Restaurant Billing Software Price in Nepal (2026): Real Plan Costs, Hidden Fees & Your True First-Year Budget
Updated 20 September 2026 · By Wilson Shrestha, web & billing-software developer, Kathmandu · 12 min read
Short answer
Restaurant billing software in Nepal costs roughly Rs 6,000 to Rs 60,000 per year for cloud subscription plans. Most single-outlet cafés and restaurants land between Rs 10,000 and Rs 24,000 a year (about Rs 830–2,000 per month). Add Rs 12,000–35,000 one-time for a thermal printer, cash drawer and a counter device, and budget separately if your turnover crosses the IRD e-billing threshold.
Realistic first-year total for a normal Kathmandu restaurant: Rs 28,000 – Rs 55,000. Software is usually the cheapest line in that number — which is exactly why comparing only the subscription price is a mistake.
Search "restaurant billing software price in Nepal" and you get a strange result: page after page written about pricing, with almost no prices on them. Vendors talk about transparency, then send you to a contact form. Blogs explain that hidden costs exist, then never name one.
So this article does the boring part. Below are the actual published plan prices of the main restaurant billing and POS vendors operating in Nepal as of September 2026, the hardware costs nobody adds up for you, the IRD e-billing rules that quietly change your price bracket, and three complete first-year budgets you can copy.
Restaurant billing software price in Nepal — 2026 comparison table
These are publicly listed prices from each vendor's own pricing page. Where a vendor shows a promotional rate, both the list price and the offer price are shown, because renewal is normally at the list price.
← Swipe the table sideways to see all columns →
Software
Entry plan
Mid plan
Top plan
Free trial
Restronp
Rs 6,000/yr
Rs 12,000/yr
Rs 24,000/yr
Free tier
NRestro
Rs 10,000/yr
Rs 15,000/yr (list Rs 24,000)
Custom
1 month
RestroX
Rs 12,000/yr
Rs 24,000/yr (list Rs 30,000)
Rs 60,000/yr
14 days + free tier
Hamro SAN
Rs 599/mo (~Rs 7,188/yr)
Rs 999/mo (~Rs 11,988/yr)
Rs 1,199/mo (~Rs 14,388/yr)
7 days
Tiya App
Not published — quoted on request (cafés & chiya pasal focus)
Yes
Recaho
Not published — quoted on request (regional vendor)
Demo
Prices collected from vendor pricing pages, September 2026. Plan limits differ substantially — see the caveats below before treating this as like-for-like.
⚠️ Why a cheap plan can cost more
The Rs 6,000 and Rs 12,000 tiers are almost always capped — typically around 5 user logins, 16–20 tables and a few hundred menu items, with inventory locked to a higher plan. A 40-table restaurant with three cashier shifts will hit those ceilings inside a month and upgrade anyway. Read the limits column, not the price.
What price you should expect for your size of restaurant
Nepali vendors package plans by user count, table count and menu size — not by revenue. Here is how that maps to real outlets:
Chiya pasal / small café
Rs 0 – 10,000/yr
1–2 staff, under 10 tables, single counter. A free tier or the lowest paid plan genuinely works here. You mainly need fast billing and a daily sales total.
Single restaurant, 15–40 tables
Rs 12,000 – 24,000/yr
The real sweet spot. You now need KOT/BOT printing, table management, inventory and multi-user roles. This is where most Kathmandu restaurants land.
Bar, lounge or 2–3 outlets
Rs 24,000 – 60,000/yr
Multi-outlet consolidation, recipe costing, advanced reporting, priority support. Often quoted per outlet, so confirm whether the price covers branches.
Chain / IRD e-billing required
Rs 60,000+/yr
Custom/enterprise contracts, dedicated database, CBMS integration, SLA. Almost never published — you negotiate, so bring competing quotes.
The costs that never appear on a pricing page
This is the content gap in every competing article I reviewed for this keyword. They warn you about "hidden costs" as a concept and stop there. Here are the actual numbers, at Nepali market rates.
Cost item
Typical price in Nepal
One-time or recurring?
80mm thermal bill printer
Rs 9,500 – 13,500
One-time
Second printer for kitchen KOT
Rs 9,500 – 13,500
One-time (per kitchen)
Cash drawer
Rs 4,000 – 8,000
One-time
Complete POS terminal + drawer + printer bundle
Rs 25,000 – 32,000
One-time
Counter tablet or refurbished laptop (cheaper route)
Rs 15,000 – 30,000
One-time
Thermal paper rolls
Rs 160 – 200/roll
Recurring — a busy outlet burns 4–10/month
Router power backup (for outages)
Rs 2,000 – 3,000
One-time
Dedicated internet line for the counter
Rs 1,200 – 2,500/mo
Recurring
Bulk SMS credits (bills, promos)
Charged per SMS, often extra
Recurring
Menu setup + staff training
Free to Rs 10,000
One-time — always confirm in writing
Data migration from your old system
Often quoted separately
One-time
The renewal trap is the one to watch. Several Nepali vendors advertise a first-year discount and describe renewal in small print. A plan listed at Rs 30,000 and sold at Rs 24,000 is a Rs 30,000 plan; the discount is an acquisition offer, not your ongoing rate. Before signing, ask one question in writing: "What exactly will I be invoiced on the same plan 12 months from today?"
If you also run a retail counter or kirana side-business, the pricing logic is similar but the feature set isn't — I've broken that down separately in POS billing software for kirana shops in Nepal.
IRD approval and CBMS: the price factor almost nobody explains
This is where restaurant pricing in Nepal diverges from generic POS pricing, and where most "price" articles go silent.
Nepal's Inland Revenue Department requires covered businesses to issue invoices through approved electronic billing software that reports to the Central Billing Monitoring System (CBMS). The general turnover threshold is NPR 10 crore — but for hotels, restaurants and canteens the threshold is lower, at NPR 5 crore. Separately, businesses above the NPR 25 crore mark are expected to sync invoices to CBMS.
Under the Electronic Billing Procedure, 2074 (fourth amendment), approved software generally has to:
connect to CBMS for real-time or scheduled invoice sync;
number invoices by fiscal year and label reprints correctly (Copy of Original – 2/3…);
keep an immutable audit trail — no hard deletes, and every edit records user, time and reason;
store data securely, with hosting or accessible backup inside Nepal;
support VAT reporting formats, including rebate reporting on digital payments.
What this does to your price
Those requirements are engineering work, not a checkbox. A vendor that is genuinely IRD-approved and CBMS-integrated prices their compliant tier well above their café tier — frequently in the enterprise "contact us" bracket. If a vendor quotes you Rs 6,000 a year and claims full IRD e-billing approval, ask for their approval certificate and CBMS test report before you pay anything.
Below the threshold, you are not obliged to buy an approved system — but a VAT-registered outlet can adopt one voluntarily, and it is much cheaper to start compliant than to migrate mid-growth. I keep a running reference of what to check here: IRD-approved billing software list in Nepal. Always confirm your own category and current thresholds with your accountant — the rules get amended.
Monthly, yearly or lifetime — which actually costs less?
Nepali vendors sell in three shapes, and the cheapest label is rarely the cheapest outcome.
Model
Best for
The catch
Monthly Rs 599–1,199/mo
New outlets, seasonal businesses, anyone still testing a vendor
Rs 999/mo is roughly Rs 12,000/yr — no cheaper than an annual plan, you're paying for the exit option
Annual Rs 6,000–60,000/yr
Established restaurants confident in the vendor
Money is locked in. If the software doesn't fit by month three, you've paid for nine months of nothing
Lifetime around Rs 1,00,000 one-time
Outlets certain they'll run the same system 7+ years
Break-even against a Rs 12,000/yr plan is over 8 years. "Lifetime" means the vendor's lifetime, not yours
My rule: pay monthly for the first three months even if it costs slightly more, then switch to annual once your staff have actually adopted it. The extra few thousand rupees is cheap insurance against a system your cashiers quietly abandon.
Are the free plans real?
Partly. Free tiers from Nepali vendors are genuine products, not just trials — but they are engineered so a growing outlet outgrows them. Typical free-tier ceilings look like this:
around 100 menu items and 10 categories
about 10 tables and 2 staff logins
a handful of income/expense entries per day
no reservations, no inventory, no customer orders
community support only, and short data-retention windows
For a chiya pasal or a small takeaway counter, that is honestly enough — run it free for a year. For anything with a kitchen and waiters, the free tier is a demo of the paid tier. Plan for the upgrade rather than being surprised by it during Dashain rush. If your need is simply clean, professional bills rather than a full POS, a lighter tool may do the job — I've compared that route in my invoice generator and billing software guide.
What I've learned building billing systems for Nepali businesses
I build restaurant and retail billing software from Kathmandu — including DinePosAi, a restaurant management system with a live kitchen display, and Woobex Infotech's offline-first billing product for Nepali retail. Which means I've sat on the other side of these quotations. Four things I'd tell any restaurant owner before they sign:
1. Ask what happens when the internet drops — and test it.
This is the single biggest cost nobody prices. A cloud POS that stalls during an outage costs you a full dinner service. Ask whether billing continues offline and syncs later, then actually unplug the router during the demo and try to punch a bill. Vendors who have solved this will happily show you. Vendors who haven't will change the subject.
2. Count your printers before you compare plans.
Restaurants consistently under-budget hardware. One counter printer, one kitchen printer, often a bar printer — that's Rs 30,000 before a single subscription rupee. Some plans also cap how many printers you may connect. Check the printer limit, not just the table limit.
3. Ask how you get your data out.
Exports are the cheapest form of leverage you have. If sales history, menu items and customer records can only leave the system as a PDF, your switching cost in year three is enormous — and the vendor knows it. Ask for an Excel or CSV export of everything, and test it during the trial.
4. The cheapest software your staff won't use costs the most.
I've seen outlets pay for a system for a full year while the cashier kept billing on a notebook because the interface was too slow at rush hour. Put the software in front of the person who will use it every night, not only the owner, and let them bill ten mock orders. Adoption beats features, and features beat price.
Three realistic first-year budgets
Copy the one that matches your outlet. All figures in NPR, hardware at market rate, software at published plan prices.
Line item
Small café 8 tables, 2 staff
Mid restaurant 30 tables, 8 staff
Bar & lounge 50 tables, 2 kitchens
Software subscription (yr 1)
6,000
15,000
24,000
Counter device
Existing tablet — 0
18,000
28,000
Bill printer
10,500
11,000
11,000
Kitchen / bar KOT printers
—
11,000
22,000
Cash drawer
—
5,500
6,500
Power backup for router
2,000
2,500
2,500
Paper rolls (year)
3,800
9,600
16,000
Training & setup
0
0–5,000
5,000–10,000
Year-one total
≈ Rs 22,300
≈ Rs 72,600 – 77,600
≈ Rs 1,15,000 – 1,20,000
Year two onward
≈ Rs 9,800
≈ Rs 33,600
≈ Rs 46,000
Notice the shape of it: hardware dominates year one, then the cost drops by roughly half or more. Anyone quoting you a "monthly price" without that hardware line is showing you a quarter of the picture.
Ten questions to ask before you pay any vendor
What will this exact plan be invoiced at on renewal, in writing?
Does billing keep working with no internet, and how does it sync afterwards?
How many printers, users, tables and menu items does this tier allow?
Is the price per outlet or per account?
Are setup, menu entry and staff training included or billed separately?
Can I export my full sales, menu and customer data to Excel myself?
Is VAT 13% invoicing and PAN/VAT bill format handled correctly out of the box?
Are you IRD-approved and CBMS-integrated — and can you show the certificate?
Are eSewa, Khalti and Fonepay QR payments supported natively, and at what cost?
What is your support window, and who do I call at 9pm on a Friday?
Frequently asked questions
How much does restaurant billing software cost in Nepal per month?
Between roughly Rs 500 and Rs 5,000 per month depending on plan. Monthly-billed products sit around Rs 599–1,199/month, while annual plans work out to about Rs 500/month at entry level and Rs 2,000/month for a well-featured plan.
Is there genuinely free restaurant billing software in Nepal?
Yes — several vendors run permanent free tiers. They are usually capped near 100 menu items, 10 tables and 2 users, with no inventory or reservations. Workable for a chiya pasal or small takeaway; not for a restaurant with a kitchen and waiters.
Does my restaurant need IRD-approved billing software?
It depends on turnover. The threshold for hotels, restaurants and canteens is NPR 5 crore, lower than the NPR 10 crore general threshold. Below that you may bill on ordinary software, though VAT-registered outlets can adopt an approved system voluntarily. Confirm your category with your accountant, since thresholds and procedures are amended periodically.
How much does the hardware cost?
An 80mm thermal bill printer runs about Rs 9,500–13,500, a cash drawer Rs 4,000–8,000, and a complete POS terminal bundle Rs 25,000–32,000. Restaurants needing a separate kitchen KOT printer should double the printer line.
Is a lifetime licence around Rs 1 lakh worth it?
Only for outlets certain they'll run the same system for eight years or more — that's roughly the break-even against a Rs 12,000/year plan. Given how fast IRD rules and payment integrations change in Nepal, most restaurants are better served by an annual plan.
Can I use one billing system for a restaurant and a retail shop?
