Islamabad vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Islamabad Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$464
$1126
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1089
$3097
🏠 One person rent
$213
$600
🏘️ Family rent
$359
$1068
🍽️ Food expenses
$162
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$37.2
$108
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$148
$879
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
26 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
70
99
😀 Quality of life
50
75
🏙️ Population
1.01M
24.9M

The cost of living in Islamabad is 59% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8843rd and 4971st ($464 vs $1126) 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 0.8 months in Shanghai. Islamabad ranked 3rd best city to live in Pakistan vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 6696th and 1655th among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
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
$3.05
$5.01
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$16.4
$36.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.35
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.42
$1.69
☕ Cappuccino
$2.35
$3.77
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.37
$0.54
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$215
$803
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$111
$486
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$392
$1462
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$204
$880
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$64
$37.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$99.1
$58.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$18.1
$13
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
16.06%
3.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1495
$14215
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$746
$7113
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.18
$0.47
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$10.7
$30.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.23
$6.45
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.92
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.94
$1.94
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.72
$1.8
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
$1.3
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.2
$1.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.05
$16.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.06
$3.91
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.63
$11.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$2.35
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.82
$1.74
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.92
$1.78
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.55
$1.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.37
$0.89
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.51
$1.04
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.26
$0.45
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.77
$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$1.94
$12.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.46
$0.92
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.17
$3.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.19
$6.19
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.65
$6.91
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.17
$2.07
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.69
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$21.3
$61.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.26
$7.84
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$11.1
$94.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$1.89
$12
👖 Brand Jeans
$20.4
$50.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$82.5
$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$70.6
$1114
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$3118
$27781

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
$427
33 km or 20 mi Wah
$360
91 km or 57 mi Mirpur
$279
108 km or 67 mi Mardan
$370
131 km or 82 mi Mandi Bahauddin
$338
132 km or 82 mi Baramulla
$264
135 km or 84 mi Mingora
$369
146 km or 91 mi Peshawar
$323
148 km or 92 mi Kohat
$379
158 km or 98 mi Gujrat
$330
169 km or 105 mi Srinagar
$353
183 km or 114 mi Sargodha
$381
191 km or 119 mi Hafizabad
$371
193 km or 120 mi Sialkot
$308
200 km or 124 mi Jammu
$295
203 km or 126 mi Gujranwala
$308
220 km or 137 mi Chiniot
$378
222 km or 138 mi Kamoke
$326
239 km or 148 mi Sheikhupura
$379
252 km or 156 mi Jalalabad
$368
254 km or 158 mi Faisalabad
$348
268 km or 167 mi Lahore
$432
279 km or 173 mi Jhang
$302
285 km or 177 mi Gojra
$367
287 km or 178 mi Amritsar
$391
287 km or 179 mi Sahiwal
$318
291 km or 181 mi Pathankot
$364
292 km or 182 mi Khost
$423
324 km or 201 mi Okara
$315
353 km or 219 mi Gardez
$433
356 km or 221 mi Jalandhar
$352
368 km or 229 mi Kabul
$473
392 km or 244 mi Khanewal
$382
396 km or 246 mi Burewala
$351
408 km or 253 mi Ludhiana
$414
418 km or 260 mi Multan
$417
427 km or 266 mi Ghazni
$425
465 km or 289 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$257
468 km or 291 mi Puli Khumri
$429
483 km or 300 mi Chandigarh
$379

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1002
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$669
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$696
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$782
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$594
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$620
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$644
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$557
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$667
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$683
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$643
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$650
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$584
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$671
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$636
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$680
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$684
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$623
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$646
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$860
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$647
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$652
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$611
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$652
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$604
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$675
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$678
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$525
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$618
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$626
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$644
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$667
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$677
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$601
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$665
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$632
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$765