Islamabad vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Islamabad Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$496
$1147
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1174
$3146
🏠 One person rent
$228
$636
🏘️ Family rent
$388
$1119
🍽️ Food expenses
$168
$279
🚐 Transport expenses
$42.6
$105
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$146
$1068
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
70
99
😀 Quality of life
50
76
🏙️ Population
1.01M
24.9M

The cost of living in Islamabad is 57% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8685th and 4880th ($496 vs $1147) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 5th in Pakistan and China, respectively. Check Pakistan vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Islamabad compared to 0.9 months in Shanghai. Islamabad ranked 4th best city to live in Pakistan vs Shanghai ranked 5th in China, while ranked 6656th and 1178th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Islamabad vs Shanghai

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

Islamabad Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.5
$4.42
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$19
$30.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.41
$5.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.79
$1.44
☕ Cappuccino
$2.38
$3.21
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.38
$0.57
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$243
$849
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$126
$520
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$449
$1495
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$233
$937
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$62.5
$38.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$95.9
$59.3
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$16.2
$11.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
14.59%
3.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1529
$14068
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$645
$6729
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.18
$0.54
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$12.3
$29.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.85
$5.76
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.06
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.98
$2.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.75
$1.81
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.21
$1.1
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.23
$1.87
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.82
$16.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.94
$3.33
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.98
$13
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.23
$2.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.84
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.01
$1.84
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
$1.75
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.31
$0.83
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.43
$0.94
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.26
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.77
$1.31
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$1.95
$11.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.49
$0.9
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.36
$2.95
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.19
$6.37
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.68
$7.05
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.17
$2.11
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.7
$2.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$24.3
$70.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.82
$8.79
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$11
$98.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$1.91
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$22.3
$46.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$95.7
$71.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$81.5
$1268
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$3550
$27610

Cost of living in other countries

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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
$446
33 km or 20 mi Wah
$371
91 km or 57 mi Mirpur
$280
108 km or 67 mi Mardan
$373
131 km or 82 mi Mandi Bahauddin
$350
132 km or 82 mi Baramulla
$253
135 km or 84 mi Mingora
$373
146 km or 91 mi Peshawar
$321
148 km or 92 mi Kohat
$394
158 km or 98 mi Gujrat
$335
169 km or 105 mi Srinagar
$344
183 km or 114 mi Sargodha
$391
191 km or 119 mi Hafizabad
$382
193 km or 120 mi Sialkot
$313
200 km or 124 mi Jammu
$286
203 km or 126 mi Gujranwala
$309
220 km or 137 mi Chiniot
$393
222 km or 138 mi Kamoke
$332
239 km or 148 mi Sheikhupura
$396
252 km or 156 mi Jalalabad
$381
254 km or 158 mi Faisalabad
$359
268 km or 167 mi Lahore
$450
279 km or 173 mi Jhang
$306
285 km or 177 mi Gojra
$379
287 km or 178 mi Amritsar
$397
287 km or 179 mi Sahiwal
$339
291 km or 181 mi Pathankot
$371
292 km or 182 mi Khost
$438
324 km or 201 mi Okara
$340
353 km or 219 mi Gardez
$456
356 km or 221 mi Jalandhar
$346
368 km or 229 mi Kabul
$504
392 km or 244 mi Khanewal
$401
396 km or 246 mi Burewala
$350
408 km or 253 mi Ludhiana
$391
418 km or 260 mi Multan
$440
427 km or 266 mi Ghazni
$447
465 km or 289 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$278
468 km or 291 mi Puli Khumri
$447
483 km or 300 mi Chandigarh
$379

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1030
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$708
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$726
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$725
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$798
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$596
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$643
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$678
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$581
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$652
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$680
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$658
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$571
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$660
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$645
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$670
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$663
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$636
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$659
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$899
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$651
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$664
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$657
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$627
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$667
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$623
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$693
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$691
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$623
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$644
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$661
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$696
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$693
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$620
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$677
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$684
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$644
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$789