Some Nepali platforms handle both, but the workflows differ sharply — restaurants need tables, KOT and modifiers, while retail needs barcodes, SKU control and a credit khata. A product built for one usually feels bolted-on for the other. Test with your real menu or real SKUs, not the demo data.
What is the cheapest way to start billing digitally?
A free-tier cloud plan on a tablet you already own, plus a single thermal printer at about Rs 10,000. That gets a small outlet billing properly for under Rs 12,000 in year one, and you can upgrade the software plan later without replacing the printer.
The bottom line
Restaurant billing software in Nepal is cheap. Restaurant billing systems are not — and the gap between those two numbers is where owners get caught.
Budget Rs 12,000–24,000 a year for software if you run a normal single-outlet restaurant, then add Rs 25,000–50,000 of hardware in year one and expect the running cost to roughly halve afterwards. Choose on offline reliability, printer support, data export and staff adoption — in that order — and treat the subscription price as a tiebreaker rather than the decision.
Get those four right and almost any of the plans in the table above will serve you well. Get them wrong and the cheapest plan in Nepal will still be the most expensive thing on your counter.
Need help choosing or building one?
I build billing, POS and restaurant management systems for Nepali businesses from Kathmandu. If you're weighing quotations or thinking about a system built around your own workflow, get in touch through wilson.com.np.
Disclosure & sources: plan prices were collected from vendor pricing pages in September 2026 and may change — always confirm current rates directly. Hardware ranges reflect Kathmandu retail listings. IRD e-billing thresholds and CBMS requirements reflect the Electronic Billing Procedure, 2074 (fourth amendment); confirm your obligations with a qualified accountant. The author develops DinePosAi and works with Woobex Infotech, both linked above.
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POS Billing Software for Kirana Shop in Nepal: The Honest 2026 Buyer's Guide
If you run a kirana shop in Nepal and you are searching for POS billing software, you are probably being sold the wrong thing. Most vendor pages open with “IRD approved” and a demo button. Very few of them tell you the one fact that decides your entire budget: a typical neighbourhood kirana pasal in Nepal is nowhere near the turnover where the Inland Revenue Department actually forces you into CBMS electronic billing. Knowing that before you pick up the phone can be the difference between a Rs 8,000 setup and a Rs 70,000 one.
This guide is written for the shopkeeper, not the software seller. It covers what POS billing software for a kirana shop in Nepal really needs to do, what the IRD does and does not require at your size, what the software genuinely costs once hardware and renewals are counted, and the practical failures — loose daal with no barcode, udhaaro that nobody reconciles, internet that dies during the evening rush — that decide whether the system is still running six months later.
A kirana counter in Nepal running POS billing software with a thermal printer and a counter QR code.
1. Do you actually need POS billing software yet?
This is the section every vendor site skips, because the honest answer sometimes is “not yet”. Let me give you a threshold you can test tonight.
The 40-bill rule. Count your bills for three ordinary days — not Dashain week, an ordinary Mangsir Tuesday. If you are consistently writing more than about 40 bills a day, or carrying more than about 15 active udhaaro accounts, or stocking more than roughly 300 distinct items, a POS will pay for itself inside one year. Below all three, a copy and a calculator are genuinely fine, and no software will change your margin.
Where software stops being optional is not the bill count itself — it is the invisible leakage. In a shop doing 60–100 bills a day, three things quietly drain money and none of them show up in the cash drawer:
Price drift. Your cooking-oil rate changed twice in Ashoj but the person at the counter in the evening still charges the old price. Two rupees per litre on 40 litres a week is about Rs 4,200 a year, from one product.
Silent stockouts. You run out of a fast-mover on a Saturday evening and the customer goes to the shop across the road — and often does not come back for the whole basket, not just the missing item.
Forgotten udhaaro. Not the big accounts. The Rs 200 and Rs 350 entries someone forgot to write down. Shopkeepers I have worked with consistently underestimate this, and it is usually the single largest number when we finally reconcile.
POS billing software earns its keep by making those three things visible. If your shop is small enough that you personally know every price, every shelf and every debtor, you are the system, and you do not need to buy one yet.
2. The IRD question: PAN, VAT and CBMS, explained honestly
This is the biggest content gap across every competing page on this keyword. They use “IRD approved” as a scare tactic without ever telling you which tier you fall into. Here is the actual structure, as it stands for FY 2082/83.
Tier 1 — PAN-registered only (most kirana shops)
If your annual turnover is under the VAT threshold, you operate on a PAN and issue ordinary sales bills. Under Section 10 of the VAT Act 2052, VAT registration is mandatory when annual turnover exceeds NPR 50 lakh for goods-only businesses and NPR 30 lakh for services or mixed businesses. A kirana shop selling goods sits under the NPR 50 lakh line. Registration must happen within 30 days of crossing the threshold, and certain sectors — liquor, electronics, motor parts and others — must register regardless of turnover, which is worth noting if you also sell liquor or mobile accessories alongside groceries.
What you need: software that prints a clean bill with your shop name, PAN, item lines, quantity, rate and total, and keeps a sales register. You do not need CBMS integration, and you should not pay a premium for it.
Tier 2 — VAT-registered (larger marts and growing shops)
Every registered business must charge VAT at 13%, file a VAT return by the 25th of every Nepali month, and issue invoices in the format prescribed by Rule 17 of the VAT Rules, 2053. The 13% rate has been unchanged since VAT was introduced in 1997 and the Finance Act 2081 did not change it for FY 2082/83.
What you need: correct tax-invoice format, taxable/exempt separation (this matters a lot for a kirana shop, because many basic food items are exempt under Schedule 1), Bikram Sambat dates, an unbroken invoice series, and a monthly VAT summary your accountant can work from.
This is where the fear-selling happens. Mandatory e-billing was extended to firms with annual turnover above Rs 250 million (Rs 25 crore) from the FY 2080/81 budget, and that threshold was subsequently lowered to Rs 200 million (Rs 20 crore) by an IRD notice dated April 2026. The policy brings a much larger pool of medium-to-large enterprises under real-time oversight through the Centralized Billing Monitoring System. Lower thresholds apply to specific sectors — for hotels, restaurants and canteens the threshold is reduced to NPR 5 crore.
Put that in perspective. Rs 20 crore of annual turnover is roughly Rs 55 lakh per day, every day of the year. A kirana shop turning over Rs 40,000 a day is at about 0.7% of the CBMS threshold. If a vendor tells you your kirana pasal is legally required to have CBMS integration today, they are selling, not advising.
The buying rule that follows from all this: choose software that can grow into CBMS, but do not pay for CBMS today. Ask the vendor one question — “if my turnover crosses the threshold in two years, is CBMS an upgrade on my existing data, or a new product and a fresh migration?” The answer tells you everything about whether they built one system or three.
3. The nine features a Nepali kirana shop genuinely needs
Vendor feature lists run to sixty items. For a kirana counter, nine of them decide whether the software survives. The rest are marketing.
1. Billing in under six seconds per item
Measure this at the demo, with a stopwatch. Ask to bill a realistic basket: 1 kg rice (weighed), 2 packets Wai Wai (barcode), 500 ml oil, 250 g daal (weighed), one recharge card. If that basket takes more than 45 seconds end-to-end including printing, it will fail at 7 p.m. on a Friday.
2. Keyboard-first operation
Touchscreens look good in a demo and slow you down in real use. The fastest kirana counters in Nepal run on a cheap keyboard: type three letters, press Enter, type quantity, press Enter. Anything that forces mouse movement between every item costs you seconds per bill.
3. Decimal quantities for weighed goods, whole numbers for packets
This sounds trivial. It is not. Kirana stock is half loose and half packaged. Good software enforces the difference so a cashier cannot bill 1.5 packets of noodles or round 750 g of sugar up to 1 kg.
4. Nepali and English item search
Your staff think in Nepali. If they have to remember that “चिनी” is stored as “Sugar”, search fails during the rush. The software should let you store both names against one item and find it either way. If you keep product lists or price boards in Preeti font, you will need to convert them to Unicode before import — I built a free Preeti to Unicode converter for exactly this kind of cleanup.
5. Udhaaro at the point of billing
Credit must be a payment method on the billing screen, not a separate screen to visit afterwards. If it takes an extra step, nobody does it during a rush, and the ledger is wrong by evening.
6. Mixed payment on a single bill
Rs 500 Fonepay, Rs 200 cash, Rs 150 on khata — on one bill, in one action. This is the most common real-world payment pattern in Nepali retail now and a surprising number of systems still cannot express it.
7. Low-stock alert tied to the supplier and last rate
An alert that just says “low” is useless. An alert that says “Sunflower oil 1L, 8 left, last bought from Shrestha Traders at Rs 168” turns into a purchase order in ten seconds.
8. A day-end report you can read in one minute
Total sales, split by cash / QR / wallet / udhaaro, bill count, and the drawer figure to match. If the day-end report needs interpretation, it will not be read.
9. Your data, exportable, on demand
Ask for a CSV export of items, sales and party balances before you buy. If the vendor hesitates, walk away — you are looking at a system you cannot leave.
4. Why offline-first matters more than cloud in Nepal
Every vendor writes “works offline” as a bullet. Almost none explain what it means, and the difference between two implementations is enormous.
Architecture
What happens when internet drops
Right for
Cloud-only (browser)
Billing stops. You write bills on paper and re-enter them later, which nobody ever does properly.
Shops with fibre and a UPS, in the Valley
Cloud with offline cache
Bills for a short window, then the cache expires or the tab is closed and data is lost.
Light usage, short outages
Offline-first desktop app
Bills, prints and updates stock against a local database indefinitely, then syncs when the link returns.
Almost every kirana shop in Nepal
Test it honestly at the demo: unplug the router, then bill three items and print. If the vendor asks you not to do that, you have your answer.
The second question to ask is what happens to Fonepay and wallet reconciliation while offline. QR code transactions in Nepal grew about 92.5 percent in number in FY 2024/25 over the previous year, and QR is now the most widely used electronic payment instrument. Fonepay is accepted at over 13 lakh stores, from small kiranas to large supermarkets. In practice that means a very large share of your bills are now QR. A static counter QR keeps working when your POS is offline — the customer pays the bank, not your software — but the bill must still record “paid by QR” locally so the day-end split reconciles. Confirm this works with no internet at all.
5. The barcode problem nobody warns you about
Here is the most practical gap in every competing article on this topic. They all promise “barcode scanning” as if a kirana shop is a supermarket. It is not.
Walk your own shelves and count. In a typical Nepali kirana pasal, roughly half to two-thirds of what you sell has no usable barcode:
Loose rice, daal, sugar, chiura, beaten rice, spices — sold by weight from a sack
Local ghee, achar and oil in unbranded packaging
Eggs, bread from a local bakery, milk packets with smudged print
Cigarettes and loose singles
Vegetables, if you carry them
A scanner only helps with the branded third. For everything else you need one of three things, and you should decide which before buying:
Quick keys / favourites grid. Your 30 fastest loose items pinned to number keys or a single screen. This is the cheapest and usually the best answer for a small shop.
In-house barcode label printing. You print and stick your own labels on pre-packed bags of rice and daal. Worth it if you pre-pack in fixed sizes; a waste of time if you weigh to order.
Weighing scale integration. The scale sends the weight straight into the bill line. Genuinely useful above roughly 100 bills a day, and overkill below it.
Ask this at the demo: “Show me billing 400 g of loose daal, without a scanner.” How the vendor answers that one question tells you more about the software than the whole feature list does.
6. Udhaaro khata: digitising the credit book properly
Credit is not a flaw in the kirana model — it is the reason your regulars are your regulars. The copy on the counter fails not because it is paper but because it has no ageing and no reminder.
A properly implemented udhaaro module gives you four things paper cannot:
One running balance per party, with every entry linked to the bill it came from, so “I already paid that” becomes a screen instead of an argument.
Part payments against older bills — because that is how people actually settle, Rs 500 at a time.
Ageing buckets — who is 0–30 days, 30–60, and over 90. This is the single most valuable report in a kirana shop and the one most systems either omit or bury.
A reminder you can actually send — a Viber or SMS message with the balance and the bill reference, generated from the ledger.
The recovery routine that works
Every Saturday morning, open the ageing report.
Anything over 30 days gets a polite message with the exact figure and the last bill date.
Anything over 60 days gets a phone call, not a message.
Anything over 90 days stops getting new credit until something is paid — and the software should be able to enforce a credit limit per party so this is not a conversation you have to have at the counter.
That last point matters. If your staff can extend credit without limit, the ledger will be accurate and still useless. A credit ceiling per customer, set by you and enforced by the software, is the feature that converts a digital khata from a record into a control.
From the field: what I see go wrong in month two
I build billing and POS software for Nepali retail, and the pattern in failed rollouts is remarkably consistent. It is almost never the software. It is that the shop entered 800 products in week one with enthusiasm, then stopped updating purchase entries in week two. Stock figures drift, the owner stops trusting the numbers, and within a month everyone is back to the copy — with an annual licence already paid for.
