Islamabad vs Karachi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Islamabad Karachi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$389
$417
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1027
$995
🏠 One person rent
$169
$174
🏘️ Family rent
$398
$312
🍽️ Food expenses
$140
$142
🚐 Transport expenses
$33.8
$60.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$221
$184
😷 Air quality
Bad
Bad
✈️ Airport proximity
26 km
8 km
🎓 Higher education
67
63
😀 Quality of life
51
53
🏙️ Population
1.01M
14.9M

The cost of living in Islamabad is 7% less expensive than in Karachi. Cities ranked 8988th and 8902nd ($389 vs $417) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st 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 6200th vs 6078th 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
$1.35
$1.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$16.3
$12.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.33
$4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.18
$2.13
☕ Cappuccino
$1.67
$1.9
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.3
$0.31
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$139
$142
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$85.2
$93.1
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$397
$316
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$269
$179
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$57.4
$60.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$88
$93.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$15.6
$11
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
19.42%
21.14%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$791
$584
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$489
$336
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.18
$0.23
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$5.43
$12.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.2
$3.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.02
$1.04
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.85
$0.79
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.71
$0.49
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.31
$1.01
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.19
$1.18
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.91
$5.94
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.54
$3.24
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.05
$3.76
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$0.99
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.82
$0.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.93
$0.83
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
$0.5
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.34
$0.32
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.42
$0.39
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.25
$0.25
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.81
$0.76
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$1.7
$4.22
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.76
$1.38
🚬 Cigarette pack
$1.79
$2.03
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.9
$1.92
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.05
$2.36
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$0.59
$1.03
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.67
$1.07
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$19.1
$17.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.6
$4.05
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$7.98
$10.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$3.87
$2.64
👖 Brand Jeans
$16.9
$15.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$74.4
$53.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$51.4
$46.7
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1443
$1093

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Cities near Islamabad

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 7 mi Rawalpindi
$331
33 km or 20 mi Wah
$238
91 km or 57 mi Mirpur
$278
108 km or 67 mi Mardan
$335
131 km or 82 mi Mandi Bahauddin
$287
132 km or 82 mi Baramulla
$281
135 km or 84 mi Mingora
$311
146 km or 91 mi Peshawar
$352
148 km or 92 mi Kohat
$307
158 km or 98 mi Gujrat
$277
169 km or 105 mi Srinagar
$393
183 km or 114 mi Sargodha
$330
191 km or 119 mi Hafizabad
$303
193 km or 120 mi Sialkot
$298
200 km or 124 mi Jammu
$399
203 km or 126 mi Gujranwala
$240
220 km or 137 mi Chiniot
$344
222 km or 138 mi Kamoke
$268
239 km or 148 mi Sheikhupura
$337
252 km or 156 mi Jalalabad
$347
254 km or 158 mi Faisalabad
$289
268 km or 167 mi Lahore
$386
279 km or 173 mi Jhang
$364
285 km or 177 mi Gojra
$337
287 km or 178 mi Amritsar
$508
287 km or 179 mi Sahiwal
$260
291 km or 181 mi Pathankot
$399
292 km or 182 mi Khost
$423
324 km or 201 mi Okara
$290
353 km or 219 mi Gardez
$449
356 km or 221 mi Jalandhar
$394
368 km or 229 mi Kabul
$567
392 km or 244 mi Khanewal
$328
396 km or 246 mi Burewala
$338
408 km or 253 mi Ludhiana
$448
418 km or 260 mi Multan
$307
427 km or 266 mi Ghazni
$455
465 km or 289 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$242
468 km or 291 mi Puli Khumri
$437
483 km or 300 mi Chandigarh
$401

Cities near Karachi

Distance City Cost of living
148 km or 92 mi Hyderabad
$297
208 km or 129 mi Nawabshah
$292
213 km or 132 mi Mirpur Khas
$326
324 km or 201 mi Larkana
$301
324 km or 201 mi Bhuj
$308
366 km or 227 mi Sukkur
$293
406 km or 252 mi Jacobabad
$289
445 km or 277 mi Porbandar
$358
480 km or 298 mi Rajkot
$353
564 km or 351 mi Mehsana
$377
593 km or 368 mi Quetta
$313
601 km or 374 mi Ahmedabad
$505
604 km or 375 mi Gandhinagar
$339
626 km or 389 mi Bhavnagar
$296
629 km or 391 mi Jodhpur
$360
643 km or 399 mi Pali
$336
643 km or 399 mi Nadiad
$396
645 km or 401 mi Chabahar
$779
675 km or 419 mi Udaipur
$338
679 km or 422 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$242
683 km or 425 mi Bahawalpur
$267
683 km or 425 mi Iranshahr
$672
692 km or 430 mi Vadodara
$399
711 km or 442 mi Godhra
$385
719 km or 447 mi Bikaner
$291
723 km or 449 mi Surat
$809
736 km or 457 mi Multan
$307
745 km or 463 mi Navsari
$301
761 km or 473 mi Kandahar
$513
769 km or 478 mi Bhilwara
$338
775 km or 482 mi Khanewal
$328
785 km or 488 mi Ajmer
$336
792 km or 492 mi Lashkargah
$484
796 km or 494 mi Zahedan
$822
812 km or 504 mi Burewala
$338
836 km or 519 mi Ratlam
$323
845 km or 525 mi Vasai
$315
865 km or 537 mi Muscat
$1126
866 km or 538 mi Sikar
$375
874 km or 543 mi Zabol
$546