sylhet
$321
377 km or 234 mi Janakpur
$293
401 km or 249 mi Berhampore
$294
413 km or 257 mi Narsingdi
$352
418 km or 260 mi Brahmanbaria
$332
421 km or 262 mi Kathmandu
$427
424 km or 264 mi Lalitpur
$350
426 km or 265 mi Dhaka
$464
438 km or 272 mi Agartala
$362
439 km or 273 mi Narayanganj
$348
444 km or 276 mi Muzaffarpur
$284
454 km or 282 mi Hetauda
$293
468 km or 291 mi Krishnanagar
$272
474 km or 295 mi Birgunj
$328
482 km or 299 mi Jessore
$300
486 km or 302 mi Shantipur
$286
493 km or 306 mi Patna
$320
495 km or 308 mi Durgapur
$289
500 km or 311 mi Asansol
$286
502 km or 312 mi Kulti
$289