Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Berlin and Thimphu

For one person, living is cheaper in Thimphu: $510 a month against $2,545 in Berlin, rent and utilities included – about $24,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Berlin
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Berlin Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Thimphu
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Thimphu Living Index

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Berlin

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,545

/mo nomad

Thimphu

🇧🇹 Bhutan

$510

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Berlin and in Thimphu

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Berlin and in Thimphu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,545 per month in Berlin vs $510 in Thimphu, rent included.

Berlin $2,545
Thimphu $510

A couple spends around $3,901 per month in Berlin vs $799 in Thimphu, rent included.

Berlin $3,901
Thimphu $799

A family of three spends $5,257 per month in Berlin vs $1,088 in Thimphu, rent included.

Berlin $5,257
Thimphu $1,088

Berlin costs about 399% more than Thimphu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Berlin sits 90% above the global median, while Thimphu is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.81 €14.99

$2.56 BTN 248

556.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.6 €71.0

$14.16 BTN 1,371

462.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.93

$4.89 BTN 474

173.62%

Cappuccino

$4.27 €3.81

$1.31 BTN 127

225.95%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.40 €3.03

$0.49 BTN 47.08

593.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.12 €2.78

$0.17 BTN 16.46

1735.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.48 €4.88

$2.55 BTN 247

114.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.56 €4.06

$1.60 BTN 155

185.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.77 BTN 74.7

64.94%

White Bread (500g)

$2.45 €2.18

$1.06 BTN 102

131.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.30 €2.94

$1.03 BTN 100

220.39%

Eggs

$4.45 €3.97

$1.84 BTN 179

141.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.10 €15.25

$3.69 BTN 357

363.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.19 €10.87

$4.01 BTN 388

203.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.30 €16.32

$4.01 BTN 389

356.36%

Apples (1kg)

$3.58 €3.19

$2.51 BTN 243

42.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.98 €1.76

$1.56 BTN 151

26.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.27 €2.91

$1.57 BTN 152

108.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.81 €3.40

$0.71 BTN 68.6

436.62%

Potato (1kg)

$2.13 €1.90

$0.56 BTN 54.2

280.36%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.70 BTN 68.3

215.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 €1.33

$0.39 BTN 37.98

282.05%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.01 €0.90

$0.31 BTN 30.20

225.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.49 €9.36

$3.81 BTN 369

175.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.76 €6.03

$2.91 BTN 282

132.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 €1.20

$0.62 BTN 60.5

116.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.31 BTN 127

60.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.37 €3.90

$0.76 BTN 73.5

475.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$71.0 €63.3

$5.18 BTN 502

1269.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.29 €4.72

$0.75 BTN 72.6

605.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.05 €2.72

$1.52 BTN 147

100.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$36.30 €32.36

$0.16 BTN 15.50

22587.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.28 €2.03

$0.76 BTN 73.3

200.00%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$33.2K €29.6K

$16.8K BTN 1.6M

98.42%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$39.1K €34.8K

$15.0K BTN 1.5M

159.53%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$379 €338

$34.28 BTN 3,319

1006.56%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$19.31 €17.22

$35.89 BTN 3,475

-46.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$48.41 €43.17

$24.76 BTN 2,398

95.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.31 €35.94

$46.99 BTN 4,550

-14.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$35.51 €31.66

$7.41 BTN 718

379.22%

Cinema Ticket

$15.53 €13.85

$3.17 BTN 307

389.91%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$144 €128

$45.87 BTN 4,442

213.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.8K €14.0K

$576 BTN 55.7K

2635.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.6 €84.4

$50.3 BTN 4,872

88.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.33 €41.31

$25.08 BTN 2,429

84.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.1

$67.8 BTN 6,566

52.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 €126

$14.29 BTN 1,383

889.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,488 €1,327

$126 BTN 12.2K

1078.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 €979

$86.0 BTN 8,324

1177.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,665 €2,376

$187 BTN 18.1K

1322.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,080 €1,855

$156 BTN 15.1K

1230.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$8,578 €7,648

$6,543 BTN 633.6K

31.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,438 €4,849

$384 BTN 37.2K

1316.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,487 €3,109

$351 BTN 34.0K

892.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Berlin: October 3, 2026

Last update for Thimphu: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Berlin

$1.1K 43.3%

Thimphu

$86 16.7% 92.2% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Berlin

$447 17.6%

Thimphu

$95 18.4% 78.8% $352

Groceries & Markets

Berlin

$351 13.8%

Thimphu

$125 24.2% 64.4% $226

Eating Out

Berlin

$289 11.4%

Thimphu

$69 13.5% 75.9% $219

Clothing & Footwear

Berlin

$174 6.8%

Thimphu

$71 13.7% 59.2% $103

Getting Around

Berlin

$109 4.3%

Thimphu

$17 3.2% 84.8% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Berlin

$71 2.8%

Thimphu

$53 10.3% 25.3% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,488 in Berlin versus $126 in Thimphu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 893% higher in Berlin, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80.0 in Berlin versus $14.00 in Thimphu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $351 vs $125 – making Thimphu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Berlin

🇧🇹 Thimphu

🕒 Local time

04:46 4:46 AM

08:46 8:46 AM

4 h ahead of Berlin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,769,962 Capital

98,676 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Bhutanese Ngultrum BTN Nu.

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

1,000 BTN = 10.33 USD

1,000 BTN = 9.21 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BTN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Bhutanese Ngultrum exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 96.83 BTN (100 BTN = 1.03 USD). 1 EUR = 109 BTN (1,000 BTN = 9.21 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

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Berlin Thimphu 6,710 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Berlin vs Thimphu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Berlin is pricier by about 399%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,818 per month in Berlin and $764 in Thimphu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Thimphu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,545 in Berlin and $510 in Thimphu. That's a gap of about 399%.

Public transport costs about 1270% less in Thimphu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Thimphu, where all-in costs run around $510, than in Berlin at $2,545. In Thimphu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Berlin it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Thimphu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Thimphu. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Berlin makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.