Islamabad vs Karachi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Islamabad Karachi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$442
$442
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1170
$1064
🏠 One person rent
$199
$188
🏘️ Family rent
$457
$342
🍽️ Food expenses
$156
$147
🚐 Transport expenses
$34.9
$64.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$261
$179
😷 Air quality
Bad
Unhealthy
✈️ Airport proximity
26 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
69
63
😀 Quality of life
49
50
🏙️ Population
1.01M
14.9M

The cost of living in Islamabad is 0.1% more expensive than in Karachi. Cities ranked 8870th and 8872nd ($442 vs $442) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 3rd in Pakistan.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Islamabad compared to 0.4 months in Karachi. Ranked 2nd vs 1st best cities to live in Pakistan, and 6313th vs 6253rd among the best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Islamabad vs Karachi infographic

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Prices in Islamabad vs Karachi

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

Islamabad Karachi
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$2.13
$1.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$17.7
$12
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.22
$4.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.79
$2.17
 Cappuccino
$2.08
$2.16
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.39
$0.37
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$173
$142
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$94.4
$97.4
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$514
$316
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$283
$197
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$69.9
$71.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$109
$110
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$18.9
$10.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
20.86%
19.17%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1142
$545
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$682
$359
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.18
$0.21
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$6.78
$8.21
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.25
$5.29
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1
$0.96
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.93
$0.81
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.67
$0.53
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$0.98
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.28
$1.15
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.57
$5.81
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.52
$3.27
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.39
$4.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1
$1.01
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$0.57
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.88
$0.82
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.62
$0.65
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.44
$0.39
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.59
$0.54
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.27
$0.27
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.8
$0.82
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$2.56
$3.49
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.59
$1.38
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.13
$2.04
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.9
$1.65
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.59
$2.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.1
$1.37
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.68
$0.98
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$21.2
$16.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.31
$4.05
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$12.1
$12.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$1.71
$1.95
👖 Brand Jeans
$19.4
$16.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$85.1
$57.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$64.6
$50.7
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2961
$1405

Cost of living in other countries

IslamabadKarachi

Cost of living

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Islamabad

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi Rawalpindi
$401
33 km or 20 mi Wah
$382
91 km or 57 mi Mirpur
$354
108 km or 67 mi Mardan
$366
131 km or 82 mi Mandi Bahauddin
$355
132 km or 82 mi Baramulla
$273
135 km or 84 mi Mingora
$364
146 km or 91 mi Peshawar
$346
148 km or 92 mi Kohat
$379
158 km or 98 mi Gujrat
$373
169 km or 105 mi Srinagar
$354
183 km or 114 mi Sargodha
$458
191 km or 119 mi Hafizabad
$380
193 km or 120 mi Sialkot
$281
200 km or 124 mi Jammu
$287
203 km or 126 mi Gujranwala
$308
220 km or 137 mi Chiniot
$389
222 km or 138 mi Kamoke
$321
239 km or 148 mi Sheikhupura
$374
252 km or 156 mi Jalalabad
$303
254 km or 158 mi Faisalabad
$306
268 km or 167 mi Lahore
$411
279 km or 173 mi Jhang
$292
285 km or 177 mi Gojra
$342
287 km or 178 mi Amritsar
$383
287 km or 179 mi Sahiwal
$305
291 km or 181 mi Pathankot
$355
292 km or 182 mi Khost
$366
324 km or 201 mi Okara
$300
353 km or 219 mi Gardez
$386
356 km or 221 mi Jalandhar
$358
368 km or 229 mi Kabul
$474
392 km or 244 mi Khanewal
$361
396 km or 246 mi Burewala
$356
408 km or 253 mi Ludhiana
$441
418 km or 260 mi Multan
$392
427 km or 266 mi Ghazni
$389
465 km or 289 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$297
468 km or 291 mi Puli Khumri
$381
483 km or 300 mi Chandigarh
$369

Cities near Karachi

Distance City Cost of living
148 km or 92 mi Hyderabad
$334
208 km or 129 mi Nawabshah
$325
213 km or 132 mi Mirpur Khas
$394
324 km or 201 mi Larkana
$338
324 km or 201 mi Bhuj
$288
366 km or 227 mi Sukkur
$339
406 km or 252 mi Jacobabad
$325
445 km or 277 mi Porbandar
$333
480 km or 298 mi Rajkot
$311
564 km or 351 mi Mehsana
$389
593 km or 368 mi Quetta
$266
601 km or 374 mi Ahmedabad
$452
604 km or 375 mi Gandhinagar
$415
626 km or 389 mi Bhavnagar
$298
629 km or 391 mi Jodhpur
$366
643 km or 399 mi Pali
$324
643 km or 399 mi Nadiad
$382
645 km or 401 mi Chabahar
$585
675 km or 419 mi Udaipur
$310
679 km or 422 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$297
683 km or 425 mi Bahawalpur
$342
683 km or 425 mi Iranshahr
$605
692 km or 430 mi Vadodara
$376
711 km or 442 mi Godhra
$371
719 km or 447 mi Bikaner
$297
723 km or 449 mi Surat
$771
736 km or 457 mi Multan
$392
745 km or 463 mi Navsari
$286
761 km or 473 mi Kandahar
$468
769 km or 478 mi Bhilwara
$340
775 km or 482 mi Khanewal
$361
785 km or 488 mi Ajmer
$279
792 km or 492 mi Lashkargah
$476
796 km or 494 mi Zahedan
$829
812 km or 504 mi Burewala
$356
836 km or 519 mi Ratlam
$311
845 km or 525 mi Vasai
$284
865 km or 537 mi Muscat
$1090
866 km or 538 mi Sikar
$350
874 km or 543 mi Zabol
$552