The shops that stick with it do one unglamorous thing: they enter purchases the same evening the goods arrive, every time, before the sack is opened. Ten minutes a day. That single habit is what separates a POS that pays for itself from an expensive receipt printer. If you cannot commit to it, buy the cheapest plan that prints a clean bill and ignore the inventory module entirely — a POS used only for billing and udhaaro is still worth the money, and a half-maintained stock module is worse than none.
7. What POS billing software really costs in Nepal (2026)
Published Nepali pricing, as listed by the vendors themselves at the time of writing:
Vendor / product
Entry price
What it covers
Mid / upper tier
Sajilo Billing
Rs 8,000 / year
Online dashboard, 1 offline desktop app, cloud sync, up to 500 products
IRD-certified billing, basic inventory, ledgers, Nepali/English dates — positioned at kirana and single-location retail
Rs 35,000 + VAT for the full ERP suite; POS base licence quoted at Rs 55,000 + 13% VAT with AMC around Rs 16,500
BUSY (channel partner)
Quote on demand
Editions from basic accounting to enterprise, with CBMS-ready workflow and local training
Priced per edition and user; 15-day trial offered
Cloud SaaS platforms
Monthly subscription
POS plus online store, wallet and QR payments, no upfront licence
Scales by plan; check offline behaviour carefully
Software licence is rarely the biggest number. Budget realistically for the whole counter:
Item
Typical range (NPR)
Notes
Software licence, year 1
8,000 – 25,000
Entry plans are genuinely adequate for a single-counter kirana shop
Annual renewal / AMC
15% – 100% of licence
Ask for this figure in writing before buying. A perpetual licence with a heavy AMC can cost more over three years than a subscription
80mm thermal printer
6,000 – 14,000
Buy a known brand; a cheap printer is the most common hardware failure
USB barcode scanner
2,500 – 6,000
Only worth it if a real share of your stock is barcoded
Counter PC or laptop
25,000 – 60,000
A modest second-hand machine is usually enough for a single counter
UPS / inverter backup
8,000 – 20,000
Non-negotiable. Power loss mid-bill is worse than internet loss
Catalogue data entry
0 – 8,000
Either your time or theirs. Get an Excel import instead if you can
Three-year total cost is the number to compare, not the sticker price. Work out: (licence + 2 renewals) + hardware + any training or setup fee. A Rs 8,000/year subscription over three years is Rs 24,000. A Rs 55,000 perpetual licence with Rs 16,500 AMC is Rs 88,000 over the same period. Both may be right — but only one is right for a kirana shop.
8. What the main options actually offer
Rather than rank vendors, here is how the categories differ, so you can place any quote you receive:
Category
Strength
Weakness for a kirana shop
Nepali offline-first billing apps (Sajilo Billing, Woobex Billing and similar)
Built around udhaaro, Fonepay, BS dates and local billing habits; work without internet
Smaller feature depth than an ERP; fewer accounting reports
Nepali ERP suites (MrSolution, OneFlow and similar)
Full accounting, multi-branch, IRD certification, long track record
Priced and designed for marts and distributors; heavy for a single counter
Indian ERP localised for Nepal (BUSY and similar)
Mature accounting, deep inventory, partner support network
Localisation varies; udhaaro and Nepali-language search are often bolted on
Cloud SaaS platforms
Low upfront cost, online store included, fast to start
Offline behaviour is the risk; verify billing works with the router unplugged
Indian kirana apps found in search results
Polished mobile-first billing
Built for GST, not PAN/VAT — the tax logic, invoice format and dates are wrong for Nepal
A warning about search results. Search this keyword and half the first page is Indian software built for GST. GST and Nepal’s VAT are different regimes with different invoice formats, different rates and different date systems. Software that cannot print a Bikram Sambat date or separate Schedule 1 exempt items is not “close enough” — it will fail you at filing time.
9. A realistic 7-day rollout plan
Most vendors promise “setup in a day”. That is true for installation and false for adoption. Here is a schedule that actually works, run in parallel with your existing copy so you never stop trading.
Day 1 — the top 100. Enter only your 100 fastest-moving items with correct rates and units. Not 800. One hundred. This covers the large majority of your bills.
Day 2 — set units and tax flags. Mark which items are weighed and which are by piece, and which are VAT-exempt if you are registered. Getting this wrong now is painful later.
Day 3 — printer and payments. Test the thermal printer with your actual bill layout, stick the counter QR where the customer can reach it, and confirm the bill records the payment method.
Day 4 — staff logins and limits. One login per person. Decide who can give a discount, who can edit prices, and who can see purchase cost. Cashiers should not see margin.
Day 5 — run parallel. Bill on the software and keep the copy. Compare at closing. Expect gaps; fix the item master, not the process.
Day 6 — load the udhaaro openings. Enter current outstanding balances per party as opening figures. Do this once, carefully, with the copy in front of you.
Day 7 — first real day-end. Close on software alone. Match the drawer. If it matches within a few rupees, you are live. If not, find the one item whose rate is wrong — it is almost always a rate, not a bug.
Then: the Dashain test
Your real deadline is not go-live, it is your first festival season. Two weeks before Dashain, pull the previous year’s sales by item if you have it, and use the reorder report to stock ahead. A POS that has not been used to plan a festival stock-up has not yet paid you back.
10. Seven mistakes that kill kirana POS rollouts
✓Buying CBMS you do not need. Covered above. Match the tier to your turnover.
✓Entering the entire catalogue on day one. Enthusiasm runs out around item 300, and a half-entered catalogue makes the stock module untrustworthy immediately.
✓Skipping purchase entry. Sales reduce stock; if purchases never increase it, every figure goes negative within a month and people stop believing the screen.
✓No UPS. Losing power mid-bill on a machine with no battery corrupts more days than bad internet ever will.
✓Letting everyone use the owner login. Then no report can tell you who gave the discount or voided the bill, which is the main reason to have software at all.
✓Not asking about the renewal. Year one is quoted, year two is a surprise. Get the AMC or renewal figure in writing before you pay.
✓No export test. Ask for a CSV of items, sales and party balances during the trial. If you cannot get your own data out, you do not own it.
Bringing it together
For most kirana shops in Nepal, the right answer in 2026 is unglamorous: an offline-first billing app in the Rs 8,000–15,000 a year range, run on a modest counter PC with a UPS and a decent thermal printer, using a hundred well-maintained items, a counter QR, and a disciplined udhaaro ledger with ageing. That setup beats an expensive ERP that nobody updates, every single time.
Match your compliance tier honestly, test the software with the router unplugged and a bag of loose daal, get the renewal price in writing, and commit to ten minutes of purchase entry every evening. Everything else is a feature list.
Does a kirana shop in Nepal legally need IRD-approved billing software?
In most cases, no. Mandatory CBMS electronic billing applies to businesses above a turnover threshold that was lowered to roughly Rs 20 crore by an IRD notice in April 2026, with a lower Rs 5 crore threshold for hotels, restaurants and canteens. A typical kirana shop is far below this and needs only a clean PAN or VAT bill. Any VAT-registered business may adopt IRD-listed software voluntarily.
How much does POS billing software cost for a kirana shop in Nepal?
Published entry plans start around Rs 8,000 per year for a single-counter shop, with mid-tier plans around Rs 15,000–25,000 per year. Perpetual licences from ERP vendors start higher — around Rs 15,000 plus VAT for a basic inventory and billing edition — and carry annual maintenance charges. Add Rs 40,000–90,000 for hardware if you are starting from nothing.
Will the software work when the internet goes down?
Only if it is offline-first. A desktop application that bills against a local database keeps working indefinitely and syncs later; a browser-only cloud POS stops. Test it by unplugging the router during the demo and completing a bill with a printed receipt.
Can I bill loose items like rice and daal that have no barcode?
Yes, and this is the most important thing to test. Good kirana POS software supports decimal quantities for weighed goods and a quick-keys grid for your fastest loose items, so a cashier can bill 400 g of daal in two keystrokes without a scanner. Weighing-scale integration is available but is usually unnecessary below about 100 bills a day.
Does POS software handle udhaaro (credit) properly?
The good ones do. Look for credit as a payment option on the billing screen itself, one running balance per party linked to source bills, support for part payments, ageing buckets showing who is 30, 60 or 90 days overdue, and an enforceable credit limit per customer.
Do I need VAT registration for my kirana shop?
Registration becomes mandatory once annual turnover crosses NPR 50 lakh for a goods-only business, or NPR 30 lakh for services or mixed supplies, measured on a rolling twelve-month basis, with registration required within 30 days of crossing. Some categories — including liquor and electronics — must register regardless of turnover, which matters if you stock those alongside groceries.
Can I use Indian kirana billing software in Nepal?
Not safely. Indian applications are built for GST, with different invoice formats, tax logic and Gregorian-only dates. Nepal requires VAT at 13%, Rule 17 invoice formatting for registered businesses, Schedule 1 exempt-item handling and Bikram Sambat dates. Choose software built for Nepal.
How long does it take to get a kirana shop running on POS software?
Installation takes a day; genuine adoption takes about a week. Enter your top 100 items first, run in parallel with your paper copy for two or three days, load opening udhaaro balances, and then close a full day on software alone and match the cash drawer.
Can I accept Fonepay, eSewa and Khalti through the POS?
Most Nepali POS systems record these as payment methods on the bill, and a static counter QR works independently of the software, so payments continue even during an outage. QR transactions in Nepal grew roughly 92 percent in volume in FY 2024/25 and Fonepay alone is accepted at over 13 lakh stores, so accurate recording of the cash-versus-QR split at day-end matters as much as the billing speed itself.
What happens to my data if I stop paying for the software?
Ask before you buy, and test it during the trial. You should be able to export items, sales history and party balances as CSV or Excel at any time. A vendor who cannot demonstrate that export is one you cannot leave.
NTC USSD Codes List (2026): Every Nepal Telecom Short Code That Actually Works
Last verified against Nepal Telecom's official short-code pages: 19 September 2026 · Written and tested on a live NTC prepaid SIM in Kathmandu.
Quick Answer
The five NTC USSD codes most people are actually looking for:
*400# balance · *9# your own number · *1415# packages · *1477# Namaste Credit (loan) · *922# SIM owner name
Open your dialer, type the code exactly as shown, press call. No internet needed, no charge.
Every NTC user hits the same wall eventually. You're at a tea shop in Baneshwor, your data dies mid-call, and you cannot remember whether the balance code is *400# or *440#. You search for it, and you land on a page that dumps forty codes in one unsorted table — half of them retired years ago — with no way of telling which ones still work.
This page fixes that. Below is the complete NTC USSD codes list for 2026, grouped by what you're actually trying to do, with every code marked as officially listed by Nepal Telecom, widely used but not on NTC's current pages, or retired. It also covers the things the other NTC code lists leave out entirely: the hidden GSM interrogation codes that work on any NTC SIM, the call-forwarding USSD scam that has been circulating in Nepal, which codes silently fail on postpaid, and how to fix the "Connection problem or invalid MMI code" error.
The NTC USSD Cheat Sheet (Screenshot This)
If you only save one thing from this page, save this. These ten codes cover roughly 90% of what NTC subscribers dial in a normal month.
*400#Check main balance
*9#Know your own number
*922#SIM registered owner
*1415#Packages & offers menu
*1442#Add-on packages
*1477#Namaste Credit (loan)
*444#4G / VoLTE activation
*1415*7#International roaming
*1416#NT Fiber (FTTH) balance
1498Mobile customer care
Reading the badges below
Official listed on Nepal Telecom's own short-code or service pages. Community widely used and reported working, but not spelled out on NTC's current public pages — try it, but don't be surprised if it's been changed. Retired no longer reliable after NTC's move to the convergent billing system.
How to Dial an NTC USSD Code (and What USSD Actually Is)
USSD stands for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data. In plain terms, it's a real-time text channel between your phone and Nepal Telecom's servers that runs over the signalling network rather than over data. That's why a USSD code works when your data pack has expired, when you're on 2G in a village with one bar, and on a Rs. 1,500 button phone that has never seen an app store.
Open the phone dialer — not the SMS app, not a browser.
Type the code exactly, including the leading * and the closing #.
Press the call button. On a dual-SIM phone, press the call button for the SIM slot holding your NTC SIM.
A text box appears within a few seconds. For menu codes like *1415#, type the option number and press Send.
Two things worth knowing that most guides skip. First, dialling a USSD code costs nothing — the session itself isn't charged, though subscribing to a package from inside the menu obviously deducts the package price. Second, USSD sessions time out, usually in about 30–60 seconds. If you wander off mid-menu and come back, the session is dead and you'll get an error; redial rather than assuming the code is broken.
NTC Balance, Number & SIM Owner Codes
Account and SIM identity codes
What you want
Code
Method
Status
Check main balance
*400#
Dial
Official
Know your own mobile number
*9#
Dial
Official
Check SIM registered owner name
*922#
Dial
Official
Get balance-transfer security code
SMS SCODE to 1415
SMS
Official
Free resource query (remaining bonus)
SMS FR to 1415
SMS
Community
PUK number request (postpaid)
SMS PUK to 1415
SMS
Community
PUK inquiry by call
1607
Dial
Community
First call activation (new SIM)
*1414#
Dial
Retired
The difference between *9# and *922# confuses a lot of people. The first tells you the number of the SIM in your hand. The second tells you whose citizenship document that SIM is registered against — which matters when you buy a second-hand phone with a SIM still in it, or when you're trying to work out whether an old SIM is still in your own name for KYC purposes. If the name that comes back isn't yours, you'll want to read our full walkthrough on how to check the SIM owner's name in Nepal for NTC and Ncell, which also covers the transfer process at an NTC counter.
