Islamabad vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Islamabad Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$439
$1136
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1168
$3654
🏠 One person rent
$198
$602
🏘️ Family rent
$457
$1527
🍽️ Food expenses
$150
$293
🚐 Transport expenses
$35.4
$116
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$256
$1905
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
26 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
67
100
😀 Quality of life
49
79
🏙️ Population
1.01M
24.9M

The cost of living in Islamabad is 61% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 8895th and 4780th ($439 vs $1136) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 6th in Pakistan and China, respectively. Check Pakistan vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Islamabad compared to 1.7 months in Shanghai. Islamabad ranked 2nd best city to live in Pakistan vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 6293rd and 571st among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Islamabad vs Shanghai infographic

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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
$1.79
$3.99
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$18.1
$42.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.44
$5.51
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.8
$1.43
 Cappuccino
$2.06
$3.61
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.35
$0.53
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$174
$897
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$92
$461
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$505
$2549
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$286
$1181
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$71.4
$36.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$109
$56.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$18.6
$16.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
20.49%
4.28%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1307
$16156
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$493
$8893
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.18
$0.57
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$6.82
$36.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$4.32
$6.13
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.02
$1.19
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.86
$2.41
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.66
$1.99
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.26
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.35
$15.8
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.57
$3.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.39
$11.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.05
$2.33
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.81
$2.05
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.56
$1.7
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.4
$0.98
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.54
$1.07
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.26
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.8
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$1.64
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.9
$0.86
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.13
$3.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$0.9
$6.62
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$1.47
$7.04
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.1
$1.72
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.62
$2.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$22.2
$55
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.31
$8.47
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$17.9
$90.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.01
$11.9
👖 Brand Jeans
$20.4
$58.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$83.2
$78.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$59.7
$1263
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$3133
$31401

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
$376
33 km or 20 mi Wah
$323
91 km or 57 mi Mirpur
$328
108 km or 67 mi Mardan
$372
131 km or 82 mi Mandi Bahauddin
$341
132 km or 82 mi Baramulla
$277
135 km or 84 mi Mingora
$354
146 km or 91 mi Peshawar
$338
148 km or 92 mi Kohat
$374
158 km or 98 mi Gujrat
$330
169 km or 105 mi Srinagar
$388
183 km or 114 mi Sargodha
$456
191 km or 119 mi Hafizabad
$380
193 km or 120 mi Sialkot
$335
200 km or 124 mi Jammu
$344
203 km or 126 mi Gujranwala
$280
220 km or 137 mi Chiniot
$373
222 km or 138 mi Kamoke
$308
239 km or 148 mi Sheikhupura
$376
252 km or 156 mi Jalalabad
$358
254 km or 158 mi Faisalabad
$319
268 km or 167 mi Lahore
$406
279 km or 173 mi Jhang
$292
285 km or 177 mi Gojra
$344
287 km or 178 mi Amritsar
$500
287 km or 179 mi Sahiwal
$312
291 km or 181 mi Pathankot
$407
292 km or 182 mi Khost
$441
324 km or 201 mi Okara
$310
353 km or 219 mi Gardez
$469
356 km or 221 mi Jalandhar
$378
368 km or 229 mi Kabul
$599
392 km or 244 mi Khanewal
$358
396 km or 246 mi Burewala
$360
408 km or 253 mi Ludhiana
$430
418 km or 260 mi Multan
$371
427 km or 266 mi Ghazni
$476
465 km or 289 mi Dera Ghazi Khan
$273
468 km or 291 mi Puli Khumri
$457
483 km or 300 mi Chandigarh
$397

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$1028
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$706
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$749
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$738
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$1020
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$585
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$661
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$718
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$620
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$676
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$686
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$706
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$685
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$612
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$733
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$674
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$742
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$702
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$729
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$674
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$843
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$665
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$676
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$690
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$629
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$698
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$630
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$673
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$698
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$538
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$650
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$651
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$703
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$708
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$699
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$617
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$702
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$771
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$648
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$774