Islamabad vs Karachi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Islamabad Karachi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$443
$430
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1034
$1029
🏠 One person rent
$199
$168
🏘️ Family rent
$328
$274
🍽️ Food expenses
$158
$146
🚐 Transport expenses
$35.5
$71.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$155
$132
😷 Air quality
Bad
Bad
✈️ Airport proximity
26 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
69
63
😀 Quality of life
50
54
🏙️ Population
1.01M
14.9M

The cost of living in Islamabad is 3% more expensive than in Karachi. Cities ranked 8887th and 8915th ($443 vs $430) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in Pakistan.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Islamabad compared to 0.3 months in Karachi. Ranked 3rd vs 1st best cities to live in Pakistan, and 6597th vs 6371st 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
$2.83
$1.75
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$14.2
$12.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.15
$4.41
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.36
$1.85
☕ Cappuccino
$2.02
$2.05
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.38
$0.39
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$187
$115
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$98.8
$71.8
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$338
$204
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$178
$133
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$65.4
$75.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$101
$115
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$17.5
$12.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
18.73%
16.46%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1311
$579
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$775
$371
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.18
$0.32
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$9.39
$8.76
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.05
$6.37
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.93
$0.92
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.96
$0.81
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.69
$0.57
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.26
$1.13
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.22
$1.13
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.37
$6.72
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.1
$3.3
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.46
$5.37
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.05
$1.09
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.82
$0.61
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.91
$0.95
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.53
$0.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.38
$0.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.54
$0.38
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.26
$0.27
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.76
$0.82
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$1.75
$1.24
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.72
$1.27
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.13
$2.1
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.17
$1.76
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.64
$3.17
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.15
$1.35
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.69
$0.8
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$20.4
$15.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.22
$4.27
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$11
$11.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$1.86
$1.95
👖 Brand Jeans
$21.6
$18.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$80.7
$63.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$61.1
$67.6
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2738
$1491

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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
$416
33 km or 20 mi Wah
$344
91 km or 57 mi Mirpur
$277
108 km or 67 mi Mardan
$354
131 km or 82 mi Mandi Bahauddin
$326
132 km or 82 mi Baramulla
$265
135 km or 84 mi Mingora
$351
146 km or 91 mi Peshawar
$334
148 km or 92 mi Kohat
$364
158 km or 98 mi Gujrat
$320
169 km or 105 mi Srinagar
$340
183 km or 114 mi Sargodha
$376
191 km or 119 mi Hafizabad
$363
193 km or 120 mi Sialkot
$311
200 km or 124 mi Jammu
$284
203 km or 126 mi Gujranwala
$302
220 km or 137 mi Chiniot
$372
222 km or 138 mi Kamoke
$316
239 km or 148 mi Sheikhupura
$368
252 km or 156 mi Jalalabad
$354
254 km or 158 mi Faisalabad
$333
268 km or 167 mi Lahore
$427
279 km or 173 mi Jhang
$294
285 km or 177 mi Gojra
$351
287 km or 178 mi Amritsar
$380
287 km or 179 mi Sahiwal
$303
291 km or 181 mi Pathankot
$350
292 km or 182 mi Khost
$393
324 km or 201 mi Okara
$291
353 km or 219 mi Gardez
$401
356 km or 221 mi Jalandhar
$337
368 km or 229 mi Kabul
$458
392 km or 244 mi Khanewal
$362
396 km or 246 mi Burewala
$347
408 km or 253 mi Ludhiana
$421
418 km or 260 mi Multan
$403
427 km or 266 mi Ghazni
$396
465 km or 289 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$254
468 km or 291 mi Puli Khumri
$404
483 km or 300 mi Chandigarh
$373

Cities near Karachi

Distance City Cost of living
148 km or 92 mi Hyderabad
$382
208 km or 129 mi Nawabshah
$324
213 km or 132 mi Mirpur Khas
$395
324 km or 201 mi Larkana
$336
324 km or 201 mi Bhuj
$290
366 km or 227 mi Sukkur
$340
406 km or 252 mi Jacobabad
$322
445 km or 277 mi Porbandar
$330
480 km or 298 mi Rajkot
$324
564 km or 351 mi Mehsana
$382
593 km or 368 mi Quetta
$291
601 km or 374 mi Ahmedabad
$442
604 km or 375 mi Gandhinagar
$407
626 km or 389 mi Bhavnagar
$291
629 km or 391 mi Jodhpur
$322
643 km or 399 mi Pali
$305
643 km or 399 mi Nadiad
$375
645 km or 401 mi Chabahar
$573
675 km or 419 mi Udaipur
$315
679 km or 422 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$254
683 km or 425 mi Bahawalpur
$301
683 km or 425 mi Iranshahr
$624
692 km or 430 mi Vadodara
$374
711 km or 442 mi Godhra
$366
719 km or 447 mi Bikaner
$290
723 km or 449 mi Surat
$705
736 km or 457 mi Multan
$403
745 km or 463 mi Navsari
$278
761 km or 473 mi Kandahar
$436
769 km or 478 mi Bhilwara
$328
775 km or 482 mi Khanewal
$362
785 km or 488 mi Ajmer
$274
792 km or 492 mi Lashkargah
$439
796 km or 494 mi Zahedan
$808
812 km or 504 mi Burewala
$347
836 km or 519 mi Ratlam
$303
845 km or 525 mi Vasai
$267
865 km or 537 mi Muscat
$1081
866 km or 538 mi Sikar
$335
874 km or 543 mi Zabol
$558