Balance expiry is shown too
The *400# response doesn't just show rupees — it returns your balance validity/expiry date as well. That date is the one that actually matters for a SIM you barely use, because an unused NTC prepaid number can eventually be reclaimed. Dial it once every couple of months on a dormant SIM.
NTC Data Pack & Package Codes
Data, voice and package subscription codes
What you want
Code
Method
Status
Browse and subscribe to latest packages
*1415#
Dial
Official
Add-on packages
*1442#
Dial
Official
Remaining data, minutes & validity
*1415*55#
Dial
Community
Data volume query by SMS
SMS VL to 1415
SMS
Community
Recurring/postpaid pack management
*1415*2*4#
Dial
Community
Education packages
*1441#
Dial
Community
Package subscription by SMS
SMS the pack's sub-code to 1415
SMS
Official
Here's the practical distinction. *1415# is a shopping menu — it shows you what you can buy. *1415*55# is an inventory check — it tells you what you've already got left. Most people dial the first when they actually wanted the second, then get annoyed at scrolling through offers. If you want the full set of methods, including the app view and the SMS route, we've broken it all down in how to check your NTC data balance.
One deliberate omission on this page: we don't list package prices or MB amounts. NTC revises bundles frequently, and a code list that hardcodes "Rs. 49 for 1GB" is wrong within a month. Dial *1415# and you'll always get the live catalogue.
NTC Recharge & Balance Transfer Codes
Topping up and sending balance
What you want
Code
Method
Status
Recharge with a scratch card PIN
*412*PIN#
Dial
Community
Recharge card IVR
1412
Dial
Community
Transfer balance to another NTC number
*422*SecurityCode*Number*Amount#
Dial
Official
Get the security code first
SMS SCODE to 1415
SMS
Official
Balance transfer: the rules nobody mentions
Balance transfer fails far more often than it succeeds on the first attempt, and it's almost always one of these constraints rather than a broken code:
It is a prepaid GSM to prepaid GSM service. Sending to a postpaid number won't go through.
The amount must fall inside the per-transaction limit NTC sets (commonly Rs. 10 to Rs. 500).
There is a daily cap on the number of transfers from one number.
The security code is per-request, not permanent. Get a fresh one via SMS each time; a code you screenshotted last month will be rejected.
The amount goes in as a plain number. Don't type "Rs." or a decimal.
Never share your security code
The SCODE SMS is the only thing standing between a stranger and your balance. Don't read it aloud on a call, don't forward the SMS, and don't include it in a screenshot when asking for help in a Facebook group. NTC staff will never ask you for it.
NTC Loan Code: Namaste Credit (Sapati)
Nepal Telecom's emergency balance service is called Namaste Credit, and locally almost everyone calls it sapati. It's not a cash loan — it's an advance on your own airtime that gets recovered from your next recharge.
Namaste Credit codes
Action
USSD
SMS alternative
Status
Activate / take credit
*1477# → option 1
START to 1477
Official
Check credit status / outstanding
*1477# → option 3
STATUS to 1477
Official
Deactivate
*1477# → option 2
STOP to 1477
Official
Eligibility is the part that trips people up. Namaste Credit is offered to prepaid subscribers whose SIM has been in use for a minimum period (commonly cited as three months), and the amount you're offered depends on how long and how actively you've used the line. Two people standing next to each other can dial the same code and see different offers — or one may see none at all. That's the eligibility engine working as designed, not a fault with your SIM. The mechanics, repayment behaviour and what to do when the code returns nothing are covered in detail in our guide on how to take a loan (sapati) on NTC.
Call Forwarding, Call Waiting & ISD Codes
Call management short codes
What you want
Code
Method
Status
Activate call forwarding
**21*Number#
Dial
Official
Deactivate call forwarding
##21#
Dial
Official
Activate call waiting
*43#
Dial
Official
Deactivate call waiting
#43#
Dial
Official
Activate international calling (ISD)
#331*0000#
Dial
Official
Deactivate international calling
*331*0000#
Dial
Official
Cheaper international call access
Prefix 1424 before the number
Dial
Community
Yes, the ISD codes look backwards — they aren't a typo
On NTC, #331*0000#enables international dialling and *331*0000#disables it. This follows the GSM call-barring convention, where * sets a bar and # removes one — you are switching the outgoing-international bar on and off, not the service. Barring international calls on a SIM you lend to someone is genuinely useful.
Hidden GSM Codes That Work on Any NTC SIM
This is the section missing from every other NTC code list, and it's the one that solves the weirdest problems. These aren't Nepal Telecom codes — they're standard GSM/3GPP codes baked into the network and your handset, which means they work on an NTC SIM whether or not NTC documents them.
Standard GSM codes (work on NTC, Ncell and any GSM network)
Purpose
Code
What it does
Show IMEI
*#06#
Displays your handset's IMEI instantly — needed for police reports, warranty claims and MDMS registration.
Check forwarding status
*#21#
Shows whether any unconditional call/SMS/data forwarding is active, and to which number.
Check conditional forwarding
*#62#
Shows where calls go when your phone is unreachable or switched off.
Check no-answer/busy diversion
*#61# / *#67#
Reveals diversions set for unanswered or busy calls.
Cancel all forwarding
##002#
The nuclear option — clears every diversion rule on the line at once.
Hide your caller ID
*#31#
Toggles outgoing caller ID presentation (network permitting).
Hide ID for one call
#31#Number
Withholds your number for that single call only.
Why these matter: if your friends say your phone "rings once then goes dead," or your calls are landing somewhere unexpected, dial *#21# before you blame the network or buy a new SIM. Nine times out of ten there's a stale diversion rule sitting on the line from an old voicemail service or a forwarding code someone set months ago. ##002# clears it in two seconds.
4G, VoLTE, eSIM & International Roaming
Network and travel codes
What you want
Code
Method
Status
Activate 4G/LTE & check SIM compatibility
*444#
Dial
Official
Direct 4G activation option
*444*1#
Dial
Community
Activate VoLTE
*444# → VoLTE option
Dial
Official
Check VoLTE status
*111# or call 1444
Dial
Community
Activate/deactivate international roaming
*1415*7#
Dial
Official
Roaming support from abroad
+977-1-5901498
Call
Official
A 4G-activated SIM is only one of three conditions. You also need a handset that supports NTC's LTE bands, and you need to be standing inside actual 4G coverage. If *444# reports that your SIM isn't 4G-capable, no code will fix it — that's an older SIM and needs a physical swap at an NTC office. While you're considering a swap, note that an NTC eSIM sidesteps the plastic entirely, and the activation flow there is handled through NTC's eSIM portal rather than a USSD code.
For roaming, activate before you fly. Prepaid users can do it from *1415*7# or the NTC app. Postpaid roaming carries a minimum balance requirement and usually a counter visit with photo ID. Once you land abroad, *400# still reports your balance normally, but recharging is far easier through the app or a wallet than through any USSD string.
CRBT, Missed Call Alert, FNF & Other Services
Value-added service codes
Service
Activate
Deactivate
Status
Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT)
SMS SUB to 1455 · or *1455#
SMS UNSUB to 1455
Official
Missed Call Alert (MCA)
*1400*1# · or SMS SUB to 1400
*1400*2# · or SMS UNSUB to 1400
Official
FNF subscribe
SMS FNFSUB*Number to 1415
SMS FNFDEL*Number to 1415
Official
FNF add a member
SMS FNFADD*Number to 1415
—
Official
FNF modify a member
SMS FNFMOD*Old*New to 1415
—
Community
FNF check current list
SMS FNFINQ to 1415
—
Community
NT Pro
SMS SUB NTPRO to 1428
SMS UNSUB NTPRO to 1428
Community
Customer satisfaction survey
*1419#
—
Community
Value-added services are also the most common source of the "my balance disappears on its own" complaint. A caller tune or alert service subscribed to once during a promotion keeps renewing quietly. If your balance is draining without calls to match, work through our list of how to activate and deactivate NTC services and switch off everything you don't recognise.
Landline, ADSL & NT Fiber (FTTH) Codes
Fixed-line and broadband codes
Service
Purpose
Code
Method
Landline
Bill inquiry
SMS CB*Number to 1415
SMS
NT Fiber (FTTH)
Balance, package info, bonus data
*1416#
Dial
NT Fiber (FTTH)
Validity check
SMS VL*NTFTTH*Number to 1415
SMS
ADSL
Validity check
SMS VL*NTADSL*Number to 1415
SMS
ADSL
Balance inquiry
SMS BL*NTADSL*Number to 1415
SMS
PSTN
Bill enquiry (IVR)
1606
Dial
Format note that saves a lot of failed SMS: the account number goes in with its area code and no spaces — a Kathmandu landline goes in as 01488xxxx, not 488xxxx or 01-488xxxx. Send from the mobile number linked to the account where possible.
Customer Care, IVR & Emergency Numbers
Nepal Telecom support and national emergency numbers
Number
Who answers
Cost
1498
NTC mobile (GSM) customer support
Free
1415
Self-care IVR: balance, recharge, PUK, complaints
Airtime
198
Landline / FTTH installation & fault booking
Free
197
Landline number inquiry
Free
192
Lineman / fault handling
Free
188
VoIP call complaints
Free
+977-1-5901498
NTC support while you're abroad
Int'l rates
National emergency numbers (any network, including with zero balance)
100Nepal Police
101Fire Brigade
102Ambulance
103Traffic Police
1144Tourist Police
1098Child Helpline (CWIN)
1111Hello Sarkar
104Child Welfare Board
Master Table: The Complete NTC Code List
Everything above in one place. On mobile, swipe the table sideways; on desktop, use Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F) to jump straight to the service you need.
All NTC USSD, SMS and IVR codes — 2026
Category
Service
Code / Method
Status
Account
Balance check
*400#
Official
Account
Own mobile number
*9#
Official
Account
SIM owner name
*922#
Official
Account
Security code for transfer
SMS SCODE → 1415
Official
Account
Free resource query
SMS FR → 1415
Community
Recharge
Scratch-card recharge
*412*PIN#
Community
Recharge
Balance transfer
*422*Code*Number*Amount#
Official
Data
Packages & offers
*1415#
Official
Data
Add-on packages
*1442#
Official
Data
Remaining data & validity
*1415*55#
Community
Data
Education packages
*1441#
Community
Loan
Namaste Credit activate
*1477# → 1 · SMS START → 1477
Official
Loan
Namaste Credit status
*1477# → 3 · SMS STATUS → 1477
Official
Loan
Namaste Credit deactivate
*1477# → 2 · SMS STOP → 1477
Official
Calls
Call forward on
**21*Number#
Official
Calls
Call forward off
##21#
Official
Calls
Call waiting on / off
*43# / #43#
Official
Calls
ISD on / off
#331*0000# / *331*0000#
Official
Calls
Cheap ISD prefix
1424 + number
Community
GSM
Show IMEI
*#06#
Standard
GSM
Check all forwarding
*#21#
Standard
GSM
Cancel all forwarding
##002#
Standard
Network
4G / VoLTE activation
*444#
Official
Network
VoLTE status
*111# or 1444
Community
Roaming
International roaming
*1415*7#
Official
VAS
CRBT on / off
SMS SUB / UNSUB → 1455
Official
VAS
Missed Call Alert on / off
*1400*1# / *1400*2#
Official
VAS
FNF subscribe / add
SMS FNFSUB / FNFADD → 1415
Official
FTTH
Fiber balance & bonus data
*1416#
Official
FTTH
Fiber validity
SMS VL*NTFTTH*Number → 1415
Official
ADSL
Validity / balance
SMS VL*NTADSL* or BL*NTADSL* → 1415
Official
Landline
Bill inquiry
SMS CB*Number → 1415
Official
Support
Mobile customer care
1498
Official
Support
Landline / FTTH faults
198
Official
Support
Number inquiry
197
Official
Prepaid vs Postpaid: Which Codes Actually Work for You
This is the single biggest reason a code "doesn't work," and no other NTC code list spells it out. Several codes are built around a prepaid balance object that postpaid accounts simply don't have.
Code availability by connection type
Code
Prepaid GSM
Postpaid GSM
Note
*400#
Yes
Limited
Postpaid is billed, not balance-based — use the app or 1498 for dues
*9# / *922#
Yes
Yes
Identity lookups work on both
*422*…#
Yes
No
Prepaid-to-prepaid transfer only
*1477#
Yes
No
Namaste Credit is a prepaid service
*412*PIN#
Yes
No
Postpaid pays bills rather than recharging
*1415# / *1442#
Yes
Yes
Package menus differ between the two
*1415*7#
Yes
Yes
Postpaid has extra balance/ID conditions
*444#
Yes
Yes
Depends on SIM generation, not plan type
USSD Safety: Codes You Should Never Dial Because Someone Asked You To
The call-forwarding scam
A caller claims to be from Nepal Telecom, an "offer department," or a bank, and asks you to dial a code to "verify your SIM," "claim a bonus," or "fix a network problem." The code they read out is almost always a call-forwarding string in the **21* or **67* family. The moment you dial it, your incoming calls — including every OTP delivered by voice — start ringing on their phone instead of yours.
Three rules that will keep you out of trouble:
Never dial a code someone reads to you over the phone. Nepal Telecom does not need you to dial anything to verify your identity.
A legitimate code never starts with a number you were given. Genuine NTC codes are short and public — they're all on this page and on ntc.net.np. If it contains a ten-digit mobile number, it is forwarding your calls somewhere.
If you already dialled one, act now. Dial *#21# to see what's active, then ##002# to clear every diversion, then call 1498 and change any account passwords that use SMS or voice OTP.
The same caution applies to balance transfer. Nobody from NTC will ever ask for your SCODE, and an "agent" who wants you to dial *422*…# on their instruction is asking you to hand over your own airtime.
NTC USSD Code Not Working? 11 Fixes, Ordered by How Often They Work
If you're seeing "Connection problem or invalid MMI code" — the single most common USSD error on Android — work down this list in order.
Check which SIM you dialled from. On a dual-SIM phone the dialler defaults to SIM 1. If your NTC SIM sits in slot 2, the code went to the wrong operator and failed. Long-press the call button to pick the slot, or set NTC as the default for calls.
Redial once. USSD sessions genuinely drop under load, especially in the evening. A second attempt fixes this more often than anything else.
Retype the code from scratch. Don't edit a code sitting in your dialler history — an invisible leading space or a missing # is enough to break it.
Toggle airplane mode on for ten seconds, then off. This forces a fresh network attach and clears a stuck session.
Check your signal. USSD rides the signalling channel; one bar in a concrete stairwell isn't enough. Step outside or near a window.
Switch network mode. On some handsets, a locked "LTE only" setting blocks USSD. Set the preferred network type back to an auto/LTE-3G-2G option and retry.
Turn off Wi-Fi calling / VoWiFi temporarily. It can intercept dialler input on certain phones.
Confirm the code applies to your plan. See the prepaid vs postpaid table — a prepaid-only code returns an error on a postpaid line, and that's expected behaviour, not a fault.
Check eligibility for the service. Namaste Credit and some offers require a minimum SIM age and are rolled out in phases. A new SIM may simply not qualify yet.
Restart the phone. Clears the radio state completely. Worth doing before you conclude the code is dead.
Check whether the code is retired. Cross-check against the retired codes section below — a lot of pages still publish strings NTC stopped using years ago.
Still nothing? Call 1498 from the NTC SIM. It's free, and the IVR at 1415 can do balance, recharge and PUK lookups without any USSD at all.
USSD Code, Nepal Telecom App, or Self-Care Portal?
Choosing the fastest route for each task
Task
Fastest route
Why
Quick balance or number check
USSD
Two seconds, no data, works on any handset
Comparing package prices
NTC app
Scrollable list with prices and validity side by side
Seeing remaining data visually
NTC app
Graphical usage breakdown instead of a text dump
Recharging from a scratch card
USSD
No login, no internet needed
Recharging from a wallet or card
App / eSewa / Khalti
USSD can't take card payments
Anything while abroad
App over Wi-Fi
Avoids roaming charges and dropped USSD sessions
Turning off an unwanted service
USSD or SMS
Deactivation strings are instant and confirmable
Bill payment (postpaid / FTTH)
App / self-care portal
Full payment history and receipts
The honest summary: USSD wins on speed and reliability, the app wins on visibility. Keep the five cheat-sheet codes in your head and the app on your phone, and you're covered either way.
Retired and Changed NTC Codes
After Nepal Telecom migrated prepaid and postpaid mobile onto a convergent billing system, a batch of legacy short codes stopped behaving as documented on older blog posts. If a code below is what you found elsewhere, that's why it failed.
*1414# — first call activation. Rarely needed now; new SIMs activate automatically.
*1400# as a standalone menu — MCA has moved to the explicit *1400*1# / *1400*2# form.
*411# for recharge — superseded by *412*PIN# on GSM.
CDMA-specific strings such as the night-call package code — largely irrelevant as CDMA has wound down.
Old SEE/result IVR codes (1600, 1601, 1602) — seasonal, active only around result publication.
What I Learned Actually Using These Codes Every Week
I've run an NTC prepaid SIM as my primary line in Kathmandu for years, alongside a second operator in slot 2. A few things you only learn by dialling these daily:
The dual-SIM trap is real and it's the number one false alarm. I spent twenty minutes convinced *400# was down before realising the dialler had defaulted to the other SIM. If a code that worked yesterday fails today, check the slot before anything else.
*1415*55# is the code worth memorising, not *1415#. Nine times out of ten the real question is "how much data do I have left," and the offers menu is the slow way to almost-answer it.
Namaste Credit is best treated as a one-day bridge. It's recovered from your next top-up, so if you take it on the 20th and only recharge on the 30th, you're effectively running on fumes for ten days. Dial *1477# and check status before assuming you have full balance.
Get the SCODE immediately before transferring, not in advance. I've had transfers rejected because I was pasting a security code from a message an hour old.
Deactivation codes are worth running on any SIM you've had for years. On an old number I recovered a small but steady monthly drain from a caller tune subscribed to during some long-forgotten festival offer.
Take a screenshot of *#06# now. The day you need your IMEI is the day your phone is gone and you can't dial anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the NTC balance check code?
Dial *400# from your NTC SIM. The response shows your remaining balance along with its expiry date.
How do I check my own NTC number?
Dial *9#. Your own mobile number appears on screen — useful when you've just bought a SIM or swapped handsets.
What is the NTC loan code for sapati?
Dial *1477# and choose the activate option, or send START to 1477. The service is called Namaste Credit and is available to eligible prepaid subscribers.
How do I check how much data I have left on NTC?
*1415*55# reports remaining data, minutes and validity. *1415# is the menu for buying new packs, not for checking what you already have.
What is the NTC SIM owner check code?
Dial *922# to see the name the SIM is registered under. This is different from *9#, which returns the number itself.
How do I transfer balance from one NTC number to another?
First send SCODE to 1415 to get a security code, then dial *422*SecurityCode*MobileNumber*Amount#. It works between prepaid GSM numbers, within NTC's per-transaction and daily limits.
What is the NTC 4G activation code?
Dial *444#. The same menu also handles VoLTE activation. If your SIM is too old for 4G, no code will help — it needs a physical replacement at an NTC office.
Are NTC USSD codes free?
Yes, dialling the code costs nothing. Charges apply only to what you subscribe to inside the menu, and some IVR helplines are charged at airtime rates.
Do NTC USSD codes work abroad?
Some do while roaming — balance check generally works normally. Recharge and package purchases are far more reliable through the Nepal Telecom app over Wi-Fi, or by having someone in Nepal top up your number.
Why does my NTC code say "Connection problem or invalid MMI code"?
Most often the code was dialled from the wrong SIM slot on a dual-SIM phone, the session timed out, or the code is prepaid-only and you're on postpaid. Work through the 11 fixes above.
How do I check if my calls are being forwarded?
Dial *#21# to view active diversions, and ##002# to cancel all of them. Do this immediately if you dialled a code someone gave you over the phone.
What is the NTC customer care number?
1498 for mobile support and 198 for landline, ADSL and fiber faults, both free from an NTC line. From outside Nepal, call +977-1-5901498.
Bottom Line
Five codes cover most of daily life on Nepal Telecom — *400#, *9#, *922#, *1415# and *1477# — and the rest of this list is there for the day you need something specific. Bookmark the page, screenshot the cheat sheet, and if a code ever stops behaving, check the SIM slot before you check anything else.
Nepal Telecom can revise short codes without notice, so ntc.net.np remains the final authority. Everything marked Official above was checked against NTC's own service pages on the date at the top of this article, and this page is re-verified rather than left to rot.
About this guide
Written by Wilson Shrestha, a Kathmandu-based web developer who has used an NTC prepaid line as a primary number for over a decade. Codes on this page are separated into officially documented and community-reported rather than merged into one unverified table, and outdated strings are marked retired instead of quietly deleted. Spotted a code that has changed? Let us know and it gets corrected the same week.
Navigating the complex world of search engine optimization (SEO) can be daunting, especially when issues arise that affect your website’s performance. An effective SEO troubleshooting guide can be your savior, helping you swiftly identify and resolve common problems. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into the key SEO issues and provide actionable solutions to enhance your website’s performance, boost search rankings, and ultimately drive more traffic.
📌 Key Takeaways
Identify and resolve common SEO problems effectively.
Learn practical steps for optimizing website performance.
Improve search rankings with targeted troubleshooting.
The first step in troubleshooting common SEO issues is recognizing the problems that frequently occur. These can be broadly categorized into technical SEO errors and content-related problems.
Technical SEO Errors
Technical SEO errors can significantly hinder your website’s visibility. Common issues include broken links, improper redirects, and poor site architecture. These errors can confuse search engine crawlers, leading to lower rankings.
Broken Links: Use [tools](https://wilson.com.np/tools/) like Screaming Frog or Ahrefs to identify and fix broken links. Make sure every link on your site points to a valid destination.
Improper Redirects: Ensure that 301 redirects are used for permanent URL changes. Avoid using 302 redirects, which are temporary and may not transfer SEO value.
Site Architecture: A well-organized site structure helps search engines index your pages efficiently. Use a logical hierarchy and ensure critical pages are easily accessible.
Content and Keyword Problems
Content is king, but only if optimized correctly. Issues here often involve poor keyword usage and low-quality content.
Keyword Stuffing: Avoid overloading your content with keywords. Instead, focus on natural integration and semantic variations.
Thin Content: Ensure all pages provide valuable information. Pages with little content should be expanded or consolidated with related content.
Duplicate Content: Use canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a page when duplicates exist.
Conducting a Comprehensive SEO Audit
An SEO audit is a systematic examination of your website’s performance. It helps identify weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
Tools for SEO Auditing
Several tools can aid in conducting thorough SEO audits:
Google Analytics: Offers insights into user behavior and site performance.
SEMrush: Provides comprehensive data on keywords, backlinks, and competitor performance.
Moz: Useful for keyword optimization and backlink analysis. Check out the [Moz SEO Learning Center](https://moz.com/learn/seo) for more resources.
Analyzing SEO Data
Once you’ve gathered data, it’s crucial to interpret it effectively:
Identify Trends: Look for patterns in traffic changes or keyword performance.
Pinpoint Issues: Use the data to highlight specific areas needing attention, such as high bounce rates or low conversion pages.
Set Priorities: Rank issues based on their potential impact on SEO performance and address high-priority items first.
Fixing Technical SEO Problems
Fixing Technical SEO Problems
Technical issues often require immediate attention due to their impact on user experience and search rankings.
Improving Site Speed
Site speed is critical for both user satisfaction and SEO.
Optimize Images: Compress images without losing quality to reduce load times.
Minimize JavaScript and CSS: Remove unnecessary code to enhance loading efficiency.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): Distribute content globally to improve access speed.
Mobile Optimization
With the majority of searches coming from mobile devices, ensuring your site is mobile-friendly is essential.
Responsive Design: Implement a design that adjusts to various screen sizes seamlessly.
Mobile Usability: Test your site using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test and address any issues found.
Optimizing Content and Keywords
Optimizing Content and Keywords
Enhancing content quality and keyword strategy are crucial for engaging users and improving search visibility.
Keyword Research Techniques
Effective keyword research can significantly boost your SEO efforts.
Use Tools: Leverage tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush to discover high-performing keywords.
Analyze Competitors: Identify keywords competitors rank for and assess their relevance to your content.
Content Quality Improvement
High-quality content attracts and retains users.
Engaging Headlines: Craft compelling titles that capture attention and include primary keywords.
Value-Driven Content: Focus on creating content that answers users’ questions or solves their problems.
Building and Analyzing Backlinks
Backlinks remain a vital component of SEO, signaling trust and authority to search engines.
Backlink Acquisition Strategies
Developing a strategy for acquiring quality backlinks is crucial.
Guest Blogging: Write for reputable sites in your niche to earn backlinks and increase exposure.
Collaborations: Partner with industry influencers to create content that naturally attracts links.
Evaluating Backlink Quality
Not all backlinks are created equal; quality matters more than quantity.
Assess Authority: Use tools like Moz’s Domain Authority metric to evaluate the strength of linking sites.
Relevance: Ensure links come from sites relevant to your industry or content theme.
Conclusion
Resolving SEO issues effectively requires a meticulous approach and a clear understanding of both technical and content-related challenges. By conducting regular audits, fixing technical problems, optimizing content and keywords, and building quality backlinks, you can significantly improve your website’s SEO performance. For further guidance, refer to [Google Search Central documentation](https://developers.google.com/search/docs) for technical SEO best practices. Start implementing these strategies today to see tangible improvements in your search rankings and website traffic.
💡 Pro Tip: Regularly update your content and SEO strategies to adapt to changing search engine algorithms and user preferences.
⚠️ Important Note: SEO is a long-term process. Patience and consistency are key to achieving and maintaining high search rankings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common SEO issues?
Common issues include technical errors, poor keyword usage, and inadequate backlinks.
Website Design Cost in Nepal (2026): Real Prices, Not Padded Quotes
By Wilson Shrestha — Freelance Web Developer, KathmanduUpdated: 19 September 2026 (Ashwin 2083 BS)Reading time: 18 min
Website design cost in Nepal 2026 — verified NPR price ranges for every website type.
Quick Answer
Website design cost in Nepal ranges from NPR 8,000 for a one-page site to NPR 2,50,000 for a full e-commerce platform in 2026. A normal 5–8 page business website costs NPR 18,000 to NPR 45,000. A professional website with a CMS, blog and multiple service pages costs NPR 45,000 to NPR 90,000. Add roughly NPR 2,000–6,000 per year for domain and hosting.
Most published "Nepal website price" guides quote 2–3× these figures because they are written by agencies pricing in their office rent, sales team and account managers. This guide prices the actual work.
Every week someone messages me with the same sentence: "One person quoted me NPR 15,000 and another quoted NPR 1,80,000 for the same website. Who is lying?"
Usually, neither. They are quoting two completely different pieces of work and calling both a "business website." The NPR 15,000 version is a free theme with your logo dropped in. The NPR 1,80,000 version includes original design, a proper CMS, content entry, testing and three months of support. The word "website" is doing a lot of hiding.
I build websites for Nepali businesses from Kathmandu — WordPress for content-driven sites, Next.js and Node.js when a business actually needs an application. I have quoted, delivered and occasionally rescued enough projects to know where the money really goes. This guide gives you the numbers, the traps, and the exact questions that separate a fair quote from a padded one. If you want to see the kind of work these prices buy, my portfolio and services are here.
Website Design Cost in Nepal 2026: Complete Price Table
These are realistic 2026 rates for a skilled independent developer in Nepal delivering finished, owned, handed-over work. Agencies typically sit 60–150% above these numbers for the same scope.
Website Type
Cost (NPR)
Timeline
Best For
One-page / landing page
8,000 – 18,000
3–7 days
Campaigns, single services, events
Personal / portfolio site
10,000 – 25,000
5–10 days
Freelancers, doctors, lawyers, creatives
Small business website (5–8 pages)
18,000 – 45,000
2–3 weeks
Shops, clinics, consultancies, cafés
Professional CMS website
45,000 – 90,000
3–5 weeks
Growing companies, service brands
Corporate / multi-department
90,000 – 2,00,000
5–10 weeks
Banks, groups, manufacturers, INGOs
School / college website
30,000 – 90,000
3–6 weeks
Schools, colleges, training institutes
Travel / trekking with enquiry system
40,000 – 1,50,000
4–9 weeks
Trekking agencies, tour operators
Hotel / resort with booking
55,000 – 1,60,000
4–10 weeks
Hotels, homestays, resorts
News portal
40,000 – 1,20,000
3–7 weeks
Online news, magazines, publishers
Basic e-commerce store
45,000 – 95,000
3–6 weeks
Up to ~200 products, COD + 1 gateway
Advanced e-commerce
95,000 – 2,50,000
6–14 weeks
Large catalogue, multi-gateway, inventory
Multi-vendor marketplace
2,50,000 – 7,00,000
3–6 months
Daraz-style platforms with sellers
Custom web application / SaaS
1,00,000 – 6,00,000+
2–8 months
Dashboards, portals, internal systems
Website redesign (existing site)
15,000 – 80,000
1–4 weeks
Sites that look dated but work
Landing page for ads (with tracking)
12,000 – 25,000
4–8 days
Meta / Google Ads campaigns
All figures exclude domain, hosting and third-party licence fees. See the total cost of ownership section for the all-in number.
Want your own scope priced instead of a range? Send me your page list.
WhatsApp me
Why These Prices Are Lower Than Most Quotes in Nepal
If you have already read two or three "website cost in Nepal" articles, my numbers will look low. That is deliberate, and here is exactly why they can be:
No office overhead. Agency quotes carry rent in Kathmandu, a sales team, account managers and idle bench time. On a NPR 1,00,000 project, a meaningful share of that never touches your website.
No layers between you and the developer. Your feedback goes straight to the person writing the code. No brief gets lost in translation, which kills the revision cycles that inflate quotes.
Reusable, owned component libraries. I do not rebuild a contact form, a booking enquiry flow or a product grid from zero every time. Years of reusable, tested components mean I charge for the parts that are genuinely new to your project — you can see the range of work at wilson.com.np.
Honest scoping instead of padding. Many quotes include a 30–40% buffer for "unknowns." I would rather define the scope properly upfront and charge for changes transparently.
Important
Lower price does not mean less work — it means less waste. Every price in this guide assumes original design work, mobile-responsive layouts, real testing, technical SEO setup, admin training and full handover of the domain, hosting and source code. If a quote is cheap because those are missing, it is not cheap. It is incomplete.
Website Design Cost in Nepal by Type (What Each Price Actually Includes)
One-Page / Landing Page: NPR 8,000 – 18,000
A single scrolling page covering your offer, benefits, proof and one clear call to action. This is the highest-return first website for a service business that mostly sells through Facebook or word of mouth.
Hero section with your main offer
Services or benefits block
Testimonials or client logos
Enquiry form + click-to-call + WhatsApp button
Mobile-first responsive layout
Google Analytics and Search Console setup
Price goes up when you need custom illustration, heavy animation, a booking calendar, multilingual content or a CRM connection.
Portfolio Website: NPR 10,000 – 25,000
For freelancers, photographers, architects, doctors, lawyers and consultants. Cost is driven almost entirely by how many projects you want showcased and whether you need a blog. A 6-project portfolio with a contact form sits at the bottom of the range; a 40-project filterable gallery with case study pages sits at the top.
Small Business Website: NPR 18,000 – 45,000
This is the most common request in Nepal and the one with the widest quote spread in the market. A fair NPR 18,000–45,000 build includes:
5–8 pages (Home, About, Services, Service detail, Gallery, Blog, Contact)
Semi-custom design built on your brand colours, not a stock demo
WordPress CMS so you can edit text and images yourself
Contact form with email delivery that actually works in Nepal's mail environment
Google Maps, social links, WhatsApp button
Technical SEO: titles, meta descriptions, sitemap, schema, image compression
Speed optimisation and SSL
One training session so your staff can update content
Professional CMS Website: NPR 45,000 – 90,000
Where you move from "we exist online" to "our website generates enquiries." Expect a fully custom design direction, 10–20 pages, a structured blog, team and project managers in the admin panel, advanced forms, filtering and real performance work on Core Web Vitals.
E-commerce Website: NPR 45,000 – 2,50,000
The single biggest cost driver in Nepali e-commerce is product data entry, not the store itself. Building the store is a fixed job. Entering 800 products with variants, images, weights and descriptions is an open-ended one.
E-commerce Tier
Cost (NPR)
What's Included
Starter store
45,000 – 95,000
Up to ~200 products, cart, checkout, COD, one wallet gateway, order emails, basic stock tracking
Charged separately, or you do it yourself and save the whole line item
Custom Web Application: NPR 1,00,000 – 6,00,000+
School portals, clinic management, inventory systems, booking platforms, internal dashboards. Here, screen count tells you almost nothing about price. One screen with role-based permissions, complex calculations and an external API can cost more than fifteen informational pages. These projects are priced from a written feature specification, never from a category name.
What Actually Makes a Website Cost More (or Less) in Nepal
Factor
Cost Impact
Why
Unique page templates
High
10 pages using 3 layouts is far cheaper than 6 pages with 6 different layouts
Design originality
High
Custom UI/UX means research, wireframes and revision rounds
Content readiness
High
Missing text and photos is the #1 cause of delayed, more expensive projects in Nepal
User accounts & roles
High
Permissions, security and testing multiply with every role added
Payments or bookings
High
Money flows need error handling, reconciliation and real testing
Third-party integrations
Medium–High
SMS, courier, accounting, CRM and map APIs each need work and testing
Bilingual (Nepali + English)
Medium
Translation, font handling, URL structure, duplicated testing
Search & filtering
Medium
Requires structured data and backend logic, not just a search box
Number of revision rounds
Medium
Unlimited revisions are always priced in somewhere — usually invisibly
Deadline pressure
Medium
Compressed timelines mean overtime or parallel resources
Post-launch support period
Low–Medium
A 3-month warranty costs more than a 2-week handover
Template vs Semi-Custom vs Fully Custom Design
Design Level
Design Cost (NPR)
Good When
Real Downside
Template / theme
3,000 – 12,000
Budget is tight and your requirements are standard
Your site looks like 200 others; heavy themes slow you down
Semi-custom
12,000 – 35,000
Most Nepali SMEs — best value in the market
Some structural limits remain from the base system
Fully custom UI/UX
35,000 – 90,000
Strong brand, unusual user journeys, competitive niche
Longer design phase, more approval rounds
My honest recommendation for 90% of Nepali businesses: semi-custom. You get a layout shaped around your actual services and brand without paying for wireframing workshops you will not use. Save the fully custom budget for when your website is directly responsible for revenue.
Content edits need a developer unless a CMS is added
From experience
I have been asked to build Next.js sites for restaurants with nine pages and no traffic. It looks impressive on a quote and costs the client twice what they needed — and then they cannot edit their own menu. Match the stack to the job. A well-built WordPress site beats a badly built custom one every single time.
The Cost of a Nepali or Bilingual Website (Nobody Prices This)
Content Gap
I checked every major "website cost in Nepal" guide ranking today. Not one of them prices Nepali-language content — in a country where a large share of government bodies, schools, news portals and local businesses need it.
Adding Nepali to an English site is not a translation invoice. It touches design, fonts, URLs and testing.
Bilingual Work Item
Added Cost (NPR)
Note
Language switcher + URL structure setup
5,000 – 15,000
Needs correct hreflang or Google may treat pages as duplicates
Devanagari typography & layout adjustment
3,000 – 10,000
Nepali text runs taller; line-height and buttons must be re-tuned
Nepali content translation
300 – 900 per page
Machine translation reads badly and hurts credibility
Preeti / Kantipur → Unicode conversion
2,000 – 12,000
Old legacy-font content is invisible to Google until converted
Bilingual testing pass
3,000 – 8,000
Forms, PDFs and emails all need re-testing in both languages
Costly mistake
If your existing website's Nepali content is typed in Preeti or Kantipur font, search engines read it as meaningless Latin characters. You can have 300 Nepali articles and rank for none of them. Converting to Unicode is the single cheapest SEO fix available to many Nepali news portals and institutional sites — and almost nobody tells clients about it.
Domain Registration Cost in Nepal 2026 (and the .com.np Trap)
Domain Type
Cost per Year
Who Can Register
.com / .net / .org
NPR 1,200 – 1,900
Anyone. Renews annually, sometimes higher than year one.
.com.np
Free
Nepal-registered entities — requires OCR company registration certificate and PAN/VAT certificate
.np (personal)
Free
Nepali individuals with citizenship, passport or driving licence
.org.np / .edu.np
Free
NGOs and recognised educational institutions with supporting documents
Domain in redemption (expired)
NPR 5,000 – 15,000
Recovery fee after expiry — avoid by enabling auto-renew
"Just citizenship documents" is wrong for .com.np. A company domain requires a company registration certificate from the Office of Company Registrar plus a PAN/VAT certificate. An individual freelancer generally cannot get .com.np on citizenship alone — that route is the personal .np namespace.
Free does not mean effortless. Applications are reviewed manually, typically within 1–3 working days, and expired or mismatched documents are the most common rejection reason.
Free does not mean free of risk. If your developer registers it under their own email, you do not truly control your domain. Fix this at day one, not at handover.
SEO note
A .com.np signals local relevance to Nepali users and can help trust and local search. But if you serve international clients — trekking, outsourcing, handicrafts, remote services — buy the .com too and redirect one to the other. NPR 1,500 a year is cheap insurance against a competitor taking your brand name.
Website Hosting Cost in Nepal 2026 (Real, Verified Prices)
Content Gap
Competing guides quote shared hosting in Nepal at "NPR 2,000–8,000 per year." That figure is years out of date. Published prices from Nepal-based hosts in 2026 start dramatically lower — and if you are being charged NPR 8,000 for entry-level shared hosting, you are paying a margin, not a market rate.
Hosting Type
Real 2026 Annual Cost (NPR)
Good For
Watch Out For
Entry shared hosting (Nepal host)
500 – 2,500
Portfolios, small business sites, blogs
Renewal price often higher than the promo price
Business shared hosting
2,500 – 6,000
Busier business sites, small stores
Check actual CPU/RAM limits, not just "unlimited"
Managed WordPress hosting
6,000 – 25,000
Sites you do not want to maintain yourself
Usually worth it for stores and news portals
VPS (Nepal or regional)
12,000 – 60,000
Custom apps, high traffic, multiple sites
Someone must actually manage the server
Cloud (AWS / DigitalOcean / Hetzner)
15,000 – 2,00,000+
SaaS, apps, scaling workloads
Bills in USD and varies with usage
SSL certificate
Free (Let's Encrypt)
Every website
Do not pay NPR 8,000/yr for basic SSL. Free is equally secure.
Business email (Google Workspace / Zoho)
0 – 12,000
Professional @yourbrand addresses
Zoho's free tier covers most small Nepali teams
Should you host in Nepal or abroad?
Host in Nepal if your visitors are almost all inside Nepal, you want NPR billing with eSewa/Khalti, and you value phone support in Nepali. Latency to local visitors is excellent.
Host abroad (Singapore, Mumbai, Frankfurt) if you serve international clients — trekking companies, exporters, outsourcing firms. Pair it with a free Cloudflare CDN and local visitors barely notice.
Either way, use Cloudflare's free plan. It gives you CDN, free SSL, DDoS protection and DNS at zero cost. This is the highest-value free item in the entire stack.
Payment Gateway Integration Cost: eSewa, Khalti and Fonepay
Content Gap
Competing articles say "payment gateway integration costs extra" and stop there. Here are the actual development costs, the merchant requirements, and the per-transaction rates that eat your margin every single month.
Gateway
Integration Cost (NPR)
Typical Transaction Fee
Merchant Requirement
Cash on Delivery
Included
0%
None — still the majority of Nepali orders
eSewa
8,000 – 20,000
~1.5% (negotiable at volume)
PAN; VAT certificate above threshold
Khalti
7,000 – 18,000
~2% (negotiable at volume)
PAN; business registration for full merchant
Fonepay QR
8,000 – 20,000
Often 0% on QR
Bank acquirer relationship + PAN
ConnectIPS
10,000 – 25,000
Varies by bank
NCHL onboarding via your bank
Stripe / PayPal (international)
12,000 – 30,000
~3% + fixed fee
Restricted for Nepal-registered entities — check eligibility first
eSewa + Khalti together
15,000 – 35,000
Per-gateway rates apply
Recommended combination for Nepali stores
If you use WooCommerce, insist on the plugin route. Maintained eSewa and Khalti plugins exist. A day of work, not a week. If someone quotes NPR 50,000 to add eSewa to a WooCommerce store, ask why they are writing it from scratch.
Merchant approval is on you, not your developer. Gateway onboarding needs your PAN, bank details and sometimes VAT registration. Start the application on day one — approval is often the thing that delays launch, not the code.
Budget the percentage, not just the setup. At NPR 5,00,000 monthly sales, a 2% rate is NPR 10,000 every month — far more than the one-time integration fee. Negotiate your rate once volume justifies it.
The 13% VAT Question Nobody Answers
Content Gap
Zero competing guides mention VAT. Yet it is the single most common billing surprise in Nepali web projects — a NPR 1,00,000 quote arriving as a NPR 1,13,000 invoice.
Web development is a taxable service in Nepal. When you buy from a VAT-registered company, the invoice carries VAT on top of the quoted amount at the prevailing rate. What this means in practice:
Always ask: "Is this quote VAT-inclusive or exclusive?" Before comparing two quotes, normalise them. A VAT-inclusive NPR 1,10,000 quote is cheaper than a VAT-exclusive NPR 1,00,000 one.
If you are VAT-registered yourself, a VAT bill is usually good news. You get a claimable purchase invoice. Many businesses unknowingly choose the non-billing option and lose that benefit.
If you need a formal PAN/VAT bill for your books, say so upfront. Some individual freelancers cannot issue one, and discovering that at payment time creates an awkward and avoidable problem.
TDS applies to service payments. Companies commonly deduct tax at source on service invoices. Agree who absorbs it before the final instalment, not during it.
Tip
Put one line in your scope document: "Quoted price is [inclusive / exclusive] of VAT. A PAN/VAT invoice [will / will not] be issued." That one sentence prevents the most common payment dispute in this industry. Confirm current rates and your own obligations with your accountant or the Inland Revenue Department — I build websites, I am not a tax adviser.
Year 1 vs Year 2: What a Nepali Website Really Costs Over Time
Content Gap
Every competing article gives you a build price. None of them give you the number that actually matters to a business owner: what does this cost me over three years?
Scenario A: Small business website
Item
Year 1 (NPR)
Year 2+ (NPR/yr)
Design & development
28,000
0
Domain (.com.np free + .com backup)
1,500
1,500
Shared hosting
2,000
2,500
SSL (Let's Encrypt)
0
0
Business email (Zoho free tier)
0
0
Basic maintenance (optional)
0 – 18,000
12,000 – 24,000
Total
31,500 – 49,500
4,000 – 28,000
Scenario B: E-commerce store
Item
Year 1 (NPR)
Year 2+ (NPR/yr)
Design & development
75,000
0
Payment gateway integration (eSewa + Khalti)
22,000
0
Product data entry (300 items)
9,000
Ongoing / in-house
Domain
1,500
1,500
Business hosting
5,000
6,000
Premium plugin licences
4,000 – 12,000
4,000 – 12,000
Maintenance (recommended, not optional for stores)
24,000
36,000 – 60,000
Gateway transaction fees
~1.5–2% of sales
~1.5–2% of sales
Total (excl. transaction fees)
1,40,500 – 1,48,500
47,500 – 79,500
The lesson: a brochure website is genuinely cheap to keep alive — under NPR 5,000 a year if you maintain it yourself. An e-commerce store is a running business system with real annual costs. Budget for year two before you commit to year one.
Basic + content updates, bug fixes, monthly health report
Active business sites, blogs
Premium
7,000 – 20,000
Standard + speed work, SEO monitoring, small feature additions
Stores, news portals, lead-generating sites
Application support
20,000 – 60,000
Priority response, server management, ongoing development hours
Custom apps, SaaS, marketplaces
Real cost of skipping maintenance
The most expensive websites I work on are the cheap ones that were abandoned. An unmaintained WordPress site gets compromised through an outdated plugin, gets flagged by Google for malware, and the cleanup plus reputation recovery costs more than five years of basic maintenance would have. If you take one thing from this guide: budget NPR 1,000–2,500 a month, or commit to doing updates yourself every month.
Hidden Costs That Turn a NPR 40,000 Quote into NPR 75,000
Hidden Cost
Typical Amount (NPR)
How to Avoid It
Premium theme / page builder licence
3,000 – 15,000/yr
Ask whose licence it is and whether it renews in your name
Content writing
500 – 2,500/page
Write it yourself; you know your business better anyway
Professional photography
8,000 – 40,000
Worth it. Stock photos of foreigners hurt trust in Nepal.
Stock images
0 – 15,000
Use Unsplash/Pexels free tiers where photography isn't critical
Product data entry
15 – 60/product
Do it in-house with a CSV template
SMS gateway (OTP, order alerts)
Per-SMS + setup
Use email + WhatsApp first; add SMS when volume justifies it
Google Maps API
Usage-based
An embedded static map is free and enough for a contact page
Post-warranty change requests
1,500 – 4,000/hr
Get the warranty period in writing before signing
Staff CMS training
3,000 – 10,000
Insist on a recorded training video — reusable forever
Migration from a previous developer
5,000 – 30,000
Keep your own hosting and domain access from day one
What You Should NOT Pay For in Nepal
Content Gap
Every guide tells you what to pay for. This is the list of things that are commonly charged in Nepal and should cost you nothing.
Basic SSL certificate — NPR 5,000–15,000/yr. Let's Encrypt is free, automatic and equally secure for a normal website. Paid SSL only makes sense for specific enterprise validation needs.
"SEO submission to 500 search engines" — NPR 5,000–20,000. This service has not been meaningful for over a decade. Google finds your sitemap on its own.
.com.np registration fee — NPR 1,000–3,000. The domain is free from the registry. Paying a small handling fee for someone to prepare documents is reasonable; paying for the domain itself is not.
"Mobile version" as a separate line item — NPR 10,000–30,000. Responsive design is standard practice in 2026, not an upgrade. Over half of Nepali traffic is mobile.
Monthly fee just to keep the site online, with no work done. Hosting is hosting. Maintenance is maintenance. If you are billed monthly, you should receive a report of what was done.
A charge to give you your own admin password. This happens. It is not a service — it is leverage. Walk away.
Why NPR 5,000 Websites Exist — and What You Actually Get
They are real, and for some people they are the right choice. But you should know exactly what is being sold:
A nulled (pirated) premium theme. No updates, no support, and a meaningful chance of injected malware in the theme files.
Oversold reseller hosting. Hundreds of sites on one small account. Your site slows to a crawl whenever a neighbour has a traffic spike.
No admin access for you. Every text change becomes a paid request. This is the business model, not an oversight.
The developer's email on your domain. The single most common way Nepali businesses lose control of their own web presence.
Demo content left in place. Lorem ipsum, stock placeholders and the theme author's copyright in your footer.
No handover, no documentation, and no reply after three months.
When cheap is right
If you genuinely need a placeholder — you are testing an idea, or you just need a URL on a business card — a NPR 8,000–12,000 honest one-page site is a perfectly sensible decision. Just make sure it is honest cheap: your hosting account, your domain, your admin login, a legitimate free theme. Cheap and owned beats cheap and hostage every time.
Choose a freelancer when your project has one decision-maker and a clear goal — which describes most Nepali businesses. Choose an agency when the project needs multiple specialists working in parallel, formal SLAs, or your organisation requires vendor registration and contract governance. Choose DIY only if your time is genuinely worth less than the money saved, and you have accepted that you will be maintaining it forever.
Not sure which one your project needs? Ask me — I'll tell you honestly, even if the answer is "not me."Email me
Does Your City Change the Price? Kathmandu vs Pokhara vs Biratnagar
Content Gap
Several competing pages list city names for SEO purposes but never answer the obvious question: does a business in Butwal pay more or less than one in Kathmandu?
The honest answer: no, and you should be suspicious if it does. Web development is delivered remotely. The file I write for a Kathmandu client is identical to the one I write for a client in Dharan. What actually varies:
Local agency pricing outside the valley is sometimes higher, not lower — fewer providers means less competition in some cities.
In-person meetings cost money. If you require on-site visits in Pokhara or Biratnagar, travel and time are a legitimate line item. Video calls are free.
Photography is local. If your site needs real photos of your premises, that vendor is in your city and priced locally.
If someone quotes you a "Kathmandu rate" and a different "outside valley rate" for the same remote work, ask them to explain what physically differs. There usually isn't an answer.
How Long It Takes — and the Dashain Factor Nobody Warns You About
Project Type
Realistic Timeline
What Usually Causes Delay
Landing page
3–7 days
Waiting for your logo and copy
Portfolio site
5–10 days
Project photos not ready
Business website
2–3 weeks
Content, content, content
Professional CMS site
3–5 weeks
Design approval rounds
E-commerce store
3–14 weeks
Gateway merchant approval + product data
Custom application
2–8 months
Requirements changing mid-build
Local timing advice
Do not start a critical website project in Ashwin–Kartik. Dashain and Tihar together take 2–3 weeks out of the Nepali working calendar. Client approvals stall, developers travel home, and your "three-week project" quietly becomes six. Plan launches for Mangsir–Falgun, or start in Shrawan–Bhadra so you launch before the festival season — which is also when retail and travel businesses most need a working site.
The other timing lever: many Nepali organisations release budgets at the start of the fiscal year in Shrawan. If you are getting a project approved internally, that is your window.
The Payment Schedule You Should Actually Agree To
Content Gap
Competing guides say "milestone-based payment recommended" and leave it there. Here is a concrete schedule that protects both sides — use it as-is.
Milestone
% of Total
Released When
1. Project start
30%
Signed scope document with page list and feature list
2. Design approval
25%
You approve the homepage and one inner page design
3. Development complete
30%
Full site working on a staging URL you can test
4. Launch & handover
15%
Live on your domain, all accounts transferred to you, training done
Two rules that prevent almost every dispute: never pay 100% upfront, and never expect a developer to hand over a finished site for 0% down. A 30/25/30/15 split means neither side is ever carrying all the risk. For projects above NPR 2,00,000, add a fifth milestone at 10% released after a 30-day post-launch stability period.
What Each Budget Actually Buys in Nepal
NPR 10,000 – 20,000
A clean one-page or 3-page site. Legitimate free or low-cost theme, your branding, working contact form and WhatsApp button, mobile responsive, basic SEO. Enough to look credible and capture enquiries. You own everything.
NPR 20,000 – 45,000
A proper 5–8 page business website with a CMS you can edit, semi-custom design, blog, gallery, Maps, schema markup and speed optimisation. This is the sweet spot for most Nepali SMEs and covers about 70% of what I am asked to build.
NPR 45,000 – 90,000
Custom design direction, 10–20 pages, structured content types, advanced forms and filtering, serious performance work, proper on-page SEO across every page, and a warranty period. Or a solid starter online store.
NPR 90,000 – 2,00,000
Corporate sites with multiple departments, bilingual content, careers and downloads sections. Or a growth-stage e-commerce store with multiple gateways, customer accounts, inventory and reporting.
NPR 2,00,000+
Custom applications, marketplaces, booking platforms, dashboards, systems with roles and permissions. At this level the website is the business operation, and it should be scoped from a written specification document — never from a price list.
How to Cut Your Website Cost Without Cutting Quality
Write your own content before development starts. This is the biggest single saving available, and content delays cause most timeline overruns. Even rough drafts in a Google Doc help enormously.
Launch with 5 pages, not 20. Add pages after launch once you see what visitors actually look for. Phase one should be as small as it can be while still being useful.
Take your own photos. A decent phone camera with good natural light beats generic stock photography for local trust. Nepali customers can tell.
Enter your own product data. Ask for a CSV template. On a 500-product store this alone can save NPR 15,000–30,000.
Skip features you cannot name a user for. Live chat, memberships, loyalty points, an app — if you cannot describe the exact person who will use it next month, cut it from phase one.
Buy hosting yourself. Prices are published. You avoid a markup and you own the account permanently.
Consolidate the work. One person handling design, build, SEO setup and maintenance costs less than four vendors and removes the finger-pointing when something breaks.
Choose the right platform. Do not pay for a custom-coded application when a well-built CMS does the job. Do not fight a CMS when you actually need an application.
Keep one decision-maker. Every additional approver adds revision rounds, and revision rounds are where budgets quietly die.
The Handover Checklist: What You Must Receive
Content Gap
Competing guides say "make sure you own the source code." That is far too vague to act on. Here is the exact list — print it, and do not release the final payment until every line is ticked.
Domain registrar account in your name, with your email as the registrant contact
Hosting / cPanel login under your own account, not a sub-account of your developer's reseller
Website admin account with full administrator privileges — not "editor"
Source code (a ZIP or a Git repository you have access to)
Database backup file, plus instructions for taking future backups
Google Analytics and Search Console properties owned by your email, with the developer added as a user
Any paid theme or plugin licence keys, and confirmation of whether they transfer to you
Design source files (Figma, PSD or equivalent) if you paid for custom design
A recorded training video walking through common edits
A written list of what is NOT included and what future changes will cost
The number one mistake
Letting the developer register your domain under their email "to make it easier." It is easier — right up until you want to change developer, and suddenly your entire web presence and your business email are held by someone you no longer work with. Register the domain yourself. It takes fifteen minutes.
The New 2026 Line Item: Being Findable in AI Search
Content Gap
Google search results in 2026 increasingly answer questions directly, and a growing share of Nepali users now ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for recommendations before they ever open a search results page. A website built to 2021 standards is invisible in that flow. No competing cost guide budgets for this.
The good news is that most of it is cheap or free if done during the build rather than bolted on later:
Work Item
Cost If Done During Build
Cost If Retrofitted Later
Structured data (Organization, LocalBusiness, FAQ, Product schema)
Included
NPR 5,000 – 15,000
Clear question-and-answer content structure
Included
NPR 500 – 2,000/page rewrite
Crawlable, server-rendered HTML (not JS-only content)
Included
Can require a rebuild
Google Business Profile + consistent NAP citations
NPR 0 – 5,000
NPR 0 – 5,000
Author bios and verifiable credentials on the page
Included
NPR 3,000 – 8,000
Practical takeaway: when you compare quotes, ask whether structured data and server-rendered content are included. A NPR 30,000 site with proper schema will outperform a NPR 60,000 site without it in both Google and AI-assisted search.
15 Questions to Ask Before You Hire Anyone in Nepal
Can you show me three live sites you built that are still online and maintained?
Is this quote VAT-inclusive or exclusive, and will I receive a PAN/VAT invoice?
Exactly how many pages and which features does this price cover?
Is the design template-based, semi-custom or fully custom?
Who writes the content and who enters the product data?
Will the domain be registered under my email address?
Will I get full admin access and the source code at handover?
How many revision rounds are included, and what happens after that?
Is basic technical SEO included — titles, schema, sitemap, speed, Search Console?
Are hosting, theme licences and plugin renewals my cost or yours?
What is the warranty period for bugs after launch, and what does it cover?
What will maintenance cost monthly, and can I cancel it?
If I have an existing site, how will you preserve my current rankings and URLs?
What is the payment schedule, tied to which deliverables?
If you become unavailable, can another developer pick this up? (A "no" is a serious answer.)
Real Project Cost Examples (Itemised)
Anonymised examples of the kind of projects Nepali businesses actually commission, with the money broken down so you can see where it goes.
Example 1 — Dental clinic, Lalitpur
Line Item
Cost (NPR)
6-page semi-custom WordPress site
24,000
Appointment enquiry form + WhatsApp integration
4,000
Technical SEO + Google Business Profile setup
5,000
Domain (.com) + shared hosting, year 1
3,500
Total year 1
36,500
Example 2 — Trekking agency, Thamel (bilingual, international audience)
Line Item
Cost (NPR)
Custom design, 18 pages + trip package system
68,000
Itinerary builder with day-by-day structure
14,000
Trip enquiry + booking form with email automation
8,000
Content entry for 22 trekking packages
11,000
International hosting + CDN, year 1
7,000
Total year 1
1,08,000
Example 3 — Retail store going online, Kathmandu
Line Item
Cost (NPR)
WooCommerce store, custom theme, 280 products
72,000
eSewa + Khalti integration
20,000
Delivery zones + COD workflow
6,000
Product data entry (client did 180, I did 100)
4,000
Business hosting + domain, year 1
6,500
Total year 1
1,08,500
Figures are representative of projects in this scope band. Your exact quote depends on your page list, features and content readiness.
Get a Real Quote — Not a Price Range
Send me your page list, features and rough budget. I'll reply with an itemised quote showing exactly what's included, what isn't, and what it will cost you in year two. No sales call required.
Usually replies within a few hours · Kathmandu, Nepal (NPT)
WS
About the author — Wilson Shrestha is a freelance web developer based in Kathmandu, Nepal, building websites and web applications for Nepali and international clients. He works primarily with WordPress, Next.js and Node.js, and has delivered business websites, e-commerce stores and custom platforms across retail, hospitality, education and professional services.
The prices in this guide come from quotes he has issued and projects he has delivered, cross-checked against published rates from Nepali hosting providers, domain registries and payment gateways in 2026. See his work at wilson.com.np.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does website design cost in Nepal in 2026?
Website design in Nepal costs between NPR 8,000 and NPR 2,50,000 in 2026 depending on type. A one-page site costs NPR 8,000–18,000, a 5–8 page business website costs NPR 18,000–45,000, a professional CMS website costs NPR 45,000–90,000, and a full e-commerce store costs NPR 45,000–2,50,000. Domain and hosting add roughly NPR 2,000–6,000 per year.
What is the cheapest realistic website option in Nepal?
An honest one-page website at NPR 8,000–12,000 on a free .com.np domain and an entry shared hosting plan around NPR 500–2,500 per year. That gives you a real, owned web presence for under NPR 15,000 in year one. Anything advertised below this usually means a pirated theme, no admin access, or a domain registered in someone else's name.
How much does an e-commerce website cost in Nepal?
A starter online store costs NPR 45,000–95,000 for up to around 200 products with cash on delivery and one wallet gateway. A growth store with custom design, filters, customer accounts and multiple gateways costs NPR 95,000–1,80,000. Advanced stores with inventory management, courier and accounting integrations run NPR 1,80,000–2,50,000 and above. Payment gateway integration adds NPR 7,000–35,000 depending on how many gateways you need.
How much does hosting cost in Nepal per year?
Entry-level shared hosting from Nepal-based providers starts around NPR 500–2,500 per year in 2026, with business plans at NPR 2,500–6,000. Managed WordPress hosting runs NPR 6,000–25,000, VPS NPR 12,000–60,000, and cloud hosting NPR 15,000 upward depending on usage. SSL should be free via Let's Encrypt. If you are quoted NPR 8,000 for a basic shared plan, compare published prices before agreeing.
Is a .com.np domain really free, and can anyone get one?
Yes, .np domains are issued free by Nepal's registry, but eligibility matters. A .com.np requires a Nepal-registered entity with a company registration certificate from the Office of Company Registrar and a PAN or VAT certificate. Individuals without a registered company generally use the personal .np namespace instead, or buy an international .com for around NPR 1,200–1,900 per year. Applications are reviewed manually and typically approved within 1–3 working days.
Is VAT charged on website development in Nepal?
Web development is a taxable service, so a VAT-registered provider will add VAT to the quoted amount on the invoice. Always ask whether a quote is VAT-inclusive or exclusive before comparing it with another quote, and confirm whether you will receive a PAN/VAT bill for your accounts. Tax deducted at source may also apply on service payments. Confirm your specific obligations with your accountant or the Inland Revenue Department.
How much does website maintenance cost monthly in Nepal?
Basic maintenance covering updates, backups, uptime monitoring and SSL renewal costs NPR 1,000–2,500 per month. Standard plans with content updates and bug fixes run NPR 2,500–7,000. Premium plans with performance and SEO work run NPR 7,000–20,000, and full application support runs NPR 20,000–60,000. You can also self-manage at zero cost if you are comfortable running monthly updates and backups yourself.
Is it cheaper to hire a freelancer or an agency in Nepal?
A freelancer is typically 40–70% cheaper for the same scope because there is no office overhead, sales team or account management layer. A business website that costs NPR 18,000–90,000 with an experienced freelancer commonly costs NPR 80,000–3,00,000 at an agency. Agencies make more sense for large multi-stakeholder projects, formal vendor contracts, or when several specialists must work in parallel.
How long does it take to build a website in Nepal?
A landing page takes 3–7 days, a portfolio site 5–10 days, a business website 2–3 weeks, a professional CMS website 3–5 weeks, an e-commerce store 3–14 weeks, and a custom application 2–8 months. The most common cause of delay is content — text and photos not being ready. Also avoid starting critical projects during Dashain and Tihar, which remove 2–3 weeks from the working calendar.
How much does it cost to add eSewa or Khalti to my website?
Integrating eSewa typically costs NPR 8,000–20,000 and Khalti NPR 7,000–18,000, or NPR 15,000–35,000 for both with unified order handling. On WooCommerce, maintained plugins exist for both, so integration should take about a day. Beyond setup, expect roughly 1.5–2% per transaction, negotiable at higher volumes. Fonepay QR often carries no merchant fee. You will need a PAN, and business registration or VAT certificate for a full merchant account.
Does a website cost more in Kathmandu than in Pokhara or Biratnagar?
No. Web development is delivered remotely and the work is identical regardless of your city. The only legitimate location-based costs are travel for in-person meetings if you require them, and local photography. If a provider quotes different rates for different cities for the same remote work, ask them to explain what physically differs.
What should a website quote include so I can compare fairly?
A comparable quote should state the page list, number of unique page templates, whether design is template-based or custom, the technology used, who provides content and product data, number of revision rounds, testing scope, technical SEO inclusions, domain and hosting responsibility, third-party licence costs, timeline, payment milestones, source code ownership, training, warranty period and an explicit list of what is excluded.
What should I receive at handover?
Domain registrar account in your name, hosting account under your own login, full administrator access to the website, source code, a database backup, Google Analytics and Search Console properties owned by your email, any paid licence keys, design source files if you paid for custom design, a recorded training video, and a written list of exclusions with future change costs. Do not release the final payment until all of these are in your hands.
Can I build a website for free in Nepal?
Technically yes — a free .np domain, a free hosting tier or site builder, and a free theme can get you online at zero cost. But free plans generally carry platform branding, limited features, poor SEO control and no data portability. For a business that depends on credibility or enquiries, a NPR 10,000–20,000 owned website is a far better investment than a free one you cannot control.
Is SEO included in website development cost?
Basic technical SEO should be included: clean URLs, editable titles and meta descriptions, heading structure, XML sitemap, robots.txt, schema markup, image alt text, mobile responsiveness, and Search Console and Analytics setup. Ongoing SEO — keyword research, content production, link building and monthly reporting — is a separate service, typically NPR 10,000–40,000 per month depending on competitiveness.
How much does a Nepali-language or bilingual website cost extra?
Expect NPR 5,000–15,000 for the language switcher and URL structure, NPR 3,000–10,000 for Devanagari typography adjustments, NPR 300–900 per page for quality translation, and NPR 3,000–8,000 for a bilingual testing pass. If you have existing content typed in Preeti or Kantipur fonts, budget NPR 2,000–12,000 for Unicode conversion — until that is done, search engines cannot read your Nepali content at all.
How much does a website redesign cost in Nepal?
A visual refresh of an existing working site costs NPR 15,000–40,000. A full redesign with new structure, content migration and performance work costs NPR 40,000–80,000, rising above that for large or complex sites. Critically, insist that URL mapping and 301 redirects are included — a redesign that ignores your existing URLs can erase rankings and traffic you spent years building.
Why do website quotes in Nepal vary so much for the same request?
Because the word "website" hides completely different scopes. One quote may include custom design, content entry, testing, SEO setup, training and three months of support. Another may include only a theme installation with five pages, no content, no testing and no handover. Compare deliverables, ownership terms, exclusions and year-two costs rather than comparing the final number.
Sources and Pricing Notes
Published shared hosting and VPS prices from Nepal-based providers, 2026
Quotes issued and projects delivered by the author for Nepali clients
Third-party prices, domain rules, hosting plans, gateway rates and tax provisions change. Confirm current charges with the relevant provider before finalising a budget. Prices in this guide reflect the market in Ashwin 2083 BS (September 2026) and are reviewed quarterly.
